hermanangus Posted June 22, 2018 Share Posted June 22, 2018 Hi All, I had an earlier thread on the lack of exterior mirrors on my car. The car is currently at the bodywork stage, and we have pulled the door skins off and there is no evidence that either door ever had a mirror attached, and the doors skins are definitely original. I purchased a replacement mirror for the drivers side, can someone please give me the exact stock location for a 64 drivers side mirror? I can guess from pics, but if were are gonna drill holes, I would like to get it right. Manual mirror of course. Thanks, Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
telriv Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 As far as I know ALL 1st. gen. Rivs had a remote adjustable left mirror as standard equipment. When you finally figure it out DON'T FORGET THE SUPPORT THAT'S SPOT WELDED TO THE INNER SKIN FOR SUPPORT. Tom T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hermanangus Posted June 23, 2018 Author Share Posted June 23, 2018 Hey Tom, I hate to disagree, but from what I've found, and what some of the other senior member have said while replying to my earlier post, mirrors were an option from the factory, or dealer installed. There is nothing spot welded to the inside of my door skins. There are what appears to be 2 filled holes that seem to be in the approximate area of the 63 mirror locations, you can just make them out in the pic above as well.. As my car was a special order from the factory in 64, I am working under the premise that they had some of the previous years pre-drilled door panels handy, and welded the holes closed . Could this have happened afterwards? Possibly. I just want to correctly place my after market mirror in the right spot for a 64. Cheers, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivman Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 1 hour ago, telriv said: As far as I know ALL 1st. gen. Rivs had a remote adjustable left mirror as standard equipment. When you finally figure it out DON'T FORGET THE SUPPORT THAT'S SPOT WELDED TO THE INNER SKIN FOR SUPPORT. Tom T. Kevin is correct above. From what I understand if it was not ordered from the "factory" with a remote mirror it either got a "dealer" installed manual mirror or none at all. I have a '65 that does not, and has never had, an outside mirror. Kevin, I'm not sure why the welded holes are there, maybe as you said, something that was handy? If you don't get a reply I can check the door skin from a '65 tomorrow and get you the dimensions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1965rivgs Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 An exterior rear view was NOT standard equipment. A remote exterior rear view mirror was available as a factory installed option. If the customer so pleased a manual or remote exterior rear view mirror could have been installed at the dealer. I suspect this was one of the ways Buick lowered the base price of the Riviera for marketing purposes. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul K. Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 (edited) Interesting and I have a question. My 64 drivers side manual mirror was mounted on the top of the door skin so it practically touched the door glass. It was a Buick logo mirror and when I had to change he door skin some later, I found one with a remote mirror where the holes were lower on the side of the door. My question is for a manual mirror, is the correct the placement higher or lower as I described? Same question for the passenger side if I add a mirror. Edited June 23, 2018 by Paul K. (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 I'd say that the mirror was a dealer installed option and the installer didn't bother to check out where it was supposed to go. Luckily for you, the new skin was correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivman Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 Kevin, I can't say if '64 is different from '65 but here are a couple pictures, with measurements, of the inside of the door skin on my '65. This Riv was an early '65, highly optioned, with a factory installed remote mirror. The only support/reinforcement on the inside of the door skin is where the door handle mounts. The measurement is taken from the crease at the top of the door skin, it is using the cloth tape you see, and a one inch wide tape measure. Like I said, I can't say if '64 and '65 are the same or not, but these are from a '65 with a factory installed remote mirror. The welded holes on yours look to be pretty far back in comparison, so I'm not sure if that is a difference in the years or not? Hope this helps, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KongaMan Posted June 24, 2018 Share Posted June 24, 2018 Before you drill any holes, do a sanity check. That is, make sure that you can use and adjust the mirror before you bolt it down. And as alluded to earlier, don't mount it with just a couple of tapping screws into the door skin. Rather, you'll want to use (make one if you have to) a backing plate on the inside of the door skin. Fasten the mirror to that instead, clamping the skin between the plate and the mirror. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hermanangus Posted June 26, 2018 Author Share Posted June 26, 2018 (edited) Thanks for the replies, this is the reproduction I bought. I guess I will have to decide If I want to keep it as stock as possible, or place it where It actually works for me, and let the next owner worry about the location. I think not having the mirrors makes this car even more unique, but after 30 years of rugby my neck doesn't move like it used to so I will probably be putting this one on, and reinforcing it as required. Thanks for the measurement Randall. Edited June 26, 2018 by hermanangus Technical mistake. (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1965rivgs Posted June 27, 2018 Share Posted June 27, 2018 If you decide to install in the factory location I probably have a template from an NOS kit Tom 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted June 27, 2018 Share Posted June 27, 2018 If it were a dealer installed option, you might have been asked where you'd like it placed so it worked best for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
telriv Posted June 27, 2018 Share Posted June 27, 2018 IF, IMO, you put that mirror on WITHOUT the backup support you will be UNHAPPY down the road!!!! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hermanangus Posted June 27, 2018 Author Share Posted June 27, 2018 telriv, I assure you I will not just screw this to the sheet metal. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul K. Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 20 hours ago, RivNut said: If it were a dealer installed option, you might have been asked where you'd like it placed so it worked best for you. I think that’s how mine ended up being mounted up high close to the glass. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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