Morris Minor - mirrors
Symptoms of problem : No wing-mirrors - small interior mirror - poor visibility to rear
Vehicle : 1957 Morris Minor 1000 Pick-up (LCV) - a CKD MM built in Petone, New Zealand. (part Series II, part Minor 1000 I think!)
Time : 1 hour Difficulty : 4/10 Parts required : New or secondhand 'Lucas-style' wing mirror. Cost : £13 approx per mirror - some suppliers are a lot cheaper than others for the same item - check prices carefully.
Special tools required : Nil
Note : when ordering or sourcing a suitable mirror for fitting to the driver's door quarter-light panel, make sure you buy a 'Left-hand side wing mirror' because they are mounted upside down (actually sideways) on the driver's door.
The usual place to fit a wing mirror, other than on the wings themselves (these are too small and far away to be of any real use!) is to the driver's side quarter-light panel - the small triangular panel just in front of the quarter-light, which is held in place by 2 screws, one outside, one inside. The problem is that the mounting bolt of the new mirror is about 15mm long - not long enough to reach fully through both sides of the small triangular panel when it is in position. Also, you cannot remove this triangular panel, drill it and mount the mirror then remount it on the door - the mirror bolt/nut will prevent you sliding the triangular panel back into position. Therefore, shortening the mounting bolt is not an option.
It is therefore necessary to drill an 8mm hole on the outer side of the triangular panel, but cut a 3/4" hole on the inside. This allows the triangular panel to be remounted in position on the door, then the mirror is bolted to it. The mirror mounting bolt passes through the outer hole, then the washer and securing nut are tightened onto the thread from the inside, using the 3/4" hole to allow a 13mm socket to reach and tighten the nut. I have 2 different 13mm sockets and luckily one of them was just thin enough to fit inside the 3/4" hole and reach the nut.
A 3/4" rubber blanking grommet (painted) covers this hole
Note - in my experience, this 'Lucas' type of mirror is not much use - they look good but are not really large enough to provide a useful rear view.