Chris W Posted June 23, 2003 Share Posted June 23, 2003 I just received today the wing mirrors I ordered from "Seven Accessories" (advert in LF £55 inc VAT and P&P). IMHO they look really good. Fitting is simple in theory although I caution, I had problems with mine due maybe to mine being an SV. The guy who sells them isn't in at the moment so I couldn't bounce the problem of him. Anyway it's solved, they're on and they look great. I thought I would write up what happened in case it's of use to anyone else. The problem I had is that the mirrors' bracket hole did not line up quite correctly (2-3mm out) with the door hinges on the windscreen. Maybe the SV has a slightly different measurement in this area but anyway it was enough out to mean I couldn't get the mirror hinge rod in. I solved the problem by taking off the four brackets on the windscreen and opening up the holes in them and in the windscreen surround with a 5mm drill bit. This enabled the hinges to float enough to allow the mirror hinge rod to fit. I then tightened up the brackets and everything was fine........ ........... almost. Of course, now the mirrors fitted, the doors didn't. Their hinges, which previously had been OK, now were misaligned. So I solved this bit of the puzzle by loosening off the door brackets (the ones on the doors themselves), fitting the doors and then retightening the door brackets. All is now well and both doors and mirrors can be swopped over in less than one minute. Chris 1.8K SV 140hp see it here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesA Posted June 23, 2003 Share Posted June 23, 2003 A very familiar story, I bought the same wing mirrors for my SV, I had to loosen the brackets on the window and the door. But once fitted the mirrors work great, look good and provide a much need side view as I rarely use the doors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myles Posted June 23, 2003 Share Posted June 23, 2003 Chris - can you post piccies on your site please? Thanks, Myles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nifty Posted June 23, 2003 Share Posted June 23, 2003 Don't the instructions tell you to perform this realigment task? I'm sure mine did. I use the SPA mirrormounts with Spa mirrors (obviously) and I love them *thumbup* 😬 😬 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris W Posted June 23, 2003 Author Share Posted June 23, 2003 Myles Will post some photos tomorrow and will let you know when they are up. Nifty The instructions do mention that if there is any tightness ( ) you should loosen off the brackets and retighten with the mirrors in place. They also recommend running a 3/16 (5mm) bit through the brackets where the hinge rod passes. But I had to make the screwholes in the brackets and the holes in the screen support larger by about a millimetre. I have spoken to the manufacturer (Rick Longden - seems a nice guy) and he has recognised that there appears to be a slight misalignment on the SV's. He doesn't yet know for sure what the problem is but believes CC have very slightly adjusted the position of the brackets on the SV. Still, they're on and at the end of the day it wasn't really a hassle. I took it for a blat this evening and the mirrors are just perfect. Great vision and no vibration. You can adjust the height of them too for preference just by swopping right and left over. The mirror sits at one end of its bracket, so by turning them upside down you can have a lower position, or simply turn them up the other way, swop sides and they sit in a higher position. The area of the glass is good too. Not so large that they look naff, but large enough to give really good vision. The turbulence is more IMO than when I first took the doors off and drove without side mirrors. And at £55 inc vat & P&P they're as cheap as chips. Swopping them with the doors is now literally less than a minute's work. Chris 1.8K SV 140hp see it here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nifty Posted June 23, 2003 Share Posted June 23, 2003 Chris, *thumbup* I had a long chat with Richard when I bought mine an dwould agree he's a jolly nice chap. He hadn't been too well last autumn, is he better now? Nifty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_thombs Posted June 26, 2003 Share Posted June 26, 2003 Are the pics around yet as I'd like to have a look at them, also Nifty which Spa mirrors are you using and how have you fixed them ? Cheers Jon Beaulieu no31 My Caterham Pics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris W Posted June 26, 2003 Author Share Posted June 26, 2003 Apologies for the delay in getting the pics up. I will have them up either this evening or tomorrow morning. Chris 1.8K SV 140hp see it here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordy Posted June 26, 2003 Share Posted June 26, 2003 I have a couple of Spa formula mirrors that I'm trying to get my head around how to fix. I currently use a Spa GT wing mirror on the drivers side which is bolted directly to the door hinge on the windscreen stanchion. It works really well and sits nicely at the right angle. I don't use the supplied 2 bolt ball and socket fixing. Using a single bolt through the stanchion and hinge directly into the mirrors stay. I bought the smaller SPA formulas as a set and intended on mounting them the same way but they do not naturally sit horizontally when mounted. The only way would be to use the ball and socket joint supplied. I would have to drill the stanchions to mount them but cannot find a nice enough position. Also the passenger side mirror would be blocked by the side doors. Anyone any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DohNut Posted June 26, 2003 Share Posted June 26, 2003 Fordy someone was trying to explain how they had mounted a "Spa" mirror and I could not work out what they had done. Do I understand that the larger mirror has a different 90 degree? mounting compared to the smaller mirror which has a 45 degree mounting? But anyway I retained the mounting and I got a longer countersunk bolt and attached the mirror to the windscreen stantion using the middle bolt hole. I have only just done this so I am not sure If I will bother with the drilling a hole in the stantion for the lower mounting point. Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordy Posted June 26, 2003 Share Posted June 26, 2003 Yes, the stays on the mirrors are different angles, can't remember what though. Which means for the smaller mirror you still need to utilise the articulated joint as the mount point to get the right angle. Which of course means drilling your stanchion or scuttle. The way I mount the larger mirror is this... On the windscreen stanchion there are a few hinges for the doors. These hinges bolt though the stanchion with the nuts sitting behind the glass on the inside. I turn one of those bolts around (I think the bottom-most one) so that the allen cap head is on the inside, remaining thread on the outside, discard the nut. The angled stay on the spa mirror bolts straight onto this caphead m6 (?) thread. I don't then bother with the ball and socket adjustment - discarding it. Mounting the formula mirror in the same way means the mirror sits sloped at an angle. Hope that makes sense Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris W Posted June 27, 2003 Author Share Posted June 27, 2003 Three photos of the "Seven Accessories" mirrors fitted to my SV are now posted on my website (click below - photos 7, 8, & 9). You will see the rod which passes through the mirror fittings and the existing door brackets to secure them. There is no vibration in use. You will also see that the mirrors are constructed so that they are positioned at one end of their bracket rather than in the middle. This means by swapping right and left over, you can either have the mirrors in the "low" position (as I have) or, if you are much taller, then you can have the mirrors in the "high" position. I tried both and prefer the low position 😳. I think they are excellent both in use and in value. Chris 1.8K SV 140hp see it here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Hughes Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 Hi Fordy Fitted my SPA mirrors on the lower door hinge via a small ali peice of flat bar approw 30x25x4mm. This is drilled for the hinge bolts and sits forward from them. I then tapped the ali and used short countersunk bolts to attach the SPA base infront of the hinge. No prob with drivers side, on the passinger side I cut the supporting arm and extended it by about 25mm by epoxying it into a peice of ali tube so the mirror is not masked when the side screen is on. The only other prob I've had is "mirror droop" due to wind / vibration. put some small rubber tap washers between the ball and the tightening screw and did them up real tight - now rock steady. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nifty Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 John, Bloody good idea that, the tap washers. *idea* *idea* *thumbup* Do you mind if I crib it? *wink* Jon (j_thombs), I am using SPA Saloon flat (No 8, Pg 146, DT Catalogue 2002) I chose these because I was told the smaller size were not road legal (these have 100cm2 of glass). Not sure if I wouldn't go for convex next time just to give that wider view on the lefthand side. They are fixed using the Seven Accessories SPA mirror base. This is the same design as the base for Chris's mirrors but the base plate is thicker to allow the SPA mirror base to be screwed into it. The plate is designed with a hole down the centre to allow adjustment of the mirror ball screw. I love them, reckon they improve the look *thumbup* *wink* I don't have the ability to post a picture on the web but there is a picture of such a setup on one of the Caterham Graduates sites because a lot of them run with these (I got the idea when looking at race cars in Hyperions workshop). Cheers, Nifty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myles Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 Thanks for posting those Chris. Nice cushions O/T I have to ask - WIHN is that new addition in the center of the dash on top of the scuttle??? I think you might need to provide a layout diagram from now on 😬 REgds, Myles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesA Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 Great photo album Chris, thank you. What color is your car, it looks like annaversary maroon, it looks great? Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smegnoguk Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 Got mine this week and they are certainly a doddle to fit. My only comment would be that I would have preferred a tiny bit of convex curvature - especially on the left one for some reason. Otherwise I am really chuffed with them. Was going post my pictures this weekend but you beat me to it! ☹️ Who's looking at the Ferrari? Nobody, that's who! Edited by - smegnoguk on 27 Jun 2003 16:53:21 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris W Posted June 27, 2003 Author Share Posted June 27, 2003 The addition centre top dash is a flux-gate compass. Glad you like the photos guys Jim the colour is indeed anniversary maroon. It came out a little darker when they delivered it (it was factory built in February this year) than the one I had seen in the showroom, so I was a trifle disappointed. I tossed up beteween this colour and the Dodge Viper blue with silver stripe. Chris 1.8K SV 140hp see it here Edited by - Chris W on 27 Jun 2003 17:57:42 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smegnoguk Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 I love the colour! Would have had the same but went for black instead. No regrets but would really like one of each! OUCH! 😳 Sorry. Got to go. The Memsahib wants a word with me! ☹️ Who's looking at the Ferrari? Nobody, that's who! Edited by - Smegnoguk on 27 Jun 2003 20:40:53 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesA Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 Chris, It was down to the same two color combinations with me also, I went with Viper blue and Silver, but sometimes wish I had gone with the Maroon, it's beautiful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nifty Posted June 28, 2003 Share Posted June 28, 2003 Jon, Oh, the power of Google *thumbup* To see a pair of SPAs mounted on Seven Accessories's bases, just as mine are, take a gander here. Personally I prefer the SPA mirror look over the [whisper] Westfield [/whisper] appearance. Nifty P.S. Sorry for the delay Jon. Itried to post this yesterday afternoon but it just wouldn't work...kept getting "Page can't be openned" messages. I was managing to post on other threads so was completely baffled. Just worked it out..I'd missed the "]" from the end of the [u r l]. Bloody fickle these compooter thingies, aren't they! 🙆🏻 🙆🏻 Edited by - Nifty on 28 Jun 2003 14:57:17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_thombs Posted June 29, 2003 Share Posted June 29, 2003 Nifty You are a star *smile* Thanks *thumbup* Jon Beaulieu no31 My Caterham Pics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Faulds Posted June 29, 2003 Share Posted June 29, 2003 Hi Jon, I'm pretty sure we've got a pair of those mirrors kicking about - I'll check this week when I finish refitting Rachel's engine. Are you coming up to Cadwell this weekend? Cheers Stuart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_thombs Posted June 30, 2003 Share Posted June 30, 2003 Hi Stuart, I think so, Dave mentioned something about maybe needing a van driver as you were at a rally in Scotland but I'm waiting to hear from him. If not then I'll most likely be there on the Sunday as a spectator........depending upon surviving the TWR auction at Brands on Saturday ! Of course it really depends on whether you are having another "towering inferno" BBQ If you've got any spare let me know Jon Beaulieu no31 My Caterham Pics Edited by - j_thombs on 30 Jun 2003 08:39:40 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Bishop Posted June 30, 2003 Share Posted June 30, 2003 Chris, How did you manage to get that last picture of the mirrors without a reflection of your knees in the wing guard? Are you a vampire? We need to be told. The postie's still got my mirrors. Hope they go on as nice as yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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