Hello
I have a 53 f350 and I need ideas for a good set of mirrors. I am planning on driving it quite a bit now that I have finished the brakes and dump box. I was wondering what others used? I heard that the telescope mirrors for this era of trucks were absoulotely useles because they vibrated and they were small. I looked on lmc and they wanted about 100.00 for each side and that is more than I want to spend especially if they arent that great. I also need them big enough because of my dump box. I have a set of big original ford mirrors from a 1977 ford f-350, I really dont want to be using non original parts but does it matter being they are just mirrors. If I was to use these I would probably not drill any new holes in the door, I would find a way to safely attach them for the time being until I buy originals. What do you all think??? Any Ideas??

 

I have the stainless steel Ford script west coast type mirrors on Missy Green. They get out far enough past the stake sideboards for good visibility. I have a convex stick on at the bottom of the right side mirror. A previous owner sometime back had installed them, holes in the door and all. I would have done the same thing in the interest of safety.
My '73 F250 has the original SS script mirrors also. They were designed to reach out past a slide in camper. The mirrors work good on both trucks, no vibrations.
These type SS long reach mirrors show up on ebay once in a while, not cheap.
My concern now is what to put on the 1949 F4 as the cab is quite a bit narrower and even these long reach mirrors are not going to get out far enough past the stake bed.

 

How do these look?..............................

 

I have seen a lot of those mirrors on later ford trucks and considered them for my 56 F-250 flatbed. Personally, I think they are a little too much mirror on the short bed half tons assuming thats what this truck is. I love the mirros on Missy Green, but for the smaller trucks I prefer the much smaller "stock" mirrors. The problem with the stock mirrors on the 1/2 tons is they are not that easy to see behind you. It all comes down to personal opinion and what you like on your truck!

 

Jr. West Coast Mirrors look pretty cool on a Flat Bed. http://www.ebay.com/itm/****-Mirror-Jr-West-Coast-5-x10-Mirror-Head-Mounting-Brackets-Stainless-/390607762651?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item5af20974db&vxp=mtr

 

Those are one of the two I actually have picked out. I will try and see what the other one is and post it, they are very similar. I agree, they are a good choice for trucks of that era.

 

A couple of other ideas that I am thinking for my Flatbed are assembling a set that look like the stock ones with parts from F100 mirror parts, trucking mirror arms, and CJ7 Mirrors. They look like stock one and the parts can be found in powder coated black as well as stainless.







You could also use a set off an early ******. They are similar to the ones used on early Flatbeds and are very very cheap too.

 

**** makes a junior west coast mirror as picutred above. The other one which is similar is Cham Cal Engineering. If I get these, I would like to add an additional support as shown on Missy Greene. I think the addtional support would be nice, but its something that would have to be fabricated for the west coast mirrors. Any west coast mirrors I have found are just the single bracket.

 

I believe this is what came stock on our trucks. I have been looking for where I can find a non polished (painted) mirror bracket. no luck so far.

 

thanks for all the opinions, I appreciate it. I am considering the west coast mirrors but first I think Im gonna mock mine up and get a picture and see what you guys think.

 

I think you nailed it TX, those have got to be stock cab chasis truck mirrors. I never saw an up close before. It looks like they are designed to extend out. I have heard the downside to the stock truck mirrors is they extend so far out without additional support they shake pretty bad. Personally, once I figure out which west coast mirror to go with (**** or Cham Cal), I would consider using the extra piece TX posted (CJ7) to fabricate a set of west coast mirrors similar to those Ray posted on "Missy Greene. I believe the junior west coast mirrors for smaller F Series Fords will vibtate pretty good without that additional bracket.......but thats only my assumption.

 

Yes, you are correct. This mirror was the mirror that was on our trucks from 53-56. That is what I have on my truck Look in my gallery to see them. Some people call it a farmer truck and that is what it is (or was!).

These mirror arms are very stable and do not vibrate at any speed. When I got my truck from my grandfather it had 2 of these mirror arms on it. The original mirror heads were long gone. After I got my truck fixed up and painted in 1999 I put different mirror arms on. They were rather generic. They vibrated mucho alotto. So I found some original arms and some used mirrors, painted them, polished the stainless and put them on. They do not vibrate at all.

Now for your stakeside dump bed... Would these be long enough? Yes, they extend quite far. Would the original 6"x6" mirror head be big enough for you? Probably not. You could attach an aftermarket mirror head on them if you ever find original mirror arms.

I don't know when they came out with the West Coast mirrors but in all the Ford Truck Clues magazines and dealer literature and vintage pics I have this is all they had for mirrors (stock 6x6 mirrors) from F-100's up to the Big Jobs, including tractor trailers!

BTW, I have the Ford Script West Coast Jr's (3-legged) on my 70 F350 flatbed dump and like them.

If anyone has the original style mirror arms or 6"x6" mirrors and are willing to sell, I am willing to buy...

 

Thats good to know Abe. I suppose the stock truck mirrors are pretty hard to find? Are your west coast junior mirrors **** or Cham Cal or something different? I believe there is a significant price difference in those two but I dont mind if one is supperior to the other.

 

The mirrors on my 70 F350 are Ford Script Jr West Coast mirrors with 3 embossed lines running vertically on the back of the mirror head as seen here:

 

Just keep in mind that the third leg or brace on these west coast type mirrors eliminate any breakaway or fold backpossibilities. Any contact with a solid object will most certainly cause some damage to the door. These mirrors are not parking lot friendly or close quarter barn door friendly.