Outside Mirror Position - '56

["Dick Benjamin" <dickb@xxxxxxxxx>]

I'd like to contribute the following to this discussion of mirror placement.

I don't know anything about the issue with regard to Imperial, but I do know
about industry practice in 1956, especially with regard to outside rear view
mirrors (I bought a new Plymouth in 1956, so I was there!).   The cars did
not come from the factory with mirrors, as they were considered a dealer
item.   The dealers could put them anywhere they wanted, and they could buy
their mirrors from any source.

There WAS a factory recommended mirror, which could be ordered from the
accessory catalog, and there was a factory recommended location for the
factory recommended mirror, but not all dealers paid any attention, to
either which mirror they put on the car or where they put it.

 To be specific, on Packards, (about which I can speak with some authority),
the recommended mirror was very plain looking, and recommended to be placed
on the driver's door, just about even with the vent window.   Some dealers
complied (if you want to see an example, e-mail me for a picture).   Many
dealers sold much more elaborate mirrors, (the famous "Yankee Pacesetter"
for example), and there was a fad in those years of putting them up on the
front fenders -where they are pretty useless, given the distortions of the
wrap around windshields of those days.   I have examples of those also.
The fancy mirrors might be put on the door also.  About 20 years later, the
"mirror on the front fenders" craze hit Japan - if you look at pictures of
cars sold in Japan in the 70s and early 80s, you'll see the same odd
placement.

Dick Benjamin
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <Black55Imperial@xxxxxxx>
To: <mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, March 08, 2004 5:22 AM
Subject: Re: IML: Outside Mirror Position - '56


>
> On my '56 Crown Imperial, the mirrors are on the fender and it is a
basically
> unmolested original car so I believe they came in that position on MY car.
>
> Randy Still
> '56 Crown Imperial
> '55 Imperial Sedan
> '64 Imperial Crown Coupe
>