Hey Guys,

Does anyone know if Ford had those big mirrors as original equipment on a 1977 F-250? I'm talking about the mirrors that are about 12" high, like the one's on semi's. I've always liked those mirrors, and wanted to put them on my truck. I just smashed a passenger side mirror on my truck today, so I figure if I'm gonna be replacing them I may as well upgrade to the big ones. If they weren't original, does anyone know what years they were on the trucks, and whether or not they will fit mine? I didn't see any on the classified page, but if someone has a pair, I'm interested. Let me know. Thanks.

Brendan

1977 F-250
351M / 4 Speed
33" BFG Tires
www.angelfire.com/ma4/1977fordf250

 

Beaver,Those mirrors are called, " Westcoasters ".

I've seen some people put them on,but I don't like the look.
They belong on BIG TRUCKS AFAIC.

Dennis

I'm the guy with all of the GIFS and I'm not afraid of using them !


78 F-150 429CJ C6 ,Silver w/Explorer Pkge
641/2 Mustang,Pre-World's Fair Car #8092
64 Fairlane S/C waiting for a 390-4spd.
68-Mustang.Sunlit Gold 80,000 miles

 

Brendan, would camper srecial mirrors be enough ? Or are you looking for something bigger ? For a good view of the CS morrors, look at the '67 pictures. Click on the dark dull green plow truck in the bottom left corner, Thom's truck has the CS mirrors. West Coast, if I am remembering right , is what JCWhitney calls some of the mirrors they sell. DF

 

West Coast mirrors like the ones on the big rigs, are connected from top and bottom and usually are rectangle. The swing locks kinda replaced them. They were popular in the 60s and 70s on smaller trucks.
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John

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[link:www.ford-trucks.com/users/jowilker|My Club FTE Page] Member since 01 01

[link:www.ford-trucks.net/users/jowilker/NCFTE.html|NCFTO] North Carolina Ford Truck Owners Group

In the cool still quiet of night, you can hear chevies rusting away.

 

I'm actually looking to go a little bigger, but those will do if the price is right and they will fit my truck. I don't know if you have these for sale or not, but if so e-mail me some details. Thanks.

Brendan

 

Brendan, this is what the Camper Special mirror for '73 and later models look like:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/dcforum/User_files/BBB/3b7d85db29e7d52c.jpg

Barry

 

Do you have a full picture of a truck with the OEM Camper Special mirrors? I'd like to see what they look like.

My doors are so full of holes from various mirrors that people have put on my truck. Going to weld the holes up and mount a nice set of mirrors correctly.

 

Jeremy, check out the Readers Rides in the Picture Gallery. The green 4X4 in the bottom left-hand corner of the ’72 section has some. If you need exact measurements for the holes let me know and I will measure mine.

Barry

 

One thing to keep in mind if you put semi truck mirrors on a pickup: you will impair your vision in situations such as aproaching an intersection. My '68 F-100 has them (previous owner put them on) and I drive semi's for a living. You don't have such a vision problem in a semi because you are actually looking DOWN as you approach intersections. If you install big mirrors, BE CAREFUL!!

 

One thought also: If you find a nice factory set of west coast mirrors, you can add a 4" or 5" spot mirror (the kind with a separate bracket) just under the regular mirrors, thats what I'm going to do on my '70 Econoline.

 

You can get West Coast mirrors from NAPA for about
$6.00 apiece. That's without brackets. If you want
the brackets, they will order them. Once you get
the mirrors you'll want to get 5" or 6" spot mirrors
so you can see what's "under" you on that respective
side. One thing about West Coast mirrors though. The
mounting brackets you get for them are designed for
big trucks, and you'll have to cut them to get the
mirror heads to sit in close enough to the door to
be able to use them. Otherwise, they will be so far
out from the cab they will be worthless. I made my last
set of cab brackets from aluminum angle (the part that
mounts to the cab). The tubes that run from the brackets
to the mirror heads were made from 1/2" electrical conduit
that I polished up. The ends are clamped flat in a vice,
then rounded on a grinder. It comes off looking pretty good.
Not at all like a cob job. This type of bracket is not adjustable
The bottom brackets are mounted about 4" from the window opening,
and the tops are about 7" (if I remember correctly)measured from
center of the hole to the center of the other hole. You'll have to eyeball it to get the mirrors straight up and down.I also
recomend mounting the front edge of the bottom bracket right below
the bracket that divides the wing vent from the window. I use two
brackets top and bottom, the tubes form a "V" as they meet at the
mirror. I also use a 3rd bracket/tube on the bottom. It goes from
the bottom of the mirror straight down approx 12" and bolts straight
to the door skin. This keeps the mirror from moving up and down.
Good Luck, and as always, it's your truck - build it the way you
want it.

Trail Rider

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 24-Dec-01 AT 02:33 PM (EST)]

I don't wanna start a war...but the actual name for these mirrors is not "West Coast" mirrors. They are actually called "Coast to Coast" mirrors. The name came from the original advertising by "...they let you see coast to coast".

Just a little history info.

I have them on my 67 F-250, and I like them. It takes a little to get used to since most people are used to seeing more width than heighth. I have gotten used to them, but when backing the boat in the water, the spot convex mirrors at the bottom really help. Also, they are a great place to mount your CB antennaes. It keeps them off the roof and it protects them a lot more.

Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas.

Ken

 

Interesting history, Ford always referred to these mirrors as "Western-type" with either long arm or swing-lock supports in their dealer brochures.

Barry

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 25-Dec-01 AT 11:04 PM (EST)]Hi,

Back in 1974 when I bought my first F100 (1972 short-wide with 2400 miles on it), these mirrors were very popular in "red-neck" and "cowboy" country. They were very similar to the mirrors used on the semis, but were smaller and designed specifically for the pickup "gentry".

The brackets were sized for installation on a pickup or van with little or no modification; simply drill the holes in the door and bolt them on.

Some were made with the brace that swept back and was mounted to the door to keep the mirror from swinging to the rear. Others were designed without the brace so they would swing away if you hit something, which I often did.

I don't have my old '72 anymore; gave it to my daughter (she loved that old truck almost as much as I did). I now have one of them Frank N. Stein "put-it-together-and-drive-it" F100s. It is a 1967 camper special cab/clip with a 1972 custom bed on a 1970 frame. I just finished removing the hot-rod 429/C-6 and putting the 390/T18 in (had forgotten how hard that combo pulls).

I have a set of the old swing-away West Coast (Coast-to-Coast) mirrors that I found at a swapmeet. They were rusty, but cleaned up well with steel wool and chrome polish.

As the big rig driver said, be very careful driving with these mirrors; a car coming up the side street disappears completely behind the mirror.

If you want new, they are available from places like J.C. Whitney (not quite the heavy quality of the original, but still nice).

I think the truck looks nice with the mirrors, but then I'm a redneck and I like headache racks, goosenecck hitches, and dual cb antennas (?antenni?).

Eddie "So old I delivered the dirt you're standing on"