wing mirror again

[james280779]

hey guys,

i am have been looking for a r/h mirror for an early S1 for ages, the manual ball/ socket type.
I have tried absolutely everyone (thanks for the help guys) but no-one has one and the french company that made them has folded.
i know its a long shot but does anyone have one laying around or have any ideas of a suitable replacement thats not going to cost the earth..

Its due for MOT soon so really getting desperate

thanks,
Ps sorry could not make Kent meet but still at rallytech being made better than new.

[S3_David]

My first post and can offer something useful! Have just replaced old ball and socket mirrors with a set of Mark 1 MX5 jobs so have the old pair floating around in the garage. Drop me a mail through my profile and I can send.

[F908 Tim]

Hi David.

I looked at an MX5 only this lunchtime and thought they looked a good replacement for the S1/2 mirrors inparticular.
How did you get on with cutting out the old mount from the door and fitting the new?
Lot of filling and touch up or does the Mazda mounting plate cover all? How to they secure?

Info please...any pics?

[s3_david]

The easy bit was removing the old mirrors. After "unpopping" the mirrors there are two rusty self tappers through the door (hidden under glued accordion rubber)to undo. A sharp tap with that finely honed tool (hammer) then broke/unbonded the plate from inside the door. Having cleaned up the hole I taped over then filled with P40 from the inside - dirty job and fibreglass shards to remove from hands after. Then tidied up from the outside with finer P38 filler and rubbed down. The Mazda plate covers do not hide the hole so if you don't do this you end up seeing a couple of mm top and bottom. New mirror simple to fit with a couple of M5 or 6 bolts from the outside and lots of swearing and considerably more than two nuts inside. Tape them into a spanner is the trick and start screwing from the outside. Spray painting the small area was the worst job and i'm still not happy with the joins you can see. But then again the whole car could probably do with a respray. Mazda mirrors £70, a bit of filler, some Halfrauds surprisingly good match spray and a days work - job done! Once I set up Fotango I'll add photos to this post.

[Colin Blues2]

Thanks for that - the original mirrors are cr*p.

Looks like I'll be trawling around for some mirrors. Where did you get those mirrors for £70. the best I have seen is £90 each side for new ones!!!!!!!

Colin

[S3_David]

I took the second hand route and used a couple of those breaker search sites. A guy in Birmingham came back the same day with a pair at quite a good price. One of the bolts was seized but managed to take them to bits, service them and respray. Will post a couple of photos over the weekend. There was another breaker in Romford who was quite helpful but had nothing at the time. End result is well worth the effort and the accuracy of carving people up is hugely increased!

[F908 Tim]

Thanks for the post David...It dosent sound too tricky apart from getting the former mirrors hole sorted properly.
Yes please, Photos

[S3_David]

A pair on ebay at the moment at 51 notes and two days to go. As I said the filling is pretty easy, it's the blending in of the paint.

[mrufcs1]

I may be wrong but I thought the S1 mirrors were supplied by 'Richard Grant' (who I think now go under RGA). They were big on supplying bolt on go faster parts for '80's cars making spoilers and body kits for Capri's etc. It may be worth giving them a call ? The other thought I had a while back is they look very similar to that fitted to Ford ka's. Similar shape mirror with the flexible rubber. Maybe one would adapt easy ?

[s3_david]

Photos as promised - if I've worked out how to attach



You can now see the passenger mirror!

>> Edited by s3_david on Friday 13th May 22:51