For some years I put up with the ' dark side' rear view out of my original mirror, then I obtained a seemingly decent replacement off eBay, only to find that this one too had the same tinted effect to it (along with a similar amount of silvering missing from the back
). Then I tried a suggestion on here about using a cut down and shaped plastic mirror tile, a section of which was posted to me by Taupe (for which I am very grateful and I will catch up with you one day to pay you for that). This brightened things up considerably, a clear rear view, cut to shape using my original as a template and sprayed with 'wrinkle' effect gloss black on the back, you'd hardly notice the difference, apart from the clear rear view that is!
Anyway I have found of late that this view has become distorted, I assumed this was down to the clamp being too tight and flexing the plastic (even though I hadn't touched it since I first fitted it), so I tried loosening it but this only made the mirror loose and didn't improve the 'double vision' much.
So I scratched my head and looked round for a possible solution - and discovered one staring me in the face!
When I first purchased Miranda the MGB I noticed the rear view mirror was missing............. not worrying too much at the time, I proceeded to drive her home (I can hear you lot tutting!
), really enjoying the uninterrupted panoramic view from the front windscreen, especially driving back across the Pennines! As soon as I got home I did a search of eBay and found a replacement, however whilst awaiting it guess what I discovered under the passenger seat.......... yes, you guessed! The original mirror!
It was separated at the ball joint that connects it to the plate that holds it in place at the top of the windscreen (the fixing plate was still screwed in place at the time of purchase but with no mirror in sight). So, with nothing to loose, I decided to remove the plate and try and press the two back together, well, naturally with a spare in the post, I succeeded, however in doing so I dislodged the mirror at the other end of the stalk!
The ball on the stalk had come out of the recess on the back of the mirror, I did nearly throw it away at this point, thinking if I tried to press these two parts back together I'd just end up breaking the mirror (not a good idea in my view).
But then I decided to give it a go using a folded hand towel as a cushion for the mirror to press against. And with some effort it worked.
So now I had a usable mirror again (screwed back in place) and my replacement in the post could be put to one side as a spare.
Until now..................
A thought occurred to me, whilst pondering the problem of my distorted rear view in the Moggy, that maybe the two balls were the same size.............. (the ones on the ends of the mirror stalks before you wonder what tangent I've veered off on now!
)So I took the chance and split my replacement MGB mirror from its stalk (much twisting of the ball joint / mirror involved) and (much to my relief) they are a match.
Once again using the folded towel as a cushion, I pressed the spare Moggy stalks ball home into the back of the MGB mirror and I now have a working, undistorted and slightly larger rear view mirror for Abby, which in my view doesn't look totally out of place, being a complete unit, as opposed to one of those clip on / stick on aftermarket replacement mirrors you can buy.
The longer shaft is the MGB's:
[frame]
I just thought I'd share this for the benefit of those who weren't aware that the two could be made to fit together.
Not for everyone I'm sure but a viable alternative / repair / replacement option.
Best wishes,
Mike.
