"Custom" Towing Mirrors

[Irish_Alley]

so the west coast attache to the top of the door and the extended stop right at the normal location?

[LTZ C20]

The west coast attach to the door above and below the side windows with usually at least 2 braces, most times 3 or 4 braces total but I've seen 6 (LOL). They can have braces that reach half way down the door.

My truck at some point in the past (probably originally) had these. These are towing mirrors. The idea was you rotate the heads 180° and then fold them 180° so the arms are on the outside and the edges are close to the body. When you want to tow, you fold and rotate 180° and now the arms are on the inside and the edges are hanging out over the pavement. The crew cab in the advertisement has them in the inward position, the G-van and long bed have them in the outward position.

Someone in the past removed them and put the "below eye level" ones on, which are the ones I took the heads off of but used the mounts.

Now like the crew cab in the add again, the mounts for the tow mirror reach about half way down the door of the truck. The reason that makes sense to me is, the small 3 point mounts put them about 3 inches from the body, the mid-sized 4 point mounts probably sit 4-5 inches from the body and the large 4 point mounts (crew cab pic) probably put them more like 6 inches out from the body. So depending on the mount you want or the size of the truck, the longer braces proved more support because they stretch farther our from the body of the truck.

One of the older parts vans at work as the long 4 point mounts because it's a G-van cutaway with a box on the back with a roll up door like a uhual van.

[Jason S]

The standard "below eye level" mirrors (the ones I removed off my truck) are not pictured in that add.

The style mirror you have/had on your truck wasn't available when that advertisement was published.

My truck at some point in the past (probably originally) had these. These are towing mirrors. The idea was you rotate the heads 180° and then fold them 180° so the arms are on the outside and the edges are close to the body. When you want to tow, you fold and rotate 180° and now the arms are on the inside and the edges are hanging out over the pavement.

The mirrors in the photo you posted do fold in, but do not swing around closer to the body. The 'Camper Special' mirrors, however, do fold as you described. Most of the 70's Chevrolet/GMC trucks that I've seen with the Camper Special package had either a 'West Coast' or 4-point 'Camper Special' mirror instead of the 3-point towing mirror. In the 80's, the mounting was revised to a 3-point style with one of the attachments on the body crease.

BTW- In all fairness, I really like 'Camper Special' mirrors but am not a big fan of the 70's GM "bent arm" style. So I did something slightly different on my '73 GMC...

Attached below are 70's GM truck 'West Coast Mirrors', 70's 4-point bent arm 'Camper Special Mirrors' (2 photos) and 80's 3-point 'Camper Special Mirrors'

[LTZ C20]

The style mirror you have/had on your truck wasn't available when that advertisement was published.

The mirrors in the photo you posted do fold in, but do not swing around closer to the body. The 'Camper Special' mirrors, however, do fold as you described. Most of the 70's Chevrolet/GMC trucks that I've seen with the Camper Special package had either a 'West Coast' or 4-point 'Camper Special' mirror instead of the 3-point towing mirror. In the 80's, the mounting was revised to a 3-point style with one of the attachments on the body crease.

BTW- In all fairness, I really like 'Camper Special' mirrors but am not a big fan of the 70's GM "bent arm" style. So I did something slightly different on my '73 GMC...

Attached below are 70's GM truck 'West Coast Mirrors', 70's 4-point bent arm 'Camper Special Mirrors' (2 photos) and 80's 3-point 'Camper Special Mirrors'

I was pretty sure they weren't available. That's an add for 1977, not knowing the exact years they were available, it was just easier to say they aren't pictured.

The mirror in the pic I posted on the blue truck yes do not fold around in, I knew that already, that's because they are too close and the bracket won't allow it. Btw, that blue truck is my girlfriend's brother's truck. The other style brackets do tho and that's the point I was making. The big brackets allow for folding in because they push the mirror so far out.

Also, the blue truck that is my girlfriend's brother's, he has had since he was 16, his dad had it before that, since 1981 infact and that truck is a 79 camper special and his dad knows for a fact that those mirrors came in it brand new. I've seen pictures from 20 years ago of that truck and they have those small, 3 point mirrors.

In all fairness here too, I don't like any of the mirror mount setups with the arms, except the small 3 point on the blue truck. All others or too big and ugly, especially west coast style, those make me want to puke. Also, my 79 doors have the exact same 3 point mount marks as the blue truck, they are covered up with bondo from someone way before me but they are visible and match the dimensions identically. In my opinion, my new "hybrid" mounts look WAY better than any other designs these had for that mirror, but that may be me patting my self on the back just a little bit.

Irish was just wanting to know the difference between west coast and the others. I figured the way I explained it was the easiest to separate the various designs.

[Jason S]

The mirror in the pic I posted on the blue truck yes do not fold around in, I knew that already, that's because they are too close and the bracket won't allow it. Btw, that blue truck is my girlfriend's brother's truck. The other style brackets do tho and that's the point I was making. The big brackets allow for folding in because they push the mirror so far out.

  10-4, it sounds like we're on the same page.

Also, the blue truck that is my girlfriend's brother's, he has had since he was 16, his dad had it before that, since 1981 infact and that truck is a 79 camper special and his dad knows for a fact that those mirrors came in it brand new. I've seen pictures from 20 years ago of that truck and they have those small, 3 point mirrors.

  There sure aren't any absolutes for any model year...

In my opinion, my new "hybrid" mounts look WAY better than any other designs these had for that mirror, but that may be me patting my self on the back just a little bit.
Irish was just wanting to know the difference between west coast and the others. I figured the way I explained it was the easiest to separate the various designs.

Understandable, I wasn't trying to be a stickler... I think the hybrid design is a really good mix.  Being the thread that it is and the illustrations posted, some people want absolute factory and others are just curious, just showing the differences for others that will be perusing through this.

[Irish_Alley]

you know the more and more i look at it im starting to like the modified mirrors more and more. yeah its an eye sore but only when theyre extended and its not as bad as the west cost. so they're a better looking when youre not towing and when you need them just pull them out

[LTZ C20]

Jason S, affirmative, think we are too. No absolutes indeed. For sure on other people peek-a-booing into this thread and yea some people are black and white when it comes to resto's and frankly color is better, especially in Hi Def lol.

[LTZ C20]

you know the more and more i look at it im starting to like the modified mirrors more and more. yeah its an eye sore but only when theyre extended and its not as bad as the west cost. so they're a better looking when youre not towing and when you need them just pull them out

You have a way with words sometimes ya know that. Elephant comes to mind when they are extended, but it's really no different then the newer D-Max mirrors. They are only out when they need to be, you don't drive around normally with them out cuz you are towing a ghost trailer. Lol

[Irish_Alley]

you know the more and more i look at it im starting to like the modified mirrors more and more. yeah its an eye sore but only when theyre extended and its not as bad as the west cost. so they're a better looking when youre not towing and when you need them just pull them out

You have a way with words sometimes ya know that. Elephant comes to mind when they are extended, but it's really no different then the newer D-Max mirrors. They are only out when they need to be, you don't drive around normally with them out cuz you are towing a ghost trailer. Lol

its a fun part of my job in prison. i let the inmates think im crazy so they will listen to me or they might not know what will come out of my mouth. i do a good job at it, sometimes i get lost and forget im not at work and still act all crazy. but the main thing is im having fun no matter if im at work or over to a friends house. it help deal with the stress of work

[LTZ C20]

you know the more and more i look at it im starting to like the modified mirrors more and more. yeah its an eye sore but only when theyre extended and its not as bad as the west cost. so they're a better looking when youre not towing and when you need them just pull them out

You have a way with words sometimes ya know that. Elephant comes to mind when they are extended, but it's really no different then the newer D-Max mirrors. They are only out when they need to be, you don't drive around normally with them out cuz you are towing a ghost trailer. Lol

its a fun part of my job in prison. i let the inmates think im crazy so they will listen to me or they might not know what will come out of my mouth. i do a good job at it, sometimes i get lost and forget im not at work and still act all crazy. but the main thing is im having fun no matter if im at work or over to a friends house. it help deal with the stress of work

If you guys hung out with me in person for more than an hour, you would see I'm really just a big goof ball. I joke around at work that my job is to stand around, get in people's way, try as hard as I can to pretend I'm working and get paid. Really I'm a hard worker but I joke I do my best work with a cup of coffee in one hand and the other in my pocket lol. I'm an even bigger goof ball at home. I firmly believe that life is not fun unless you laugh alot and try to enjoy it so I try and have fun all the time, even if it's only me that's laughing. I could even be laughing at myself, which I do pretty frequently.

[LTZ C20]

Put a convex blind spot mirror on each mirror. In case anyone wants to know, a 3 inch diameter mirror fits the curve of each corner of these mirrors perfectly. I got these at my local O'Weirdly's, some where around 10 bucks for the two spots.

[philo_beddoe]

Are those palm trees in the background?!!  I been scrapin frost off my windshield every morning!!

[frotosride]

I like all the mirrors but alll I really care about is how or where did you get these words from? Are they etched in the glass?

[LTZ C20]

I like all the mirrors but alll I really care about is how or where did you get these words from? Are they etched in the glass?

Hahahaha, good times behind that one. A friend of mine in high school got them online, he got 2 or 3 sets for stupid cheap. They are stick on decals, automotive grade, not like the stickers that come in a box from summit racing. He gave me one, I've had it on there for probably 4 years. Normally the "Objects In Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear" warning is on the passenger side but I liked it better on the drivers. I did not get a new set to put on the tow mirrors. That was from the high school days when we would blow the doors off rice burners with my friends juiced up 65 mustang and my truck was the equivalent to the farm truck on street outlaws, it looked like a piece of junk but I drove the crap out of it and won races too. Truck was a sleeper...

I wondered who would be the first to comment on that.

[enaberif]

Looking at this and how the things slide off why not put a small cable attaching the mirror head through the arm and down to the base. That way if you did pull to far or they tried to slide off the cable would catch it and go nowhere.