1956 Passenger Side Mirror

[Eric Falk]

Has anyone put a right (passenger) side mirror on a 56 Sedan DeVille?  If so, what did you use? 

If anyone has ideas how to proceed while keeping the look "period correct" please let me know.

Thanks!

[Otto Skorzeny]

I considered putting a driver's side mirror on the passenger side of my '56 just to satisfy my sense of symmetry but it would be pointless since it couldn't be seen by the driver.

[jaxops]

I've only seen the truck-style mirrors added for Cadillac ambulances.  I put a side mirror on my 70 Electra and now I wish that I hadn't.  It comes off on the next repaint.

[Eric Falk]

After considerable thought and research I have decided against putting a mirror on the passenger side.  I learned that a drivers side mirror would not work on the passenger side because it's design is specific to the left side.  If I revised the design and installed it in the same location (fore and aft) as the drivers side it would be near impossible to see from the position I sit in as the driver.

Thus the only feasible alternative would be to installl two newer styled mirrors in new locations that could be viewed easily by the driver.  That's more work than I'm interested in tackling.

Thanks to Otto and Mark for your input.

Eric

[D.Yaros]

[An interesting topic, as I am considering the same for my 55.  I want one for safety purposes.  I have found a supplier for the right hand mirror; and it is not a left hand mirror installed on the right side!  rather it is a clone of the left hand mirror, with proper markings, maed specifically for use on the right hand side.  What has kept me from doing so is the price..

[Otto Skorzeny]

Believe me, there will be no added safety benefit since, if you mount it even with the other one, you won't be able to see it. Looking over your shoulder gives the best unobstructed view of any car I have ever driven.

Wraparound rear windows are great!

[P W Allen CLC# 20193]

Yes, Otto is correct. I went ahead and installed a right side mirror on my 53. Totally useless as a driving aid. I do like the look of the duel mirrors though. From a functional standpoint, purely cosmetic.

[Otto Skorzeny]

Adjust it so your co-pilot can see out of it and give you instructions.

[Glen]

When I bought a right hand mirror for my 68 ELDO from the dealer it came with a template for drilling the door.  I compared it with the left hand mirror and found it was set about 6 inches further back on the door than the left hand mirror.  So I made my own template and drilled the door to match the left one. 

What a mistake.  First I discovered there is a brace in the way and it was really hard to put the nuts on between the brace and the door skin.  Then after it was installed I discovered I could only see about half of the mirror because the A pillar was in the way. 

Later I moved the mirror to the proper position.  I found the brace had holes for the mounting bolts of the mirror, so the installation was much easier.  I also found the mirror was now fully visible. 

I then added a parabolic replacement mirror on top of the old flat mirror. 

It’s an excellent driving aid.  When adjusted right I can see anything in the right lane with no problem.  It’s a definite improvement to the looks of the car as well as driving safety. 

Glen

[D.Yaros]

Well, based on all I am reading, I have formed 2 conclusions with regard to installing a rt hand mirror on my 55:
   1- Since it did not come with one from the factory, I can mount it in any location that works.
   2- Test potential location with some mirror first, before spending big bucks on a properly marked rt hand clone, only find out it is useless!

[Otto Skorzeny]

That's pretty much it.

Hell, the driver's side mirrors on these cars are practically useless as well - being so small. The over the shoulder glance is the only way to drive - left or right.

[Bob Hoffmann CLC#96]

There seems to be a lot of mis-information here. I have RH mirrors on ALL my cars & they do help. I may not have a total view but it's over one half & lets me see the idiots riding in my blind spot. Dave, there WAS  a factory RH mirror offered in 1955. Try one, you might like it.  Glen, my 68 Eldo mirror is 31/2" from the door edge on the LH & 7" from the door edge on the RH side. I just had the car out yesterday & I can  see out of it perfectly. No RH mirrors were offered in 56 of course. However, if I owned one I'd have one if for no other reason but to balance out the car. I think it's a real travesty that Cadillac & GM didn't get serious about RH mirrrs. Would anyone buy a car today without one if it wasn't federally mandated??? I think not! Bob

[Ted in Olympia WA]

I agree, it does not make sense why people did not demand this a lot sooner.  No one would drive a big truck without a right side mirror even in the 30's but cars continue not to have them until the 80's.

Other things that I don't understand are overdrive transmissions (I know some had them but it was rare and hard to use, how hard would it have been to make 3 a bit of an overdrive), 1,000,000 mile speedometer (there has been arguments over is this original miles since day one), and good sway bars (got to be the biggest improvement in handling ever invented that does not effect ride quality).

These four things would have been cheap to do and should have been part of every car back to the 30's.  Maybe even seatbelts?

TED

[Otto Skorzeny]

All that crap costs extra regardless of how cheap each one seems individually. Customers didn't want to pay for something they didn't think they needed. When Ford and Chevrolet were competing in the 1930s, a price cut of $10 -$20 per car was a major deal Each one had to match or better the other. You couldn't compete if your car had an extra mirror that cost $2 and a sway bar that cost $10.

How often did one actually need to look in mirror in the first place? There were hardly any roads to drive on let alone cars on the ones that did exist. People took short trips and drove 30-45mph. Not a lot of lane changing or sudden maneuvers that would warrant a glance in the mirror or that would result in unsteady handling that a sway bar would help.

Driving 50 - 70mph was done out on straight midwestern roads with no traffic for miles in front or behind. No need for extra mirrors there.

[Bob Hoffmann CLC#96]

Forrest, just cause Ted mentioned the 30's don't focus on that period. Lets fast foward to the 50's & 60's. That's really what this discussion is about. Things were getting crowded on the roads. I was there, you were probably were  not.  So... as strongly as you feel RH mirrors were/are  not needed, I feel just as strongly that they were. Again, one of my points, would you buy a new car without one if it saved you money & were able to do it???  Bob

[Otto Skorzeny]

Bob, I'm not saying they aren't needed, I'm just pointing out that they weren't exactly a no-brainer from the early days of the automobile. By the 1950s, of course they were needed but look at the ridiculous mirrors they were using. Even the driver's side mirrors are woefully inadequate due to their small size.

I like the symmetry of two mirrors myself - that's why I considered putting a passenger side mirror on my '56. The fact is that it will not be visible or useful. Even if it's set back another 4 inches (which would really get my OCD need for symmetry out of whack) it's hardly worth it for the limited usefulness of such a small viewing area. To rely on it for any maneuver would be foolish. The pillarless hardtop design of my '56 CDV leaves no blind spots when looking over the right shoulder.  It's much safer than those dinky mirrors could ever be.

Yes these cars should have come equipped with 2 side mirrors but they should have been at least 6"x9" in size.

[Eric Falk]

[An interesting topic, as I am considering the same for my 55.  I want one for safety purposes.  I have found a supplier for the right hand mirror; and it is not a left hand mirror installed on the right side!  rather it is a clone of the left hand mirror, with proper markings, maed specifically for use on the right hand side.  What has kept me from doing so is the price..

Okay, I need to know...... what's the cost of the right side mirror?

Eric

[D.Yaros]

Okay, I need to know...... what's the cost of the right side mirror?

Eric

Don't quote me on this, ha!  I seem to recall a factory repro goes for around $148!!!

[Bob Hoffmann CLC#96]

Don't quote me on this, ha!  I seem to recall a factory repro goes for around $148!!!

I realize everyones financial situation is different, but $148 for a new repro mirror ready to install is a GIFT. You couldn't restore a free used on for that. Bob

[Steve Passmore]

Other things that I don't understand are overdrive transmissions (I know some had them but it was rare and hard to use, how hard would it have been to make 3 a bit of an overdrive),

TED

Ted, I think theres a good technical reason for not being able to make 3rd gear an overdrive, It has to turn minimum 1 to 1 engine to final drive, To make the top gear perform more than 1 to 1 it would have to be smaller than the mail shaft itself, this of coarse cant happen.
The technology was not there to add another separate gear running at more than 1 to 1 as in modern cars, those boxes are much more complex than our old 3 speeders.  I really wish GM had made more use of overdrives in the 30s though.