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Mirrors

 
These are the Mirrors that came with the D&R kit.  There is not any nice locators for the motors from the Fiero like some other kits however the fiberglass is very good quality. Since I want it to look original and I wanted the detail of "break-away" mirrors I decided to attempt to convert the one piece mirrors into two piece.
   
This is the original Fiero mirrors and motor assembly.  Rather than trying to snap the mirror on and off I removed the glass from each mirror.  This reveals three screw holes used during the manufactures assembly.  At the factory they mounted the glass in the mirrors last by gluing it on. This is what I plan on doing do minimize the risk of damaging the pivots. Since the Mirror has no mounting location I filled the bottom of the Mirror bucket with Duraglass
I then set the Original assembly with the metal mounting stand with the mirrors at the middle settings "Neutral"   Meaning they have room to go up and down and left and right. After the Duraglass setup I unscrewed the mirror motor assembly from the stand leaving a perfect mounting location.
I reinforced the mounting brackets with fiberglass  
After closely looking at an original I marked a perfect line around the mirrors so that I could separate it with a straight cut. I followed my lines and used a metal hacksaw blade to make a flush cut
I then cut 1/8" steel plates to reinforce the mounting points the is the other side you can see the metal is recessed about a 1/4"
I filled in the area with Duraglass.  To make it stronger I chopped up some fiberglass and mixed it in.  I then drilled out the holes matching the holes I made in the steel. I fitted four 1/4" bolts and placed a spring between the bolt and the inside of the mount.  This will allow for the flex the break-away mirror need
I secured the bolts with a temporary nut I then cut two more1/8" steel plates just enough to connect two more permanent nuts.  The 2 I placed on first simply provide me with the 1/4" spacing I will need for the other side of the mirror.  I tacked welded the nuts to the plate.  Since these nuts will be glassed in I did not want the chance of them breaking free in the fiberglass later thus being useless.
I then placed Duraglass inside the other side of the mirror and then pressed the two pieces together.  After it hardened I unbolted the mirror.  Filled in the area with Duraglass leaving the two bolt holes.  Before I did this I drilled a larger hole for the wires to feed through. I then bolted the assembly together
Depending on how much I tightened the bolts on the springs determines the amount of "flex" the mirror has.  Because there are 4 bolts there is no need for any guides.  I still have to finish off the mirrors and place a plastic bushing between the pieces however you can see the flex of the joint in this picture.
Finished and ready for primer  
All "primered" up and with the plastic cushions installed The plastic cushions is simply a piece to black ABS plastic cut, sanded & polished
Looks pretty nice if you ask me You can see the flex the assembly has now
I can vary the flex by either using softer or tighter springs and how much I tighten the screws. On final assembly I'll use lock tight to ensure they do not come loose after I do the final adjustment
   
I have included some close-up images of the Mirror of a real car  
   
   



 


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