Placement of the driving mirror(s)

I have looked at lots of pictures of speedsters on the net
as regards this and have come away more confused than ever.

I have seen the one-mirror setup and a two-mirror setup ; mirrors
placed on the driver's door, or both doors ; mirrors placed just in front of the windscreen on the drivers's fender, or both fenders.
In one or two cases, I saw two mirrors more than halfway down on both fenders - truck style!

I know different mirrors were used on different 356 models ie Ponto Stabil , Aero etc, but what was the original Aero configuration and placement for the speedster, or did it vary during the speedster years of production?

Anyone have any thoughts on this?
Mitch

I may be wrong here but mirrors were not mandated back then, thus owners who wanted mirrors placed them where they wanted, it wasn't specified by Porsche during the early Speedster days, i.e., locations weren't standardized. What I was told by a former Speedster racer is that they liked to place their mirrors on the fender so when racing they don't need to take their eyes far off the racing lines to check their mirrors. For more functional use, though, I suppose placing the mirrors closer to the driver would give you a better day to day view behind and beside you. I will be mounting two GT mirrors. I was told to use the trunk seam as a location to align them at.

I think Erik's right about Porsche mirror placement - there was no set standard, either for style or location.
I have two Aero mirrors mounted on the front fenders. The advantage of this placement is that the mirrors are seen through the windshield, so when you've got your top and side-curtains in place you can still easily see the outside mirrors.
It works for me, but there are lots of other ways to go.

Correctomundo - Porsche only installed the single internal rear view mirror. Dealers or owners installed aftermarket mirrors so location and type depended on the installer or customer preference.

Just remember, the closer the mirror is to the driver, the larger the field of view to the rear. As long as we are talking about mirrors, does any know if a convex rear view mirror was ever offered for the center post location? I like the look of the single side mirror, and it would offer a little more rear ward vision. Eddie

Eddie,
It probably would not cost too much to have your rearview mirror glass replaced with a convex mirror (wide-angle). I looked into having my right side-view mirror done and found a couple of glass/mirror shops here that would do it, although I've yet to make the change...kinda got used to it the way it was.

My JPS has both right and left mirrors and when I first sat in the car the right mirror was useless. It would not turn inward enough to enable me to see the right edge of the car or even the road behind. I called John Steele and he said that because all those mirrors are left side mirrors there would be a problem. I kind of solved the problem by getting one of those small circular convex mirrors and sticking it to the surface of the right hand mirror. It helps somewhat but the images are really small. I didn't want to remove the mirror and move it because the thought of screwing more holes was really ugly.

Bruce

Thanks for the tip John, I'll give it a try. Eddie

Bruce, just to clarify, do you think the placement of the mirror forward or back would have helped with the right mirror

Bruce,
Unfasten the mirror from the Aero base and take it to a glass/mirror shop. Ask them to put a convex mirror in place of the flat one (or, if they can't do that, afix a convex mirror ON your existing mirror). It will be a lot more useful.

John and Steve,

I don't think placement of the mirror forward or rearward would help
and John I did place a small circular convex mirror over the existing mirror, helps somewhat but the images are small. I wonder why the manufacturer didn't make a right side mirror? Opportunity out there for someone I guess. Bruce

Hello all.....

I had this same problem with my car and solved it before I read this string - I probably would have done the same thing again.

Simply remove just the mirror itself from the right side mount, leaving the mount attached to the car. You'll see that the mirror has a ball-fitting on the back side (opposite to the glass) which fits into a corresponding cup on the mount. The back of the mirror interferes with the lip of the cup as you swing it over to line up down the right side of the car. Holding the mirror in place in the cup once the screw is removed should allow you to see where material should be removed to allow it to swing more toward the left. Use a Dremel tool with a heavy duty cut-off wheel fitted to gently "massage" the drivers side of the cup to remove a little of the material from the lip. This should allow the mirror to be moved farther to the left and let you adjust it properly. Don't get wild with that Dremel! Just take your time and remove a little material at a time, re-fitting the mirror between tries to see how it lines up and how the "line" of the cup fits against the back of the mirror. If done right, it should allow you to see down the side of the car nicely, and the lip of the cup should be contoured to the back of the mirror. If you're good with that Dremel, it'll look like it was supposed to be trimmed that way!

Gordon

Gordon:

I have the same problem and was contemplating the Dremel solution, but hearing from someone else who has done it really helps.

Thanks for the tip.

Bob

Gordon,

Good tip. Sounds like a rainy day project for me. Good excuse to get out in the garage. Thanks again, Bruce

Bruce: Before "dremeling", Loosen the mirror locknut with a pin wrench, turn the mirror left to where you think it should be and slowly tighten the locknut. I got lucky and got just enough to make it work. Worth a try

BD

Gordon...I did this sometime a go with success , as you mentioned taking ones time is the trick to a professional job!

Alan M

On the driver's door , is where I put it . Go to www.speedster-club.nl/porsche_drawing.html looks like factory specs Just my two cents worth . Bart