The Dodge Challenger Message Board

My car did not come with a passenger side mirror, but I found one at a salvage yard. Did the factory make indentations inside the passenger door to locate these, or will I (or a body shop) have to measure to obtain the correct location to mount it?

Thanks!

i just mounted mine in the same postion as the driver's side mirror

Thanks Ted; sounds like you just measured where to drill the holes. Is that correct?

Read the post on mirrors (somewhere on this site) and you'll discover that you should use a threaded fastener to mount your mirror - not a self-tapping screw, as this will give you more support and make it easier to remove later if needed.

Duane - I just found the post on mirrors - go here and you'll see what I'm talking about:
http://www.challenger440.pwp.blueyonder. co.uk/cgi-bin/disc/discus.cgi

Roger,
I can't seem to find that post. Can you identify it by name and date so I can scroll to it? Clicking on the URL you gave me just takes me to the message board main page. I did scroll down within the bodywork area and found two posts on mirrors but these did not seem helpful. Am I looking in the wrong place? Thanks for the help.

Roger,
The dates of the threads I looked at are 4/22/03 (on worth of a mirror) and 3/9/02 (on rechroming one).
Thanks,
Duane

Roger made the mistake of copying the URL from the address bar instead of RIGHT clicking on the little "" graphic in the target thread and then selecting "Copy Shortcut".

When you paste it into a message it will give you this link;
http://www.challenger440.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/cgi-bin/disc/show.cgi?tpc=8&post=9413#POST9413

The mistake you made Duane is that there is a search facility in the left frame under "Utilities" that you can use to find stuff on here. I just typed 'mirrors' into it and got the right link right at the top of the list!

Sorry about my tardy reply (modem died) and my lack of knowledge about the link thing.

Hopefully you managed to view the thread by now and discovered what I was referring to. The threaded fasteners should be available at any good panel (body) shop. Use these - not self-tapping screws.

It must be getting towards summer down where you are now Roger. Hope you have as good a one as we just had up here in the top half of the world.

Roger, thanks - I reviewed the whole thing. I will have to see if my passenger side mirror matches the driver side mirror. I think it does because as I recall, the donor car was also a 72 or maybe a 73. Both need rechroming; also, one of the mounting holes for the passenger side mirror has been enlarged - it had a larger than normal screw in it. I do not know if this damage can be repaired. My plan was to have both mirrors painted body color and that this would help hide that problem once installed. I will check with the body shop I choose to repair and paint the car. We just sold our house (finally getting one with a two car garage) and there are some funds left over for this project. I also have to do the dash repair project mentioned elsewhere on the site; there was good info on that, especially the plastic bumper filler. I am going the dash cap route. The price of a Just Dashes replacement will buy me a set of wheels, a 3:55 sure grip or a number of other higher priority things!

Dave, thanks for the info on the utility - I will use it next time.

Thanks
Duane

Glad to hear the info helped you Duane. You may have difficulty repairing the enlarged hole, as the material used for the base and body of the mirrors is pretty cheap and nasty alloy and difficult to weld so I am told. Maybe consider enlarging the other hole to match, then have slightly larger than normal threaded fasteners installed in the door skin, to accommodate a larger stainless or chrome screw?

Yes Dave - spring is in the air and the countryside is covered in wildflowers right now. Still getting the "every second day" down-pour, so not great driving conditions yet. All a bit redundant from my point of view, as the chally is in bits still. I'm waiting on a few final parts to arrive from the US so I can complete the engine improvements. Discovered all sorts of nasty things when I tore it down - like a leaking timing cover, totally corroded water pump, perished engine mounts, cracked exhaust manifold etc etc. You probably know more than most what it's like when you get into things like this - one problem area leads to another... Ho-hum - at least I'm getting there.

Also discovered that the exhaust valves had been hitting the pistons at one stage, yet the heads and valves seem to be all stock with no apparent damage other than the slight marks on the top of every piston - haven't quite figured this one out yet (maybe an earlier owner did something I'm unaware of)?? My new heads have finally arrived and look the part too, with oversize valves (stainless valves, hardened seats etc) and quality springs, ported and polished by a Chrysler guru in the city. They should improve the flow greatly. When it's all back together, I'll touch bases and let you know how it all works. I could potentially achieve around 250-300 hp from the little 318 with a bit of luck, although I really just want to make her more efficient and reliable at this stage.

Roger,

Thanks for the suggestion; and good luck with your 318. My car also has a 318. Initially, before I knew better, I had a performance valve job done on the heads. The shop said they were in good shape to start with. I put a 4bbl and peformance intake on it, dual exhaust etc. But I did not do the block for financial reasons. Luckily, I never seemed to lose oil. In the end, a friend who is a professional mechanic and fanatical MOPAR racer sold me a 318 he had already rebuilt (and blueprinted and balanced) for his 67 Barracuda. He had decided it was not competitive enough in the class he competes in. However, it is just fine for me. He thinks it comes in at or just under 300hp and even gave me dyno results. I have them and the specs but they are packed up for my move next month. We are about to put a Steer and Gear power box in the car that he sold me as well; he used it briefly on the Cuda but it added too much weight. I just got a new Pitman arm to go with it. Now I should be able to keep my car from wandering all over the highway...

How far apart are the mounting holes on a ´70 side mirror compared to a ´71-´74? (I think we have had that information on the MB earlier, but I can´t find it now)

I can't find it either. Next time it is light outside i will try to measure it.

I couldn't find it either and we had alot of good pics and a healthy discussion about it. Just remember 70 and 71 had the same hole spacing with the exception of the 70 having a short or stubby base. 72-74 the hole pattern is spread farther apart with a long base. (Homer Simpson "DOPE!") I just deleted all the pics I took from the last time we discussed this subject a couple of days ago. Oh well Dave will help sort it out.

The distance between the mounting holes (of the side mirror) on a ´70 is about 3 inches (75mm, center to center). The distance should be longer on the ´71-´74 e-bodies

The pix show a RH ´73-´74 b-body mirror (I think, I am not sure).
The question is whether it is possible to change the base for a ´70 type base? Thanks. (Are housings the same?)

i have the top part of the mirror and not the base it looks as though its held on with 2 screws.

if you get a 70 base and you change it, i need a 72-74 base, if you are willing to sell it let me know.

cheers bryan

Bryan; The mirror on the pic´s is not mine. I have only borrowed the pic´s from ebay.

If I get my hands on a 72-74 base, I will let you know.

//Chris