Thread: Series 3 side mirrors

Originally Posted by pfillery

I need (or want) new side mirrors on my series 3 lwb hardtop.

The current mirrors are a bit tired. I have the type that is fitted on a stick attached to the bit where the windscreen pivots. This seems to be great on the drivers side, but on the passenger side the stick is the same length but puts the mirror in the wrong spot so you can't see it from the drivers seat properly. So someone has positioned the stick upright and the mirror is visible now through the actual windscreen rather than the side mirror. It works but obscures my peripheral view out the windscreen.

I'd like to try and keep as close to the original look as I can so what are my options? the way I see it I can either:

• Replace with the same sort of setup but with a longer stick bent to the right angle to be able to see it properly. Might look a little funny though. Or...
• Fit the tiny round mirrors on stalks to the front guards - standard fitment but are they any good to see with? Or...
• Go for the later style ones fitted to the top door hinge. Much more expensive mirror and a lot of cheap and nasty ones out there, plus having to drill out the hinge. Or...
• Leave off the passenger side one altogether. I believe they didn't even need one on the drivers side in the 70's, as long as they have the centre one. A lot of cars either had just one or no side mirrors.

Any thoughts o wise and powerful Land rover brains trust?

From a view aspect, the best solution is one on the hinge - the hinges are the same as the 90/110/Defender, so these can be readily fitted. Alternatively, an arm similar to the windscreen mounted one could be used/made and mounted either directly or via a small bracket to a hole drilled and tapped in the hinge.

A longer bracket is not going to help very much as long as it is fitted to the windscreen - If you have it where you can see it, the door hits it.

I would not use the small mirrors on the guards - they are curved and don't show much, and very prone to damage, usually damaging the guard top in the process.

Leave the mirror off? I think that this is not legal, although it will depend on the year of the vehicle - but I think you will find it is required for all Series 3. Driver's side outside mirror has been required on goods vehicles forever (had it on the Model T truck we had when I was small), and I think it became a requirement for all vehicles on both sides about when the Series 3 came in.

John

Go with the defer mirrors and if you can a set of hinges already drilled and they still look like they belong most landy wreckers get them but they go fast so you might need to pre order the next set From the wreckers your looking at $100 + depends on how well you know the place or they know you

Originally Posted by JDNSW

From a view aspect, the best solution is one on the hinge - the hinges are the same as the 90/110/Defender, so these can be readily fitted. Alternatively, an arm similar to the windscreen mounted one could be used/made and mounted either directly or via a small bracket to a hole drilled and tapped in the hinge.

A longer bracket is not going to help very much as long as it is fitted to the windscreen - If you have it where you can see it, the door hits it.

I would not use the small mirrors on the guards - they are curved and don't show much, and very prone to damage, usually damaging the guard top in the process.

Leave the mirror off? I think that this is not legal, although it will depend on the year of the vehicle - but I think you will find it is required for all Series 3. Driver's side outside mirror has been required on goods vehicles forever (had it on the Model T truck we had when I was small), and I think it became a requirement for all vehicles on both sides about when the Series 3 came in.

John

I must admit that I like the idea of being able to see out that side especially for parking or unparking, when driving nobody overtakes that side except the suicidal motorcyclists as I'm always driving in the slow lane as is the way for us series 3 owners. Not sure about the laws though, I've had several cars post series 3 era with only one mirror and a couple with no drivers mirror either, the latest of which was 93 model.

I've seen a pic of a series with a very long shaft for the passenger mirror but I think it would look a bit funny and probably get caught on things (like pedestrians heads)

I have defender mirrors on mine and they don't look out of place

The mirrors on the front wing tops, very hard to see anything as the move around from the vibration

Mrs hh

I had mirrors on the guards on my 109 and they were USELESS.

I want to put those rectangular truck type mirrors, that are mounted top and bottom, on Bella. I know its not traditional but I think good mirrors are important. They're also pretty sturdy and can stand up to a fair bit of brushing. I think they're called "west coast" style mirrors.

Originally Posted by '76swb

I had mirrors on the guards on my 109 and they were USELESS.

I want to put those rectangular truck type mirrors, that are mounted top and bottom, on Bella. I know its not traditional but I think good mirrors are important. They're also pretty sturdy and can stand up to a fair bit of brushing. I think they're called "west coast" style mirrors.

I have a Series 2a (mobile parts - well, was mobile) fitted with these - It is clear that the door skins do not stand the mounts. If you do fit these, you need to take serious steps to reinforce the doorskins near the mount points. This will be needed not only to prevent cracking of the skin, but to stop the mirrors vibrating. In my view, the 110 mirrors are a far better solution - they are almost as big, and being mounted on the hinge they do not suffer from the door vibration to any extent.

John

Originally Posted by The ho har's

I have defender mirrors on mine and they don't look out of place

The mirrors on the front wing tops, very hard to see anything as the move around from the vibration

Mrs hh

Pics please Mrs. hh

My Dormobile has the small round mirrors mounted on the windscreen hinges too, the passenger side looks like it's been bent numerous times to improve vision but it's still useless.They must have been fitted to the wings originally, looking at the holes and twisted metal where they've been ripped off. I'm thinking of putting defender mirrors on it also but wasn't sure how they would look.

Originally Posted by '76swb

I had mirrors on the guards on my 109 and they were USELESS.

I want to put those rectangular truck type mirrors, that are mounted top and bottom, on Bella. I know its not traditional but I think good mirrors are important. They're also pretty sturdy and can stand up to a fair bit of brushing. I think they're called "west coast" style mirrors.

I had those truck mirrors on one of my Games and got rid of them as soon as possible. They stick out too far, can't be bent out of the way if you need to get through somewhere narrow and they hurt like hell when you hit your head on them when doing any work around the car. The other Game had rectangular ones mounted on the guards and as stated they are useless as mirrors as they vibrate so much you can't see anything in them. I now have the defender style, mounted on the hinges, on both of them and they are great.

Have a look at the prices for them on line in the UK. Paddocks, John Craddocks or LR Series should have good prices and they arrive pretty quickly.

TimJ.