Body / Glass: Interesting Observation At car Show....Avanti

[Hawklover]

As many of you know many Studebaker Avantis have outside rear view mirrors. Some on the drivers door, some with the passengers door. Some on the fenders.

I happened to get into a conversation with an owner of a '63 R-2 at a show. He showed me something I had never even thought of............when he purchased the car it had two mirrors on the doors.

Both in the same position.......on the drivers side no problem, on the passenger side although in the identical position, from the drivers seat the mirror was useless........due to the windshield post.

The previous owner never though to actually sit in the car before drilling the holes.....so now the current owner can either keep the pass mirror to balance the look........or fill paint and redrill......and you know the paint will never match.........the paint being on the car for almost 38 years.

Now when I will go to shows I will keep an eye out for the position of that mirror on the pass side door.

[sbca96]

Yes, the post is in the way making the pass mirror almost useless. I got "flag" mirrors
that sit out from the car a little ways and it helps some, but its split by the thin post for
the wind wing. When I got the Avanti it had the mirrors on the fenders, I had intended
to keep, but when I lived in a condo years ago, some drunk fool broke one off.

Tom

[WCP]

Since I'm "vertically challenged" and have to sit closer to the steering wheel than most, it is an even greater problem. I resolved this by adding a stick-on convex mirror over the passenger side mirror. This works well by providing a full view of the adjacent lane or shoulder and ditch. You do have to adjust for the reduced size of approaching vehicles. If you don't like the effect, it is easy to remove with a razor blade. The convex mirror or convex replacement mirror that SI sells does not have sufficient convexity to work for me.

[Chris Pile]

My Wagonaire is the same way. The left side mirror is useless.

[Retired]

Our 63 Avanti mirrors are on the fenders and work just great. I expect they were installed by the dealer there. no signs of having been relocated. ther dang interior mirror ghives me fits. even with the wave washers per the factory letter it still want's to turn down. vibration I guess. any suggestions.

[Billy Shears]

I've run into this problem myself. I have a 1975 Avanti II and with the seat adjusted all the way back, which is where I need it, the drivers side mirror is neatly bisected by the wing vent post. I have to move my head a bit to the left or right to get an unobstructed view. The car initially had no passenger side mirror, but I added one when I got the car repainted, and simply mounted it to correspond to the driver's side mirror. It's placed perfectly, and I can get a clear view of it through the wing vent. But that's a hell of a way to mount a set of side mirrors: so the driver's side -- the more important one -- is the less well placed of the two. Still they were positioned at the factory, so there they are.

Studebaker Avantis have no correct position, as they were mounted by the dealer, not the factory (and I've seen a couple of Studebaker Avantis with none at all), and so might be placed anywhere. I've seen them in several different positions on the fenders and the doors. A couple of years ago, when I bought my '63 Avanti, I was delighted to find the mirrors had been placed in what I thought would be the ideal position: on the doors, with the mirror lens aft of the vent window post. This, I thought, would be perfect: with the mirror as close as possible to the eye (better that way, since these old mirrors have small lenses), and with the lens unobstructed by the wing vent posts. Alas, what I thought would be ideal turned out not to be. It is good for the driver's side, but on the passenger side, the blasted mirror head won't swivel far enough inward. It's useless to the driver. In that position, it cannot be adjusted to give him a view of the road behind.

Well, as it happens, I have to repaint the '63 anyway, so I'll doubtless move the mirrors when I do. I have thought of moving them onto the fenders. I've seen pictures of Avantis with them there, and I think they look really sharp and sporty that way, but there are two problems: first, with the mirrors so far forward, I'm thinking those small lenses mounted all the way out there will give me a rather poor field of view, and second, any time they get knocked out of position (something almost guaranteed to happen when anyone gets under the hood, and they're in the way) they'll be a real pain in the butt to readjust. Since I'm not restoring a show car, and I'm not hung up on stock appearance, I considered getting some of those Talbot bullet mirrors. That would solve the readjustment issue, since you lock them down once they're adjusted, but their lenses are the same size as the Stude strato vue mirrors, so that still leaves me with the small field of view if I used a fender mount.

I've just about made my mind up to go with a different style of mirror, from a sixties vintage sporty car, so they won't look out of place on the Avanti like modern mirrors would, and mount them on the door. I think I've found the ideal ones as well: http://http://www.centerlinealfa.com...523+1321915022 -- a pair of Vitaloni mirrors like the ones used on mid-sixties Alfa Romeos. They have the appropriate period, sporty look, and the way they adjust, they can be mounted on the door, with the head aft of the wing vent post, and they'll definitely turn inward enough to let the driver get a good view with the passenger side mirror, so there's no danger of buying and installing them, and then finding they won't work. They even feature a larger lens, which would give a better field of view. Only problem is they have the Alfa Romeo logo on them. If I can't cover it up somehow, or grind it off and rechrome the stem (maybe too expensive to be worthwhile), I suppose I can live with it, but I'd be happier if it weren't there.

[Hawklover]

Let us know the specific model number.......the link you provided does not work.

[Billy Shears]

Let us know the specific model number.......the link you provided does not work.

Hmmm... Can't imagine why, though I see you are correct, I pasted the url in the "insert lin" box. It seems to work now that I have just pasted it into the reply box though.

http://www.centerlinealfa.com/cgi-lo...523+1321915022

[Hawklover]

Bill, will this screw directly into the holes for the Stratoline mirror, or is there a plate that goes first on the door, then the Alfa mirror goes on last?

Hmmm... Can't imagine why, though I see you are correct, I pasted the url in the "insert lin" box. It seems to work now that I have just pasted it into the reply box though.

http://www.centerlinealfa.com/cgi-lo...523+1321915022

[Billy Shears]

Bill, will this screw directly into the holes for the Stratoline mirror, or is there a plate that goes first on the door, then the Alfa mirror goes on last?

Impossible to say for sure without knowing how far apart the screw holes are. I think they are 3" on the strato vue, and I think they are 3 3/4" on this one -- I saw a mirror like this, complete with Alfa emblem, elsewhere, and I believe that's how far apart the holes were, but there could be more than one company making mirrors like this, and their specs maybe different, so I don't know for sure. The visible screw heads on the Vitaloni mirror would seem to indicate that it mounts the same way though: you simply mount it directly to the door with screw that go into holes drilled in the door, and there's no plate, just a rubber gasket that goes between the mirror and the door. The only difference is that if you were putting these on an Alfa, you'd use sheet metal screws. On an Avanti, since the doors are fiberglass, you'll need a set of rubber well nuts, and the screws that go with them.

This mirror might not suit you if the holes have different spacing, and you don't want to drill new holes in your doors. Or, if you don't mind, and if they are farther apart, you could mount the Vitaloni mirror, by using one of the original holes, drilling an extra one, and the mirror base would cover the extra hole from the strato vue.

Again, in my case, since I'm not stuck on perfect original condition, and I've got to repaint my doors anyway, it's not a big concern for me, and this will give me a more practical mirror that still looks appropriate on a 1960s car.