VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND NEWER 1949-1954 side mirror installation

I have a 1953 1/2 ton pickup. Got some new stock style mirrors. They came with chrome machine screws. Does that mean there were nuts from the factory somewhere behind the fenders that might be covered over by a previous owner? How did they used to mount?
Any info?
Chris

Hi Chris -

A reinforcement plate was installed at the factory on the drivers side and the passenger side to mount the mirror arms. The reinforcements are above a ledge on the left and right inner cowls and difficult to see without a mirror or sticking your head far up behind the instrument panel. Remove the glovebox case to see the passenger side. They are predrilled to accept the bolts for the mirror arms. You may see nuts attached to the reinforcements; or the holes may be threaded; or the bolts may require nuts and lock washers - I'm not sure.

I feel that it is difficult to drill through the outside of the fender to hit the holes in the reinforcements. Other AD truck owners suggest inserting a spring punch through the correct two holes in the reinforcements and snap it to make bumps on the outside of the fender. Then set the mirror bracket over the impressions to fine tune the location to drill the holes in the fender. I agree with the suggestion.

A previous owner drilled from the outside of the drivers fender on my '54 and missed one of the holes in the reinforcement. As a result I have a third hole in the bracket.

> Passenger side reinforcement seen through the glovebox I could fit a nut onto only one of the mirror screws. See if your reinforcement was threaded(?)
> Closeup view of the passenger mirror reinforcement
> Drivers side mirror reinforcement with mirror screws removed(Tim Lederman)
> Incorrectly bored hole though drivers renforcement
> FAM mirror installation

Make sure that you have the correct mirror arms for your '53. The passenger side arm (RPO 210G) was the same for all years of AD trucks '47-'55. It has a screwy bend so that you can see the mirror through the lower corner of the windshield. The drivers side outside mirror arm for '47-'50 trucks is different than the arm for '51-'55 AD trucks because a vent window was added to the doors in 1951. The arm and mirror head were painted black.

> '47-'55 AD passenger mirror arm
> Passenger mirror mounted
> '47-'50 drivers mirror arm
> '51-'55 AD drivers mirror arm
> Correct angle of '51-'55AD drivers mirror

Between you and me, the factory outside mirrors are pretty bad. The passenger mirror doesn't provide much coverage. If you have a side mounted spare tire, it hides the view from the drivers side mirror. An inside mirror is necessary in modern traffic.

Good luck with your installation,

- Lonnie

Haven't heard from you, so I don't know if you read my post or if I answered your question.

UPDATE - Looking at photo of my passenger side reinforcement ... The previous owner may have missed both reinforcement holes on the passenger side when he drilled the holes. Looks like the original holes are "untouched" Maybe that's why I couldn't get a nut on the lower bolt. And why the view of the mirror is less that optimal.

- Lonnie

Thank you LonnieC for ALL of that info. You were VERY helpful. Haven't put the mirrors on yet. I appreciate all the time you put into my question.
Chris