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MG MGA - Lucas Mirror: Larger Options?

I have two of these Lucas-styled reproduction door mirrors on my car but I'm finding them to be a little small. Any suggestions to increase the size of the mirror? I've tried blind-spot mirrors and they remain too small. I'd much rather enlarge the mirror itself.

Is there any way to mount a larger mirror to the arm? I think these are 4" round. I'd love a 5" or 6" that would bolt onto the mount.

Any suggestions would be welcomed.


TY Yoo

Have you thought of going convex to increase the field of view, assuming you have flat mirrors now? S.F. have them I think although not sure if they sell them separately......................Mike
Mike Moore

It's a last resort but the convex option is a good one. They're currently just flat glass.

I'm in Canada--do you have a link to SF?
TY Yoo

I have my mirrors on the fenders, directly above the front wheel centres. No blind spots, no need to turn the head!
Why go for door mirrors?
Art Pearse

I agree that flat glass mirrors on the wings are next to useless. Scarborough Faire have not caught up with technology yet and operate from a catalogue which is well worth getting:-

Address: 1151 Main St, Pawtucket, RI 02860, USA
Phone: +1 401-724-4200.
E-mail: info@mgaparts.com
Mike Moore

I had the external mirror issue, when the rebuilt car first went into use.
There were holes at the rear of the 2 front guards and quite close to the Coupe's windscreen, I had preserved these holes during the re-build.
These holes suited the mounts for 2 convex bullet style mirrors.
I reckoned that the P.O. had set this up satisfactorly. Wrong.
I was stuck with these holes in freshly painted fenders that rendered the mirrors with very little reflected image.
The local cheap auto parts store saved the day. They sell a convex
4 1/8"round glass plastic framed mirror, that has a much more rounded ---raised -- shape. Shows a more detailed image & a wider field of vision.
Its O D is larger than the bullet's convex glass , but the same O D as the bullet mirror's O D. It does not look out of place.
So, a piece of spongue rubber as a spacer between the 2 glasses-
and some strong adhesive, luckily fixed the issue & used the fender holes.
These deeper glasses reflect an excellent close up image.
They are great. So much so, that I attached two of these glasses over the external mirrors on our Mercedes. This fixed its blind spot, too.
Its a safety issue.
I.W. Cowen.

I for one absolutely hate fender mirrors and will not have those nasty things or their holes in my front fenders, again. The red 57 has them, the painter failed to fill the holes as ask, and they are a constant pain to keep aimed and are small and almost useless that far away. Aesthetically they are ugly out there and ruin the long beautiful line of the fender. There are guys that have made brackets to mount them to the windshield pillars. If I ever mount a side mirror again it will be that way. I have found that I really don't need side mirrors. I can hear traffic and turn my head to check. I don't have a radio and the top hasn't been up since I installed it on the MK11 and the 57 never got a top. Even my first MGA, a coupe, did not have them. It was my daily driver back in 75'-76' and I never thought to put mirrors on it.
The picture below is of my first 3 frame off restorations. All 3 were completed between 88' and 93'. The only reason the red one has mirrors is the body guy didn't do as ask. He left the holes and I filled them with mirrors.


R J Brown

There's a reason that all modern cars have the wing mirrors not on the wing but at the windscreen. That is where you get the widest angle of view with small movements of the head.

Mine are mounted on the front corners of the doors. They work very well and are easy to adjust from the drivers seat. And they don't get in the way when doing anything in the engine bay, or get misaligned by anyone walking past the car in a tight spot.
Dominic Clancy

My dad mounted the mirrors on my car in about the location that Barney recommends, and I have found them to be reasonably effective.

http://mgaguru.com/mgtech/accessories/at103.htm

-Del
D Rawlins

Yup. Picture in the link above has wing mirrors about 14-inches ahead of the windscreen. In that position they can be viewed through the swept area of the windscreen glass (without turning your head very far). That's important if you drive in humid weather with top up and side curtains in place. I drive in all kinds of weather conditions, and many times the side curtains are fogged over.

They are also convex to give larger field of view, and they work very well. If (when) one of them may get misaligned or fogged over, I feel most vulnerable not being able to change lanes for fear of side swiping someone. I think you really don't know what you're missing until you use them for a while, and then suddenly don't have them. It is my opinion that they are a safety device which every car should have (which is likely why they are mandatory on all new cars).

I also make good use of the wing mirrors when backing up, especially backing up with the trailer attached. It is of course a lot easier with top down, but in my world that is not always an option.
Barney Gaylord

I agree with RJB that the wing [fender for you guys across the Pond!] mirrors really ruin the beautiful flowing lines of the MGA.

Not only are they aesthetically awful, these wing mirrors are wholly impractical: too far from the eyes to be useful; bending in the breeze etc.

After struggling for 42 years of ownership I threw them away during the big mechanical refurbishment in 2015. This of course meant filling in the existing holes and re-painting the wings. .

Bob West fitted what I consider very practical mirrors onto the windscreen; a bracket is fitted with one screw to an existing hole in the windscreen pillar.

I consider the extra costs well worthwhile, a much improved look to the car, and a very practical mirror.

The driver's side mirror is a must in modern traffic, and, for our France tour this past summer, I fitted a similar mirror onto the left pillar. Very helpful for continental touring.

Bob gave his advice to fit one side facing upwards and the other side facing down, otherwise, in his words, the mirrors may reming you of Mickey Mouse!

Cheers,

Doug


Doug Wallace

One more from Bob West... left hand side mirror.

Doug


Doug Wallace

The first saloon car (early 50s) I owned had a pair of the 4" round wing mirrors mounted over the front wheel and I don't recall ever having any problems with them. They were not affected by speed or vibration and I honestly cannot remember ever having to adjust them. They were a 'spring back' type so if someone knocked into them they just deflected and then sprung back to their preset condition. The spring was only apparent looking underneath the wing and it was enclosed in a cylindrical plastic tube.

What I suspect is that the 'Lucas' style mirrors available today are reproductions of an earlier version of the mirrors which perhaps went obsolete due to the constant need for adjustment.

What people should realize is that virtually all British cars around in the 40s,50s and 60s had at least one of these wing mirrors over the front wheel and to me , at least, they are part of the 'era'. A 1950s car without them or with some modern version just does not look authentic to me.

Maybe their field of view could be increased but, as Art has said, you don't have to consciously move your head to look into them, only your eyes.

As for spoiling the lines of the car if you are worried about this why not sell the car and buy a picture! ......................Mike

Mike Moore

Doug, your mirrors are bending in the breeze?!? Maybe try a higher quality unit!

On the driver's side, wing mirrors offer a safer view than those mounted at the door because there is literally no blind spot. This of course relies on the owner's ability to properly place the mirror and to use the correct type of glass. Wing mirrors are still used on some modern cars, where safety regulations haven't banned them like eared knock-offs and forward-facing pull handles.

To answer the OP's question, modern reproduction Lucas mirrors are a bit smaller than the ones you could buy back in the day. The glass is also of inferior quality. Find an original 5" Lucas convex mirror and you will be stunned at the quality of the reflection compared to the modern ones!

Out on the wing, flat glass only works on the passenger side, and still not that great. It's really best used at the windscreen. The farther away the mirror, the larger it needs to be, or, the more convex.

As far as aesthetics, everyone has a different eye. If not, then all our cars would look exactly the same. How boring that would be...
Steve Simmons

Steve,

My 2 wing mirrors are {were} the original when the MGA was new.

I drove thousands of miles in UK and across Europe from when I bought the car in 1975 from the first owner.

Since fitting Bob West's driver's side mirror I have a hugely enhanced rear view of the road and traffic; no comparison!

As to aesthetics, yes indeed we are all different, my point is that after taking out the 2 wing mirrors there is nothing on the wing to 'break up' the long line of the MGA wing and again, my own opinion, the "White Lady" has a greatly enhanced look to her.

I think one point all MGA owners will agree: few cars come close to the beautiful lines of the front, and rear, wings.

Flying to UK next week to ship the MGA to Adelaide for the Australian NATMEET at Easter.

Doug


Doug Wallace

Having done without mirrors for years I cracked, bad pun, and went for Moss door mounted convex ones that I find good and the least obtrusive.

Paul
Paul Dean

Just for the record.
Wing mirrors were not installed by MG at the factory.
If your car has them they were added later.
Most that got them had them installed by the dealer before delivery.
The location was not standardized and ended up where ever the PDI kid put them.
Yes they are ugly as sin out on the fenders above the front tires.
Somewhere in my shipping container are two brand new Lucas mirrors. The PO of the MK11 bought them in the 1970s.
As Barney stated top up and a bit of weather mirrors are essential. I was caught once out in a sudden rainstorm in the white car. Only time I ever put a top up in anger. Felt like I was driving in a tunnel. Never a problem in the coupe rain or snow the widows stayed clear.
R J Brown

This thread was discussed between 05/01/2017 and 09/01/2017

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