Author Topic: 1969 Mirror holes in the doors  (Read 1774 times)

57vette

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1969 Mirror holes in the doors
« on: April 13, 2022, 09:33:49 PM »
I'm trying to retrofit a pair of GM "Bullet" mirrors on my 1969 Camaro. When I took the DS chrome mirror off I was surprised by the hole pattern. Two screws towards the front and the big one for the remote cable (I assume) to the rear. Is this normal or did somebody mess with this original door in the past 50+ years?



I'm thinking I might have to drill some new holes to allow a bracket and gasket to work, meaning that the remote cable from the DS Bullet mirror will feed through the door and I can anchor the bracket and gasket to cover the existing holes. I know most everyone here emphasizes "correctness" but I'm hoping a few might have done this before. The mirror look awesome semi-mounted with one screw but Obviously I'd like to get two screws into the sheet metal. The existing holes reveal that there's two layers of metal in this spot, the outer hole seems slightly bigger than the actual inner hole.





Thanks in advance for the comments.-Mike

z28z11

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Re: 1969 Mirror holes in the doors
« Reply #1 on: April 14, 2022, 12:40:51 AM »
Sorry for the small picture size, actually from a old photo of my X77 in 1975 (notice it was reversed when it was enlarged). I added the sport mirrors to my Z, fortunately one of the only mods I made to the car (and easily supplanted with the original Guide mirrors). I always thought they looked better than the originals.

Holes in the door are correct. Left side controls slip right through, right side was manual (and stated "Objects in mirror are closer than they appear").

Regards,
Steve
1968 Z28 M21/U17 BRG/W 1967 Chevy ll Nova SS 
1969 Z28 X77/M20/VE3 LeMans/W
1969 L78 X66/N66 Cortez/BVT
1969 Z11 L48/M35/C60/C06  1949 3100 5wd 235/6

David K

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Re: 1969 Mirror holes in the doors
« Reply #2 on: April 14, 2022, 12:46:11 AM »
From my 68 book. 69 is the same.  “Existing holes”.

57vette

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Re: 1969 Mirror holes in the doors
« Reply #3 on: April 14, 2022, 02:02:05 PM »
Sorry for the small picture size, actually from a old photo of my X77 in 1975 (notice it was reversed when it was enlarged). I added the sport mirrors to my Z, fortunately one of the only mods I made to the car (and easily supplanted with the original Guide mirrors). I always thought they looked better than the originals.

Holes in the door are correct. Left side controls slip right through, right side was manual (and stated "Objects in mirror are closer than they appear").

Regards,
Steve

Thanks Steve & Dave...

So OK, the holes are the original factory ones. Now I have to figure out how to mount the driver's side because the mounting bracket for the bullets are longer... and, the holes do _not_ line up.



The logical solution is drill a new rear hole exactly matched to the factory '69 holes. Something along these lines.



That would seem to put me in the ball park, and I would grind a slight relief for the cable, maybe less than indicated based on the bracket relief area in the '70 bracket. Alternatively I could slot the forward hole 1/8" and slide the bracket backwards that 1/8" and drill the exact rear hole so that its 1/8" forward (not slotted). If need be, I guess I could drop some beads of weld wire on the arc, then grind it smooth so the rear hole would have enough metal behind it. Something like this:



The first solution is probably the best because following the same logic on the PS would be straightforward and I'd know the brackets would locate the PS mirror fairly easily. Of course I could do the same weld/fill mod to the PS and move both mirrors back 1/8".

The _other_ issue is the gasket/pad. The 2nd Gen fender contour is totally different. BulletMirror.com has asked me to experiment with a couple of 3D printed gasket/pads based on my trial and error work. They sent me a reverse angle set and a flat set. They have the cable pass thru in the wrong spot because the pad is based on the 2nd Gen screw and cable holes so they have to correct that. I'm gonna try the reverse angle today, and give them a 2nd critique to see if they can modify the 3D file. I'll post up pictures as I progress.-Mike

firstgenaddict

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Re: 1969 Mirror holes in the doors
« Reply #4 on: April 14, 2022, 07:37:56 PM »
Difference is the bullet mirror control cable exits in the center of the stand VS the original 69 design remote mirror where the control cable exits at the rear of the housing.
James
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Current caretaker of 1971 LT1's - 11130 and 21783 Check out the Black 69 RS/Z28 45k mile Survivor and the Lemans Blue 69 Z 10D frame off...
https://plus.google.com/photos/112392262205377424364/albums?banner=pwa

David K

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Re: 1969 Mirror holes in the doors
« Reply #5 on: April 15, 2022, 01:50:50 AM »
Moving them 1/4 to 1/2”, nobody will know but you.

firstgenaddict

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Re: 1969 Mirror holes in the doors
« Reply #6 on: April 15, 2022, 02:40:14 AM »
Moving them 1/4 to 1/2”, nobody will know but you.
I seriously doubt I would notice it. Moving a mirror or antenna 1/4 to 1/2" would be difficult to detect unless it changed or interfered with something else visually. 
James
Collectin' Camaro's since "Only Rednecks drove them"
Current caretaker of 1971 LT1's - 11130 and 21783 Check out the Black 69 RS/Z28 45k mile Survivor and the Lemans Blue 69 Z 10D frame off...
https://plus.google.com/photos/112392262205377424364/albums?banner=pwa

 

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