A friend of mine wants to attach a small trailer to his 1959 Sixty special, which is not equipped with a RH exterior rear view mirror.
In our place, cars legally (and reasonably) need to have two operating mirrors, the inside one being considered as non-operating when a trailer is behind the car.
So my friend is looking for an original (or good reproduction) RH exterior mirror. McVey's doesn't list 1959 mirrors, and I can't find any for sale on eBay. Is it a very-hard-to-find (and therefore-expensive-as-gold) item ? Is the RH mirror different from the LH one (were all LH mirrors remote-controlled in 1959) ?
I have read in Schneider's book that 1959 Fleetwoods had the RH mirror in standard, but this car doesn't have one. Where is the truth ?
G'day Phillipe,
The optional RH Mirror on a '59 or '60 Cadillac is one of the most useless items that could be installed on a car.
Now, before anyone explodes, please let me explain.
The siting of the mirror, directly opposite the factory Left Mirror renders it totally useless as the windscreen pillar is totally obscuring the mirror head from the driver seated in the normal position.
In my '60 CDV, which was RHD, the Left Mirror was a useless fitting as the left pillar totally obscured the mirror.
Bruce. >:D
PS. I have recently seen one on a rusted Fleetwood, and it isn't for sale, the car, or the mirror.
Hi Philippe
There are some errors in that book. If you look at the base 62 series, there is a standard two-tone paint, even on the convertible...The 75 Serie has also a two-tone paint as standard.
I think Philippe was asking about mirrors Roger, not paint??
I agree with Bruce completely about the pillar obstruction. On my 59 coupe I found a mirror not original Cadillac but period looking and had someone hold it opposite the left mirror and you could see nothing! so I had no choice but to change the position to make it operable, its just the type that bolts through the door. To drive a left hand drive car here in the UK without a right mirror is deadly.
Quote from: S Passmore on October 24, 2011, 03:49:48 AM
I think Philippe was asking about mirrors Roger, not paint??
You are right; I was just showing to Philippen that the book may contain errors and the RH mirror as standard may not be true.
In the meantime, I got pictures from a man I sent a water pump: his car is a '59 Sixty Special and he has a RH mirror...
Ah I see now Roger. Be interesting to see that picture, is it a factory mirror do you think? or an after market type?
It seems that this mirror is like the factory one and must be useless.
Well that looks to be a longer arm, maybe its not so bad?
Thanks for your experience. My friend would prefer both mirrors to look alike, and there must be two mirrors for legal purposes, whether useful or useless...
I'll tell him he should look for an aftermarket one (or one with a longer arm) and/or locate it differently if he does want to know what happens behind the trailer.
By the way, Roger, this '59 Fleetwood used to belong to a Swiss citizen who lived in southern France and passed away a few years ago, maybe you knew him ? The car is black, and was imported in Switzerland when new.
Here is a picture of it I shot last sunday, together with two 1960 coupes (the blue paint chip at far right being the second one ;D ).
Quote from: Philippe M. Ruel on October 24, 2011, 05:29:28 AM
By the way, Roger, this '59 Fleetwood used to belong to a Swiss citizen who lived in southern France and passed away a few years ago, maybe you knew him ? The car is black, and was imported in Switzerland when new.
Yes Philippe, I knew the man and the car. I supplied some parts for this car; most recently the front unit coupling to the new owner via Christian Menuet.
A long time ago I bought a right hand rear view mirror for my 68 ELDO (when it was still available from the dealer). When I opened the box it had a template for drilling the holes for mounting. I compared it with the left side and it did not match, so I figured it was an error. I took the measurements off the left side and drilled the holes.
When I went to mount the mirror I found the holes I drilled were behind the top brace on the inside of the door. But I soldiered on and got the nuts in under the brace. When I went to drive the car I found the mirror was half hidden behind the A pillar. On inspection of other 68 â€" 70 Eldos with right-hand mirrors I found the mirrors were all further back than the left mirror. Closer examination on my car I found the brace had factory holes in it that lined up with where the template said to drill the holes. I redrilled the holes to match the template and now the mirror is fully visible from the driver’s seat.
In other words check the inside of the door to see if you also have a brace and if so see if it has holes where the mirror should be. It will be several inches to the rear of the left side mirror.
I have owned and followed '59 Fleetwoods for over 25 years and have never seen one without the RH mirror, and so believe it was standard. I can also confirm that in the factory location, it is completely useless except as excess ornamentation (which is what these cars are all about).