Hi I am trying to find out what mirrors I should put on my +2 130s (1971)
I was browsing the galleries and on a picture from Stoneleigh there is a Green +2 (It says Niall’s Zetec reg: kvh99k)
I really like the mirrors on this car. Do anyone know what they are, and where i can have a closer look at them.??
All the best
Otto
Otto,
Have a look at s-v-c.co.uk/.
Click on the mirrors section. The ones I have in my 1973 +2 are the 6th ones down.
They look fine when fitted - and they are dead easy to fit.
Regards,
Hamish.
Thank you! nice ones. But they are not the same as Niall’s?
I like the Bullits as well!
What are the originals like?
Regards
O2
Otto,
I believe the rectangular ones were the type fitted to cars of the Elan/ +2 era.
The bullits were much more of an ‘accessory’. In my car club days, in the late 60s, bullits were seen as boy recerish.
Hamish.
Hamish,
"They look fine when fitted - and they are dead easy to fit. "
Does that apply to someone who can just about fill a washer bottle?
Jon
Hi
I have the torpedo mirrors on mine, I think they look the business, much more of a sporty look than the square ones.
Jason
Jon,
Each morror requires a couple of small holes for self tappers - honest!
Hamish.
Thanks Hamish, I’m sure my friend can manage that!
Jon
Hi Otto,
Mirrors were fitted by a previous owner, but I’ve had a look through my pile of receipts and they were bought from Demon Tweaks in 1993 and are described as Californian Mirrors on the receipt. I typed ‘Californian Mirrors’ into google and found this…
demon-tweeks.co.uk/products/ … =R/GVIT104
I would prefer to fit the square types referred to above, partly as they look better, and partly as the mirrors ideally need to be offset on each side of the car, to allow an easy view of the passenger mirror.
Cheers,
Niall
Thanks a lot!
Great forum!!!
The torpedo mirrors on your car, is it Torpedo/bullits like the ones fittet on Morris Mini’s ?
Like these ones from ebay…
cgi.ebay.co.uk/Pair-of-bullet-to … dZViewItem
Regards
O2
Hi
Yes, that’s them.
I love the look of them, but I must say that the glass is quite small so they are not as easy to use as the big square ones
But for me the car is about fun, it does not run that great, it uses a lot of fuel and bits of it do not work properly, I have a new Ford for boring reliability.
You have to weigh up looks and function; I think the small glass is just about adequate on the bullet mirrors. I have the square mirrors on my Mini Cooper and they are bigger and easier to use and they look OK, but I still think the bullet ones look the business and would not change them:D
Jason
Hi everyone,
I’ve been wrestling with this very dilemma and ultimately Jason is right - the decision depends on how much you will use the car.
The original mirrors, certainly on later cars, are the square ones on Hamish’s link - the ?17,000 bronze Peter Day restoration at Paul Matty’s has these. My yellow car had them too and they made it an everyday useable car - invaluable on motorways.
I’m about to start restoring a car I’ve had for many years. It has the bullet mirrors which give more restricted vision but look quite nice although not original.
And now to confuse the issue still further by introducing another option… I’ve just bought a red five-speed which was restored some years ago and it has…no mirrors at all and that looks nicer everytime I see it!
I’ll probably go for the correct square ones in my restoration because the fun of a Plus Two is driving it as much as possible and the squares look quite good too.
Hope this helps.
Best wishes,
Si
My red 130 is like yours with no mirrors… and you are quite right, it looks great… but i will tell you this, with (for me) the steering wheel in the wrong place, it is very difficult to drive safe without mirrors! but ok i have only had the car for two months, but still it feels like writing with the pen in the wrong hand…
Thanks for advice
Otto
Hi Otto,
In that case you definitely ought to go for the original square mirrors; there’s no point risking a crash in pursuit of keeping the car looking good. The greater the area of glass for rear vision the better.
By the way I’ve just been looking at my photos and can reveal that the square mirrors fitted to the bronze Daytune car at Paul Matty’s were fitted by Mr Matty himself. The car had no mirrors when seen at Donington last year.
I’d love to see photos of your car,
Best of luck,
Si
I must admit I have been considering mirrors but feel the car does look better without them, since I don’t drive it that much I think I will persevere and keep on looking over my shoulder everytime I need to overtake.
I’m also in the “rather risk a crash”-group, as my white/silver one hasn’t got any, and the previous owner for 26years didn’t deem it neccessary either…
But to me, should I ever (doubtfully) fit any, I’d fit lovely round Cromadora mirrors as fitted to Dino’s etc… I’ve had two Triumphs with non-functional bullet mirrors before, and EVERYone seems to have them.
I know the square ones are the semi-original ones but for me the shape just doesn’t go with the lovely fluid lines of the car…
Hi Thor,
I have a problem with this discussion because I agree with all sides and am now even less able to make a decision since you introduced the Ferrari Dino option. If anyone can’t imagine what they look like, here’s a link;
images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgur … D%26sa%3DG
The Europa Specials used bullet-style mirrors which actually were Ferrari items.
How did your steering wheel turn out Thor?
Best wishes,
Si
Yes those mirrors look the Business!
Steering wheel not arrived yet, but I’m in eager anticipation. Meanwhile I’ve just ordered a set of Magnecor KV85 Competition ignition leads with a modified DDB101 Lucas cap to take the 8.5mm silicone cables, hope this is the right cap…is it? should be for ?65 in total.
I’d like those Dino mirrors too. They’re elegant, have a 110mm diameter and are beautifully made. The only cause for hesitation is they are $250 (USD) - each.
Was my jacking diagram any help Thor? Reply by email to avoid hi-jacking this thread.
Si