Passenger outside rear view mirror

[DaveB]

Sorry, Rodd, I have to disagree.  As I said in my earlier post, both Tony and I have done that on our 230SLs, and we're both happy with it.  As I also said, the convex lenses make a big difference.

Tony has a 280SL according to his signature. It is Norm who mounted his 230 passenger mirror in the equivalent position as the driver mirror, and he says it doesn’t give a good view for him. I test fitted a mirror in that location (no drilling) and had the same opinion.

[DaveB]

..but if it works for you that’s good, it’s certainly neater to have left & right symmetry and use the existing door reinforcing plate.
Does anybody know the factory placement for that option 506 in a 230SL?

[lreppond]

I had no idea that reinforcement plates were in each door for mirrors?! I would have to guess that’s where the engineers at DBAG intended the mirror to be mounted?  Unless this was done to accommodate either a LHD or RHD car?  Lots of question marks because at this point I doubt anyone knows for sure. Bottom line: it’s your car so mount the mirror where it works best for you. 

[getsmart]

Dave,

My rh mirror support plate is approx in this position inside the door, its quite long and looks like one could move the mirror forward or back...

R/Joe

PS. Left door has no support plate

..but if it works for you that’s good, it’s certainly neater to have left & right symmetry and use the existing door reinforcing plate.
Does anybody know the factory placement for that option 506 in a 230SL?

[Ed Riefstahl]

A lot of food for thought. I may actually be more on the fence now - just kidding. I hadn't thought about the possibility that I wouldn't be able to see out of the mirror if I installed it in the exact location as the left side.

I also hadn't thought about the backer plate. Sounds like I may possibly already have one inside the door. I was able to go through the mechanics over the last 11 months and during that time I have purchased a complete new interior for the car, including new door panels and visors. My wife and I did the interior, minus the door panels and visors, in 2003. However after 20 years / 65,000 miles of mostly top-down driving all over the country, the navy blue is getting pretty fadded again. I need to do some work inside the doors and my thought was to install a passenger mirror at the same time.

I am 5'-11", and drive with the seat all the way back. I do like the idea of the convex mirrors and didn't know they even made them for the Pagoda until now. I wish there was a way to temporally attach the mirror to try it out, before attaching it permanently. I haven't come up with any ideas yet.

Thanks for all the suggestions and feedback. However, this will have to wait until a later time. I am heading to Pittsburgh Tuesday the 15th for yet another neck surgery. One of the fusions in my neck (of 3) has broken loose and one of the titanium screws has actually broken, causing severe migraines every day and many times twice a day. After surgery, I won't be able to drive for at least 6 weeks. What a bummer. By that time summer in Northern PA will be over.

Well, at least I was able to get the car back on the road before surgery. My wife and I had a wonderful trip to Watkins Glen (Finger Lakes Region) last weekend in Ms Magoo. We had a 525 mile, top-down blast.
 
Thanks again for all the information. Lots to think about and consider in the mean time.
Kind regards,
Ed Riefstahl
Erie, PA (North East is the name of the town). I'ts not the location.

1966 230SL (Ms Magoo)
1970 280S (Miss Daisy)
1989 300SE (Majestic)
1999 BMW Z3 5 speed
1991 BMW 318I 5 Speed
1997 Toyota Paseo Convertible - Red 5 speed (have you ever seen one?)
1997 Ford Ranger step side (Mater)
2023 Mazda CX 5

[DaveB]

525 miles is a great test run!
Best wishes for your surgery.

[DaveB]

Thanks Joe. I don’t know if I have a backing plate in my passenger door. But like Davek1 mine is a lhd on rhd roads so I will need a mirror.
When it’s driveable.

[DaveB]

..btw Joe is your reinforcing plate welded on?
Yes there seems some latitude for moving the mirror fore & aft.
Or should that be longitude.

[getsmart]

yes it is welded on Dave.....how about movement forward or back?  also a little up and down too 

..btw Joe is your reinforcing plate welded on?
Yes there seems some latitude for moving the mirror fore & aft.
Or should that be longitude.

[BobH]

I was surprised at the difference in opinions on the 230SL mirrors, so i decided to have a look at mine

I don't have a passenger side mirror, so i sat in the passenger seat, with the seat back against the rear shelf, and i could see about half of the drivers side mirror surface.  I guess with convex glass this might improve the view, but not ideal for me.  If you shift the seat forward so it's about 6 inches from the shelf, the mirror surface reduces to about a third. Any further forward and i would guess the mirror couldn't be seen at all

So, as said earlier on this post, whatever works for you and your driving position

[Ed Riefstahl]

Yeah Bob, I was also very surprised at the difference of opinion. I think I'll do similar to what you did. I may mark the position of the left mirror on the right side with masking tape, and have my wife hold a small mirror in approximate location. I'll do this with the top up and down. It may give me a good idea of what to expect.

Thanks DaveB, for the well wishes.
Yes, 525 miles was a great test trip. Not exactly  the road trip to Canyon Lands we had planned on this summer. But, the good news is my wife is doing great and has nearly 100% survival rate. So, I guess all things considered, we are very grateful and the road trip can wait until next summer. It sure was nice to give the car a good test after all the work we did on the car.

I did let Mark at Sun Valley Transmissions know how pleased I was with the transmission.

Thanks again everyone for the suggestions, comments and well wishes on upcoming surgery.
Kind regards,

Ed Riefstahl
Erie, PA (North East is the name of our town). I'ts not the location or directions.

1966 230SL (Ms Magoo)
1970 280S (Miss Daisy)
1989 300SE (Majestic)
1999 BMW Z3 5 speed
1991 BMW 318I 5 Speed
1997 Toyota Paseo Convertible - Red 5 speed (have you ever seen one?)
1997 Ford Ranger step side (Mater)
2023 Mazda CX 5

[merrill]

back in 77 or so when my dad bought the 230 sl mercedes had mounted a passenger side mirror up on the passenger fender.

not sure if a convex mirror on the passenger door will work, but if it does i would install one there

[lagolag]

Symmetrical positioned or not, if there is a need for a passenger side outer rear view mirror, then my personal opinion is that it has to be positioned where the driver gets a good view. If you stand in front of the car you will hardly notice that the mirrors have a slightly different position. From the drivers position in my case, based on seat position, they are symmetrical from a view perspective.

[Pawel66]

back in 77 or so when my dad bought the 230 sl mercedes had mounted a passenger side mirror up on the passenger fender.

not sure if a convex mirror on the passenger door will work, but if it does i would install one there

Yes, it works there very well.

[getsmart]

best wishes from me too for the surgery Ed!!!! ...and good to hear your wife has a great prognosis!!!!

R/Joe

[frostpinfold]

My car had a passenger mirror when I bought the car. I need a mirror that side because my car is a USA car here in England.
The view in the mirror was not good because the glass was flat. You can't buy a convex glass at least as far as I could find so I made one. I bought a replacement convex glass for a small van marked it from the flat mirror and cut it with a diamond glass cutter.
Works great

[cfm65@me.com]

I fitted my RH mirror about an inch further back on my LHD 250SL.  It works fine and the offset is hardly noticeable,  except that the driver can now see and use the mirror.
Chris

[Lorsar]

I got an extended rearview mirror. $11 and easily removable

JoyTutus Rear View Mirror, 12 Inch Panoramic Anti-Glare Rearview Mirror, Interior Clip-on Wide Angle Convex Universal Rear View Mirror to Reduce Blind Spot Effectively for More Car SUV Trucks -Blue https://a.co/d/hkEFGsA

[Ed Riefstahl]

Lori, That's really cool. I've never heard of one before. For that amount of money, it may be worth trying, even if I do add a mirror to the outside.

If I do add a mirror, it looks like I may have to move it back an inch as Chris and others have mentioned. It looks like if I don't, the A pillar will block most of my view.

Chris, I'd like to know if there was a backer plate inside your door, and being one inch further back, did it line up ok, to drill and mount the mirror?

Thanks for the tips and suggestions, everyone.

Regards,
Ed Riefstahl
Erie, PA
(North East, PA is the name of our little town). I'ts not the location or directions.

1966 230SL (Ms Magoo) Horizon Blue
1970 280S (Miss Daisy)
1989 300SE (Majestic)
1999 BMW Z3 5 speed
1991 BMW 318I 5 Speed
1997 Toyota Paseo Convertible - Red 5 speed (have you ever seen one?)
1997 Ford Ranger step side (Mater)
2023 Mazda CX 5

[Raymond]

I added my passenger side mirror when I had the car painted.  I changed the mirror to a convex lens a couple of years later.  I find it very useful for the blind spot in traffic.  I don't think it helps much with parallel parking.  The viewing angle is limited.  Still, it has helped me with lane changing hundreds of times.

[BobH]

I know we've just about flogged this post to death, but if you want to see what looks like the correct position for a passenger side mirror on a 230, have a look at the pictures Colin/Stick has just uploaded of his beautiful car