Installing Side Mirrors to Later Model Doors

[kcsmithson]

I searched and didn't find many pictures showing how to do this before I started, so I thought I would take a couple of pictures to document how I added side mirrors to my doors. This is a 9/1975 FJ40.

This first picture is of the shell as I am finally starting to get the doors rebuilt after painting.

This shows the door waiting for me to get the courage to drill 3 holes into it.

This picture is of the inside of the door showing the backing plate for the hinges. I had to make sure to plan around that.

I used a mirror gasket as a template to have a backing plate made out of steel. It is probably 1/4" thick. I had thought about welding the nuts to it, but it was going to be more trouble than I wanted to deal with. Chances are, the mirrors will never come back off. And I can always have it done later if it comes to that.

 

[kcsmithson]

I used masking tape to make a template after drilling this first set of holes. This made it easier to transfer the hole locations to the other door. Sorry, I threw the template away before taking a picture. This is pretty close to where the factory holes are. I wanted to get closer to the hinge, but couldn't because of the way my backing plate was designed.

Here you can just see how close the edge of the plate is to the backing plate of the door hinges.
If I need to weld the nuts on later, I will.

I am using the European mirrors, but the install would be the same for the Us spec ones.

Overall, I am pleased with the results. Easy job once you get over having to drill holes into perfect doors.