Large Durant mirror restoration - 102071

[Jones]

In searching for Durant mirror glass replacement, I didn't come up with any really helpful information... Some said be careful removing the plastic trim ring, but no method was revealed; so I decided to dig in, do the job and make a new thread.

The thread title includes the last six digits of the vin for my '71 T coupe, and since I have decided I will be actively restoring as many individual pieces as possible, I intend to post component restoration threads that will include 102071 at the end. This way interested people can track my progress while others that are just searching for details on one thing can find them easily.
While I love the 20-50 page restoration threads on a particular car, they are challenging to search to find specific details. I hope this just makes it easier to find things.

I will post another thread with the car story and pictures, and hopefully many more on the restoration process.

LARGE DURANT MIRROR RESTORATION, Part 1:

My original mirror glass is toast and the mirror movement is seized, the mounting plate and fasteners are intact, and the original seal to the door is perfect.

Remove the plastic trim ring carefully... there is a lip that holds the hard plastic trim in place, I figured a way to get in there without damage to the plastic or the thin stainless housing was to use an Olfa utility knife with heavy duty snap off blades. I started in one spot and carefully moved around the ring to make space to clear the stainless lip. I also used a heat gun to heat up the housing and the plastic in an attempt to make things easier and reduce chance of breaking the plastic. It worked well.





After making some space around the edge I got the knife between the plastic and glass and then used a screwdriver to start lifting...





That worked well, and gave me space to slip a putty knife under and continue to pry without damaging the plastic...



I just worked around and got the ring lifted, I continued to keep everything warm with the heat gun during this process...



And cracked the glass right at the end, no concern there...



I used a small hook to pull the glass out, there was a small bead of adhesive holding it in...



Now easy to see all the rust inside that was rattling around, I'm soaking it in Evapo-Rust to start dealing with the seized adjustment mechanism...



That's the start! As I move forward with process, I'll add to the post.

[dho]

Nice start, Jones! Looking forward to the continuation.

dho

[Jones]

Nice start, Jones! Looking forward to the continuation.

dho

Thanks dho... I forgot to mention that I used some needle nose pliers to snap the blades off of the knife after inserting them between the plastic and the stainless housing.
I'm unable to free up the pivot, so I'll be drilling the bolt out and replacing it. Will make it easier to polish the housing and base also.

[SBell]

I recently rebuilt a couple of these with convex glass for passenger side mirrors for my car and one of my father's cars. Simichrome polish works well for shining up the stainless exterior. I used a neoprene sheet to cut out the gasket for the glass. My dad also had an aircraft plastic restorer that worked well to clean up the black plastic and make it look like new. I can get the name from him.

[Bert]

Excellent thread so far.

Thanks,

[Jones]

I recently rebuilt a couple of these with convex glass for passenger side mirrors for my car and one of my father's cars. Simichrome polish works well for shining up the stainless exterior. I used a neoprene sheet to cut out the gasket for the glass. My dad also had an aircraft plastic restorer that worked well to clean up the black plastic and make it look like new. I can get the name from him.

Thanks for the tip on the neoprene sheet... I would be interested to hear what you used for the plastic.

[Jones]

I made a tool to hold the round slotted lock nut (type DIN 546) to try and disassemble the housing from the base... I wasn't really expecting to be able to salvage the fastener bits due to rust but I didn't want to start with a drill.
The bolt broke pretty easily:





A bit surprised at the fastener arrangement, I was actually expecting a spring to hold the tension.
The slotted head M6x20mm bolt is flat on two sides, it goes through a flat washer and a fulcrum, and is then held from rotating by the flat sided hole in the base. There is a concave washer that sits behind the hole in the base, another washer, a nut, a flat washer that also has flats to prevent rotation, then another nut.
So it is just the tension of the fastener assembly that allows for movement of the housing in the base. Years of moisture and lack of lubrication necessitates the replacement of the fastening components.



Here you can see the shape of the hole in the base. You can also see that I've polished the base and the housing:



I'm happy with the results so far. ...I've ordered a new mirror glass, and will be working on the fastener replacement next.

[SBell]

The plastic restorer I used for the plastic bezel was 303 Products Aerospace Protectant. You can get it on Amazon.

[Jones]

The plastic restorer I used for the plastic bezel was 303 Products Aerospace Protectant. You can get it on Amazon.

Thanks for the tip on the 303 Product... I ended up using something else. See details in next post.

[Jones]

As a result of the corroded fastener arrangement, particularly the fulcrum, I had to replicate some of the parts. I ground flat sides into a new M6 bolt, modified a stainless steel M6 nut-sert to replace the one broken nut, ...and had a new fulcrum 3D printed with carbon fibre impregnated PLA, (let me know if you need one, I have a spare, and could make more). I was able to clean up and re-use all the washers and one of the nuts.



I used some teflon grease to lubricate the ball pivot before re-assembly, it is primarily stainless vs stainless in the pivot, I expect this will provide adequate lubrication for many years.
The next shot shows the first nut installed through the base, a bit tricky, I modified a deep 6mm 1/4 drive socket to engage with the slots in the nut, and torqued it down until the pivot felt secure but still movable.
Then the special flat washer with internal flats to prevent rotation, then the lock nut (made from a stainless nut-sert).



I used butyl seam sealer rope for the gasket between the mirror and the housing, stretched and rolled out to provide a stable cushion for the glass, the original material seemed to have some flexibility to it to allow squish on installation, this worked. (Sorry, no picture) I used Novus #2 plastic polish on the bezel followed by CQ.UK ceramic plastic coating, that turned out well. For assembly, I bedded and centred the glass in the butyl, then heated the housing and bezel with a heat gun, (quite hot), then pushed the bezel in, (surprisingly easily). Here's the results:





I am happy, looks great, moves as it should, and is original to the car ...102071