Where to find decent, long arm, stanchion mounted mirrors?

[Dreamer]

 

SM25T states: “Decent convex side mirrors on long sturdy arms fitted to stanchions give good rear view. (see the thread; Advice for Camping with a Caterham)

My car came with SPA convex mirrors and they are next to useless. The driver’s side is OK sort of but the passenger side is half hidden by the door frame. (I do not have door mirrors.) They won’t stay in place no matter how tight I think I have them. The car came with a brand new, in the box, right side mirror which I put on the car. It’s no better than the one I took off. Fortunately my car also came with a “Made for Sevens” four section wide angle view interior mirror.

Where does one find side mirrors with long, sturdy arms? Preferably with the same mounting dimensions as the SPA.

[Andy135]

I love my SPA mirrors but I agree the ball joint can be troublesome. Firstly, I'm assuming you know that the SPA ball joints are tightened by removing the mounts and tightening the hex head screw on the underside of the base, as shown in the photo below?

Assuming this doesn't solve your position challenge, you have a couple of options.

1. Put a thin rubber gasket or tap washer between the ball of the arm and the cup of the base. This helps the arm to stay fixed but can also be repositioned when needed without needing to re-tighten the ball joint.

2. Disassemble the ball joint and drill & tap the base for a screw that can then be used to tighten the ball joint externally. See below for an example. 

For what it's worth you can get longer arms with Motamec mirrors, which might also solve your issue of the stanchion blocking the passenger mirror.

Edited Wednesday at 13:37 by Andy135

[MattB]

https://www.demon-tweeks.com/uk/pitking-products-universal-alloy-race-mirrors-pair-1097933/

??

MattB

[SM25T]

Those Spa mirrors are hopeless. I have been using Large long arm carbon effect convex mirrors from Car Builder Solutions for years. Unfortunately they have been unable to source them for a few years, but hopeful they will return. Solid mounting. Adjustable angle arm. Proper friction ball head 👍 photos follow. I believe they are also used on some motorbikes

[SM25T]

[John Vine]

I also have the CBS mirrors that Ian uses. In fact, it was Ian that recommended them to me. They are really excellent, particularly when driving on the right (which they seem to do in France).

JV

[SM25T]

I just asked CBS to chase their supplier again. These mirrors really are the business.

[lapsedtheorist]

FWIW I find the SPA mirrors to be good, but only because they are mounted on billet Eccles mounts and have DPR Motorsports clamps, per this photo… perhaps some solutions along these lines could help you?

[Dreamer]

These look great and would definitely fix the partial blocking of the passenger mirror. But, how do you use these with the doors off and the clear plexy wind deflectors in place?

[lapsedtheorist]

No idea… I don’t have those things so wasn’t able to optimise for them.

If the plexi wind deflectors fit on the regular door hinges with the same bolt pattern, and if the plexi is flat enough in that area, the same mounts would probably work just fine?

[Dreamer]

The wind deflectors are angled outward and curve in at the bottom. That’s why one set of mirrors affixed to the stanchions is preferred. They work with or without doors, with or without deflectors. No hassles switching back and forth either.

[Drakman]

My Roadsport had these mirrors fitted from the factory, while good for driving they didn't help much reversing and they created a huge blind spot for me.  I removed them and fitted lower mounted ones.

[SM25T]

They look like the 'caravan towing' mirrors fitted to EU export cars along with the extra rear silencer to suit EU regs.