Unobtainium (28 Viewers)

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Bill Fleming said:
Mirrors - how about a mirror that works with the OEM or after market arms that are intended for the plastic mirrors that almost universally fail. Frankly what I would like is a mirror that looks similar to OEM but has a better method of clamping on the arm ball - the OEM and after market versions of these fail.
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I'm generally a purist, but one original item I never quite liked is the stock mirrors. It's not only fragile, but requires frequent adjustment in daily use. As mentioned above, aftermarket mirrors aren't better, just cheaper. With that in mind, I decided to carry the elusive, frequently talked about but rarely seen, rarely available OEM Euro spec mirrors...on an as available / trial basis. These are really the best mirrors Toyota ever made for the FJ40. It's a direct plug-and-play replacement to the stock mirror. You can even re-use the original gasket. As some of you already know, these mirrors do cost an arm and a leg :skull:. I have done my best with the price (check my sig), but consider yourself forewarned!

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Dude, you've got some awesome, needed items there! Thanks for the time and expense of stocking these parts! I would love to get a set of those mirrors, but need other things right now. I bought your breather hose, and as soon as you get the inner boot in stock, will be buying that, too...keep up the good work!!!

Skip
 
i got my new step from roger today. i cant wait to mount it. it is fantastic. anyone questioning the quality, his stuff is oem or better. nothing cheap in the quality of these steps or his air intake hoses. both will last my lifetime and my sons.

thanks roger
andy
 
Racer65 said:
As some of you already know, these mirrors do cost an arm and a leg :skull:. I have done my best with the price (check my sig), but considered yourself forewarned!
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Have a link to the mirrors?

The sig one is not working.
 
Fast Eddy said:
Did you look around at prices for those mirrors before you bought a bunch? It would be interesting to compare the aftermarket ones that are available to the new ones.
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The price for these mirrors have actually been well established for quite sometime, world-wide. I can show you a couple of current reference points, one domestic, one European. Keep in mind they are pricing these mirrors for each side, while I'm offering the whole set. I don't think anyone is interested in buying one side only, or just the mirror without the arm!
 
I have a set of the aftermarket/reproduction units from SOR and do not like them.

They shake and vibrate and are not useable and were removed from the 40 after one ten minute trip to town and back.



I hope your mirror assemblies are a better quality component.
 
Fast Eddy said:
I was referring to the SOR repros that are half the price. "It would be interesting to compare..."
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Well, judging by typical $OR prices, those repros are probably overpriced at half the price :)

On a more serious note, I think these two products really belong to different market segments despite similar appearance from 10 feet away. SOR won't carry the real thing because they want the sales volume. I'm in the niche business so I'd rather carry the cool stuff ;) I'm sure with either mirror you'll be able to see behind you, just as with any watch you'll be able to tell time, but the devil is in the details...

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RWBeringer4x4 said:
Another idea, though you seem to be focused primarily on rubber parts:

This may be totally "pie in the sky" and not necessarily even an attainable goal - but I would probably pay an good amount of money for a reproduction stock-looking steel wheel, complete with hubcap clips, but wide enough (say, 8 inches) for modern tires, with the correct backspacing.

The way I look at it - yes, they are still available from the factory, but you pay $160 for them, then another $150 - $200/wheel to have them widened in most cases, plus shipping at $50-$80/wheel each direction, X5. So let's ballpark it at ~$450 a wheel to get a widened, stock steelie that could safely run modern 10.5 or 12.5in tires. X5, that's $2250 in wheels. If you could find a way to knock a hundred or two off the price, I know I'd be willing to buy it.

Before someone jumps down my throat - I realize 10.5in tires can be mounted on a 5.5in. wheel, but I see more and more shops refusing to do it, and fewer and fewer 10.5in tires. Just thinking of the future.
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Five second hand wheels, widening by Stockton Wheel in Stockton CA, OEM gray base coat clearcoat $1,350, even with new wheels about $1,600
 
I agree about the widened original wheels but it appears that many tire manufacturers are going away from the 15 inch tires. For example, I hear rumors that BFG is discontinuing the KM2 in 33x10.50/15. What would be nice is if someone made a set of 16x8 or 17x8 steelies with clips that would accept the factory caps. That man would make some serious bucks now and especially in the future as the 15" tires go away.
 
I had a set of the same aftermarket mirrors from SOR for the 60 series. They are the same head anyways, with the 60 series base/arm attached. I really liked the visibility, I got convex for both sides. As Poser stated the glass rattled in them terribly, I used them for years, despite the shaking and audible rattle. The paint also came off the pop metal base piece pretty quickly. Unfortunately, the part that makes the 90 degree bend, detailed in the image above was plastic. My fat ass cat climbed out on one last year and I found it broken off in the yard. There is no way to fix it. The pivot point is the same as above, bolt with spring and nut.

I ask is the OEM piece cast, or plastic also? That is the week link in the design that I see. They do provide good visibility though.

I'm trying this solution right now, on an earlier 40: https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/door-mirror-opinion-option.822084/ Unfortunately they also rattle some, the arm is a tad long, and the door, despite being bolted to the hinge is soft and lets the arm vibrate on rough roads. They do decent on the highway though.
 
MoCoNative said:
Unfortunately, the part that makes the 90 degree bend, detailed in the image above was plastic. My fat ass cat climbed out on one last year and I found it broken off in the yard. There is no way to fix it. The pivot point is the same as above, bolt with spring and nut.

I ask is the OEM piece cast, or plastic also? That is the week link in the design that I see.
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That part is made of plastic on the OEM also. I wouldn't necessarily hold that against the design. It may be engineered that way for safety reasons. My understanding is that Europe has very comprehensive pedestrian safety regulations for cars, so there may be some relationship to that.
 
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Regarding wheels... give a call to wheelsmith thewheelsmith.net they can make whatever you want and the hubcaps will fit. There made out of billet and run about 250 per wheel. I had a 17 x 8 wheel that held the caps quoted at 250 per. And that includes powder coating.
 
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