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| Mirror, broken, missing decorative cover |
When I purchased the vehicle, the driver’s side mirror was broken. The prior owner (PO) parked it on the street and, and on his street at least, careless drivers/vandals would break the mirrors on parked cars frequently. Oddly, the PO had bigish driveway, so I was wondering why he just didn’t park the car there? I also looked down the road to see many other cars parked on the street with all with intact mirrors. Maybe the mirror was broken some other way and this just seemed like the easiest explanation to a prospective buyer. No matter how it got broken, in order to pass PA inspection, this needs to be fixed.
As far as repair jobs go, this was a breeze, no more than 15 minutes. I used some nylon prying tools from HF to un-clip the interior, removed the wiring harness, and then I unwound the two 11mm bolts attaching the mirror to the door and then... something was keeping it attached. I pried a little and it didn’t feel like a clip. So I got the new part and saw three studs and realized that I had one more bolt to remove in the forward section of the door and, after a little pressure to overcome a clip, the mirror was free.
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| Nylon, non-marring, prying tools |
As you can see from the state of the tools, I find myself reaching for these little pry bars frequently. Since they're soft plastic, they bend a little, making it harder to damage what ever you're prying and the blades don't scratch metal/paint and other surfaces. They're stronger (haven't broken one yet!) than the look and feel too.
Electric mirrors (both driver and passenger) seem like standard equipment today, I haven’t seen a car equipped without them in I can’t tell you how long. In fact, mirrors on both sides of the car weren’t always standard equipment. I remember back in the early 90‘s getting a quote on a Honda Civic, that went something like this:
Sales Critter: So, you want side mirrors, right
Me: Yes
SC: Both of them?
Me: Uh... Yes?
SC: How about a radio?
Me: Sure
SC: And an antenna?
Me: (raises eyebrows)
SC: That’s extra. (scribbles numbers on four-corners sheet)
During the height of Honda-mania, it wasn’t uncommon to see base (DX) Civics without passenger’s side mirrors, the buyer trying to save a buck or feeling fleeced during the order-taking process that was buying a Honda at the time. Electric mirrors were reserved for higher-level (LX) trim cars -- but I’m sure the dealers found a way to charge separately for them.
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Ye olde timey mirror,
thanks www.yearone.com |
There was a difference between “remote” mirrors and electric mirrors. Remote mirrors were cable driven, electric mirrors were found on higher-end “fancy” cars. Most of the time, the external mirrors rested on a ball and adjustments were remote in a different way: you told whoever was in the passenger seat to wind-down the window and supplied instructions. For $500 in the late 80‘s/early 90‘s your beater didn’t have electric mirrors, but might have had cable operated remote mirrors, but most likely had something hand-operated. I wouldn't be surprised if just the electric mirrors alone on an 90's vintage car added five Benjamin's to the price when new.
Installing the new mirror was as easy as lining-up the studs, engaging the clip
and tightening the bolts. The interior trim then snapped back into place. The part for this job cost about $60 from Amazon and it fit perfectly. Done!
