'73 Outside Rear View Mirror Repair

[Peter G.]

On a friends new '73 Corvette just purchased...the outside rear view mirror won't stay in place. Just the chrome face moves too easily and won't stay in position.

I have heard that you can "soak" the face glass that is on the chrome in some kind of solvent to loosen the adhesive holding the glass and tighten a screw behind the glass. Once tighten then you can re-glue the mirror glass back into the chrome housing.

Has anyone done this type of repair? If so what is the procedure? What kind of solvent? Acetone? Laquer thinner?

Thanks to all for any help here.

It is a original mirror and mirror glass so I would like to keep it.

[Joe L.]

Re: '73 Outside Rear View Mirror Repair

On a friends new '73 Corvette just purchased...the outside rear view mirror won't stay in place. Just the chrome face moves too easily and won't stay in position.

I have heard that you can "soak" the face glass that is on the chrome in some kind of solvent to loosen the adhesive holding the glass and tighten a screw behind the glass. Once tighten then you can re-glue the mirror glass back into the chrome housing.

Has anyone done this type of repair? If so what is the procedure? What kind of solvent? Acetone? Laquer thinner?

Thanks to all for any help here.

It is a original mirror and mirror glass so I would like to keep it.

Peter------


This is a very common problem. Yes, the mirror glass can be removed as you mentioned. However, there is no screw behind the glass to tighten; it's a little more complicated than that. There was an article in the Restorer some years back that covered the complete procedure. If I recall correctly, that article was by Terry McManmon so maybe he'll recall the issue of the magazine.

[Don L.]

Re: '73 Outside Rear View Mirror Repair

Peter, I had complete success with no negative consequence to the chrome or the glass by soaking my mirror overnight in lacquer thinner.

There are probably a couple articles of how to fix the loose mirror head. Member Jeff Salz has a procedure. Find him on the member list and PM him if you can't find the Restorer article(s)

[Terry M.]

Re: '73 Outside Rear View Mirror Repair

I wrote how to remove and reinstall the mirror glass, but did not touch on the adjustment function repair since that was not my issue. I was putting reproduction glass into an original base and housing.

I believe Jeff Salz did the article on repairing the loose adjustment function.

Lacquer thinner is the key to removing the mirror with no harm. DO NOT pry on the glass. Be patient -- it could take several days of soaking. Also be careful of the lacquer thinner fumes. They are very flammable and you should be well away from any source of ignition when using it. Outside in the fresh air is very good. A good quality silicone adhesive will work for reinstalling the mirror. Do not rub the back of the mirror.

[Sal C.]

Re: '73 Outside Rear View Mirror Repair

After the glass is removed using Terry's method, the pivot joint can be tightened by light massaging with a hammer and punch on the metal that surrounds the "ball".

[Peter G.]

Re: '73 Outside Rear View Mirror Repair

Thanks to everyone that responded.

I already had done a archives search with no results. I will try again with the author of the article or a PM.

[Terry M.]

Re: '73 Outside Rear View Mirror Repair

Thanks to everyone that responded.

I already had done a archives search with no results. I will try again with the author of the article or a PM.

Pete,
To the best of my knowledge Restorer articles are generally not in the archives. You can get them on a CD, called the Restorer Encyclopedia or something like that, from the NCRS store (link above), or you have to have a collection of back issues and know the issue the article was in. I can not tell you what issues my articles appeared in, but maybe Jeff is more organized than I am (That wouldn't be hard to do. ) You can reach Jeff through the members list button above.