RE: Changing Mirrors
Thursday 16th January 2003
Changing Mirrors
Andy Holden tells us how he converted the wing mirrors on his Griffith to the newer VW type
Discussion
Here are a couple of pics of Griff SE’s with the Veedub mirrors that give a wider view of the car than I could get with mine still stuck in the garage. Also shows what they look like in different colours:
Rosso Paul’s car no 70:
Johno’s car:
It was partly Johno's car that inspired me. Thanks for the pics gents (he said in a slightly guilty should I have asked first before nicking them off your profiles....!)
Rosso Paul’s car no 70:
Johno’s car:
It was partly Johno's car that inspired me. Thanks for the pics gents (he said in a slightly guilty should I have asked first before nicking them off your profiles....!)
RCA, you lazy bugger! The whole point of the guide was to enable you to do it yourself!!
None of it was difficult other than figuring out how things worked/fitted together/came off/or where they could be bought from. And hopefully I've explained those bits for you now!
Having said that, if you pay me enough to give up the day job, I'll certainly consider doing the Chimaera for you
I wonder if someone can do a photoshop mock up of a Chimaera with VW mirrors...
None of it was difficult other than figuring out how things worked/fitted together/came off/or where they could be bought from. And hopefully I've explained those bits for you now!
Having said that, if you pay me enough to give up the day job, I'll certainly consider doing the Chimaera for you
I wonder if someone can do a photoshop mock up of a Chimaera with VW mirrors...
Great job Andy.
I'll be doing this to my Chimp soon (when I get time between going to work and renovating the house
)
Do you by any chance have pix of the hole you had to dril in the mount? I don't quit efollow. Perhaps all wil become clear when I have mine in bits in front of me.
As mentioned before, I think my ECU will need to be changed (or I'll use a few relays to achieve the same)
Anyway, Well done and thanks for posting the story.
Plipton
I'll be doing this to my Chimp soon (when I get time between going to work and renovating the house
) Do you by any chance have pix of the hole you had to dril in the mount? I don't quit efollow. Perhaps all wil become clear when I have mine in bits in front of me.
As mentioned before, I think my ECU will need to be changed (or I'll use a few relays to achieve the same)
Anyway, Well done and thanks for posting the story.
Plipton
Thanks Mr Plipton.
The hole in the block - if you look at the pic above that shows the blocks painted, you can see a hole between the screw threads on the top of the block. On the block thats upside down, you can see it on the side of the circular bit that goes into the recess.
Basically, it doesn't matter too much where the hole is on the flat top of the block, as long as its not too close to the edge and it is reasonably central ish to align with the cables coming out of the bottom of the mirror. The top flat surface of the block is completely covered by the mirror.
The more critical bit is where the hole is on the underside of the bock - this is because you need the wire hole in the door to miss the brass nut embedded in the door. If you drill from the underside of the block close to the edge, aiming for the drill to come out roughly in the middle of the top of the block, you'll be ok.
Its easier to understand when you have a mirrorless car with recess, a block and a mirror in your hands!
The hole in the block - if you look at the pic above that shows the blocks painted, you can see a hole between the screw threads on the top of the block. On the block thats upside down, you can see it on the side of the circular bit that goes into the recess.
Basically, it doesn't matter too much where the hole is on the flat top of the block, as long as its not too close to the edge and it is reasonably central ish to align with the cables coming out of the bottom of the mirror. The top flat surface of the block is completely covered by the mirror.
The more critical bit is where the hole is on the underside of the bock - this is because you need the wire hole in the door to miss the brass nut embedded in the door. If you drill from the underside of the block close to the edge, aiming for the drill to come out roughly in the middle of the top of the block, you'll be ok.
Its easier to understand when you have a mirrorless car with recess, a block and a mirror in your hands!
I had considered this as an alternative to re-wiring/messing with ECUs as soon as I opened up the VW mirror.
Unfortunately, whilst the diameter of the two motor units is the same, the depth makes it impossible to get the Citroen ones to fit the VW housing without major modification. In addition, the mounting holes do not align.
My GF had the door mirror destroyed on her Freelander at the same time I was messing with the TVR ones. Amazingly the mirror motor units from the Land Rover appear to be identical to the Citreon ones. (What really narked me was that a complete Freelander mirror is only £60+VAT from a main dealer. It is huge compared to the VW ones which cost £140+VAT. How can companies justify these price differences?!).
Nice thought though!
Unfortunately, whilst the diameter of the two motor units is the same, the depth makes it impossible to get the Citroen ones to fit the VW housing without major modification. In addition, the mounting holes do not align.
My GF had the door mirror destroyed on her Freelander at the same time I was messing with the TVR ones. Amazingly the mirror motor units from the Land Rover appear to be identical to the Citreon ones. (What really narked me was that a complete Freelander mirror is only £60+VAT from a main dealer. It is huge compared to the VW ones which cost £140+VAT. How can companies justify these price differences?!).
Nice thought though!
adove said: Niiiice! Looks kinda 'pert' on those sticky up mirror stalks. Top job.
Would you believe I'm in the market for a Griff/Chim nearside mirror glass (inc element/wiring) if anybody happens to have a discarded set lying about!! :cheekyb'stard!:
You should check the classifieds then, mate. You never know what might be lurking in the TVR parts section. Although I fear you may be a little late you might want to drop the bloke an e mail just in case....
victormeldrew said:
I'm considering this mod to my Chimaera (having broken off a mirror trying to remove it for touching up). Its a 96 model, so my query is ... exactly what do you do with relays to make the older mirror ecu work?
Search this site for Andy (Griff2be) 's detailed write up on this topic. As I recall the electrical side of it was rather a minefield & success (or not) all depended on the age of your car & some other specifics.. and what the weather's like.. plus what you had for dinner...
Regards, Ed
Gassing Station | Griffith | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff