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Project: Custom Fender Mirror

10K views 22 replies 14 participants last post by  bue car 
#1 ·
Well, here it goes, I was wanting an areo mirror and not just any aero mirror, I wanted a fender mounted aero mirror. There are few options for aftermarket mirrors for modern Japanese cars, and even fewer for fender mounted mirrors. Anything I did find was the wrong shape to match the car, or way too expensive to even think about buying. This started the Fender Mirror Project.

I started off with a block of 3"W x 4"H x 5"L signfoam. This stuff only comes in 1 1/2 inch thick panels, so I glued a few panels together with gorilla glue and began shaping after that.


This material reacts well to using files and that's what I used to shape the majority of the piece with.




I used a 3" convex motorcycle mirror as to be able to see as much as possible. Here it is next to the mirror housing:


A lot of time and careful shaping to get it just right.


And a little bit more before the final product:




I had to cut out a bit to fit the 3" mirror to the back of the housing.


Here is the final product on the car, mounted using 3m VHB designed for mounting door trim. ( this was also used to mount the mirror to the housing. )


I did have to make some mirror deletes for the sides, but it was the simplest part. I can post info on there about that if the need arises.

The convex mirror provides a wide enough angle to eliminate the blind spot completely and can be seen without moving your head to the side at all.
 
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#8 ·
Thank you!

I was thinking b4 the last pic that this was a bad idea bu I must say very nice!


how would this compare vs door mirrors care to take a pic?
Yeah, I was going back and forth with it for a while, and I was the one making it! Ha!

I'll take a picture tomorrow, it's a little hard to get the right angle so you can see what the mirror is actually like, but I'll give it a shot.

+5billion for originality
+30 billions for execution
+2billions for looks

+ .5 for adjustability

i freaking love it.
Thank you! There is no adjustment at all. Hahahah!

Also you can buy mirror blanks specifically for these cars b/c very early base Imprezas only had one mirror!!!
Yeah, that's what I have been reading. I don't think they had one for the driver's side though?

superb job
Thank you.

VHB is great, but won't last forever. I use it for a lot of stuff and found that it needs to be replaced after a while. Looks like great work!! Excessive just to eliminate the blind spot, but a lot of careful work involved.

I'd also be curious as to whether or not this is actually legal. You still have a mirror, which is the only real technicality AFAIK.
Yeah, VHB is great. I didn't want it to be permanent, thus the VHB. In your experience, how long did the VHB last before you needed to replace it?

As far as the law is concerned, I believe you only need to have the one mirror on the driver's side and the center mirror in the cabin. I did a modification similar to this on an older MR2 and didn't get negitive attention from "the force" with that one either. If I get stopped for it, I'll revert it back, but I'm fairly certain it's legal.
 
#11 ·
I was thinking b4 the last pic that this was a bad idea bu I must say very nice!

how would this compare vs door mirrors care to take a pic?
Here's a couple of extra shots:

from the driver's seat. Right behind me is a decent sized hill.


Another, zoomed in.


Here is one of the mirror deletes.


And a different angle.


One more just for good measure.
 
#7 · (Edited)
VHB is great, but won't last forever. I use it for a lot of stuff and found that it needs to be replaced after a while. Looks like great work!! Excessive just to eliminate the blind spot, but a lot of careful work involved.

I'd also be curious as to whether or not this is actually legal. You still have a mirror, which is the only real technicality AFAIK.
 
#17 ·
Thank you, I made sure to spend some proper time on it so it looks like a professionally designed aftermarket part.

Well done
Thank you!

Wonder if base model RHD cars came with mirror delete plates too... Probably not worth the effort to track it down.

I rocked the passenger mirror delete that one of the base models Imprezas I had for a long time - figure it's weight reduction.

I wonder where it is now - couldn't find any pictures of it installed.

Even 1 OEM proper USDM mirror has more visibility than like the Ganador RHD mirrors that don't have enough adjustment - but hey they look cool.

-Tim
I wonder the same thing. It would be nice to have a pair of OEM deletes for it, but I don't want to end up paying $40 for some random JDM part that I can make that fits and looks good. Adjustment is something that this mirror doesn't have. I have been trying to find a plate that I could mount on there and to the mirror that would allow for click adjustments side to side and up and down.
 
#16 ·
Wonder if base model RHD cars came with mirror delete plates too... Probably not worth the effort to track it down.

I rocked the passenger mirror delete that one of the base models Imprezas I had for a long time - figure it's weight reduction.

I wonder where it is now - couldn't find any pictures of it installed.

Even 1 OEM proper USDM mirror has more visibility than like the Ganador RHD mirrors that don't have enough adjustment - but hey they look cool.

-Tim
 
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