When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Joe, they are going to look good on your truck! When I fastened the mirrors I bought for my truck, I went to Lowes or Home Depot and bought stainless hex head sheet metal screws that fit the holes in the mirrors. You can also replace all the rusty acorn nuts and bolts with stainless ones from Lowes or Home Depot. My mirrors came new with all galvanized fasteners. I replaced them all with stainless steel.
The mirrors arrived today. I had to run out, unpack them, and do a quick test fit. I think they will work well. I might have to tweak them just a tiny bit to fit up.
So, any special screws I should use to fasten them to the door? I'm hoping I can tweak them enough to use one of the existing holes from my old mirrors, we will see.
Unless you're totally bent on originality, I'd go with nutserts (aka, rivet nuts or rivnuts) and stainless buttonhead bolts, the same fasteners that the OEM has been using on truck mirrors for the last 40+ years. Nutserts, if you're not familiar, attach like a pop rivet, won't pull out like sheetmetal screws, and stainless fasteners won't rust up and seize as long as you dab them with some proper lube. It'll keep you from having to fumble with nuts and bolts working on both sides of the door at the same time. If you can't stand the look of buttonheads on your old truck, some typical hex head bolts would work just as well, too.
I will have to go with those I would feel much more comfortable with something like that. I will definitely need new acorn nuts. I only broke 2 of the 8 when I was taking them apart this evening.
I also got to pondering if I wanted to put these mirrors on my old frames. They would use the existing holes, but it might not look quite as good. We will see as I play with them more.
So I went to Menards to get some nutserts (they were the only place that had any) I got ones too big, I need much smaller ones. 1/4 - 20 require a big hole.....should have known that.
Well I went to my truck and grabbed a 1/4' bolt to use to compare size. Low and behold it screwed right into my old hole and held on very well. If I recall correctly there were sheet metal screws holding the mirrors on.
I might play with that a bit....
I got to working on my West Coast mirrors. On my originals one of the sections was rusted through and broke as I was working on it.
So I went out to Orschlen's (A Farm and Home store here in Missouri) and got a pipe of the same size and made a replacement. I can't believe I didn't take a picture of my final product. It's not real pretty but it does the trick.
I looked all over at Lowes for a pipe of the same diameter and thickness but didn't find it there. Orschlen's had one and only one of that type.
Here they are on the truck. Now to take it out for a test drive. It's closer to what it was when it was on the farm now and I should be able to see better.
Yeah, I like that I'm using the arms that were on the truck. I didn't paint them. Parts are rusty and other parts are silver.
They look better in the pictures than they do in real life.
This Hennessey Takes the Expedition Tremor's Off-Roading Capability to the Next Level
Slideshow: The VelociRaptor Expedition gains a lift, upgraded suspension, Brembo brakes, and trail-ready equipment while retaining the stock 440-horsepower EcoBoost V6.
Rezvani's Latest Post-Apocalyptic Monster Is a Ford F-150 Raptor Underneath
Slideshow: Called the Fortress, the 850-horsepower pickup combines Raptor underpinnings with military-inspired features, survival equipment, and a starting price of $285,000.
