rear view mirror : ceiling mount
Oct 6, 2011 12:27:38 GMT -5
Post by sigmfsk on Oct 6, 2011 12:27:38 GMT -5
Here:
www.bluesbrotherscentral.com/forum/bluesmobiles/8170-quick-question.html#post94650
Huey writes:
> Rear view mirror was mounted to the windshield on 74's with the exception of
> special order cars that had the solid mounts. 99% of 74's had the windsheild mount.
> So that would be rare if you have the solid mount. It could also be installed by
> the dealer or police agency if it was needed. Of all the Police packages I have owned
> I have yet to have a solid mount mirror car.
Here:
www.bluesbrotherscentral.com/forum/bluesmobiles/9484-morphing-bluesmobile.html#post108758
I write that April 2010 Mopar Action, page 91, says that regarding windshield mounts for rear-view-mirror
> As far as assembly line, 1974 was the changeover year.
Here:
www.bluesbrotherscentral.com/forum/bluesmobiles/10330-seatbelt-replacement.html#post114685
I write that page 23 of the 1974 Dodge Dealer Data Book
www.hamtramck-historical.com/dealerships/1974DealershipDataBook-06.shtml
says
> Windshield-mounted inside rearview mirror. Standard on hardtops and sedans, this
> mirror provides more vertical adjustment to improve rearward vision.
So now it's time to get down to the skinny.
According to the parts catalogs, all models of dodges in 1970 had ceiling mount rear-view mirrors. And each year fewer and fewer dodge models had ceiling mount mirrors. In 1974, only station wagons had ceiling mount mirrors. And in 1975, no dodge models had ceiling mount mirrors.
Here is a list showing the part numbers for the ceiling mount bracket, and the part number for the mirror.
Darn the proportional spacing that I can't seem to turn off. So the chart is hard to read, but the data is there for someone that wants to dig through it.
Dodge
mount mirror
1970 27 2935343 (chrome) 3454875
1970 21,23,29,41,43 2999022 (painted) 3454875
1970 45,46 2945209 (painted) 3454875
1971 27 glued to windshield
1971 21,23,29,41,43 3586103 (painted) 3508226
1971 45,46 3586105 (painted) 3508226
1972 21,27 glued to windshield
1972 23,29,41,43 3586103 (painted) (3508226 <= 15Dec71) or (3695128 > 15dec71)
1972 45,46 3586105 (painted) 3695128
1973 21,27,29 glued to windshield
1973 23,41,43 3586103 (painted) 3695128
1973 45,46 3586105 (painted) 3695128
1974 21,23,29,41,43 glued to windshield
1974 45,46 3760510 3695128
1975 all body styles glued to windshield
21 = 2-dr sed.
23 = 2-dr h.t
27 = conv. cpe. (none in 1974)
29 = fast back
41 = 4-dr sed.
43 = 4 dr h.t
45 = 6.pass sta.wgn.
46 = 9.pass sta.wgn.
---
So my theory was that the bluesmobile had either:
1) a 1973 4-door sedan mount, that was carried over into the 1974 for super-early police-only models before it was phased out for regular 1974 production
or
2) a 1974 station wagon mount, as it would make sense that the same mounting holes would be present in the sedan as in the station wagon.
It turns out that it is #2, and here's why I believe so.
pic 1 is a mount from a 1972 Polara 4-door sedan. It should be the same part number / mounting as a 1973 Polara 4-door sedan.
pic 2 shows the rear of the mount, lined up against my 1976 visor holder (1974-1977 visor holders have all the same spacing between the screw holes). This shows that the holes don't line up, so a 1973 Dodge 4-door sedan mount won't fit a 1974 Dodge 4-door sedan.
pics 3 and 4 show a 1974 Monaco station wagon mount.
pic 5 from
www.bluesbrotherscentral.com/forum/bluesmobiles/10217-theres-new-marin-county-sheriff-town-2.html#post112228
shows Marin County sans headliner.
Notice that it has THREE holes for the visor mount (which only has two holes). The third hole was unused, but is in the exact position needed to mount a 1974 Monaco station wagon mirror. I guess it's not THAT surprising that all 1974 Monacos shared that same strip of metal. Even the 1976 has the same 3 holes there.
pic 6 shows that the holes line up, by me test fitting the station wagon mirror.
Notice that the 1972 sedan mount has a ridge running down the center to the screw hole.
And notice that the 1974 wagon mount is all rounded and smooth with no ridge.
pics 7 and 8 are two screenshots from the movie. These are smooth ridgeless mounts, just like the 1974 wagon.
pic 9 shows a 1974 Dodge coronet wagon mount.
Its holes don't line up, and it doesn't look right, either. I don't know how/why a Dodge Coronet wagon has a different part than the Dodge Monaco wagon, when the part catalog shows a single part number for dodge wagons. But after I figured out what the Bluesmobile had, my heart really wasn't in digging into the nuances of rear view mirror ceiling mounts further.
The coronet wagon mirror is not as wide as the others. I think the narrower width could be screen accurate, but the longer mirror & mount is definitely screen accurate. I provide pic 10 for comparison.
And pic 11 is from a 73 fury, which appears to have the 72 sedan-like mount with ridge. Just a nice shot, and good seat belt shot, too.
So the mirror/mount of interest is a for a 1974 Dodge Monaco station wagon.
I think all the bluesmobiles in the movie had these wagon mounts, except for the few shots that show a mirror mounted to the strip that holds the headliner (pic 12).
I believe those bizarre pic12-like bluesmobiles originally had a windshield-mounted mirror, and they hollywooded a setup that looked closer to the standard bluesmobile ceiling mount.
archived info here:
www.bluesbrotherscentral.com/forum/topic/9593-ceiling-mount-rear-view-mirror/
www.bluesbrotherscentral.com/forum/bluesmobiles/8170-quick-question.html#post94650
Huey writes:
> Rear view mirror was mounted to the windshield on 74's with the exception of
> special order cars that had the solid mounts. 99% of 74's had the windsheild mount.
> So that would be rare if you have the solid mount. It could also be installed by
> the dealer or police agency if it was needed. Of all the Police packages I have owned
> I have yet to have a solid mount mirror car.
Here:
www.bluesbrotherscentral.com/forum/bluesmobiles/9484-morphing-bluesmobile.html#post108758
I write that April 2010 Mopar Action, page 91, says that regarding windshield mounts for rear-view-mirror
> As far as assembly line, 1974 was the changeover year.
Here:
www.bluesbrotherscentral.com/forum/bluesmobiles/10330-seatbelt-replacement.html#post114685
I write that page 23 of the 1974 Dodge Dealer Data Book
www.hamtramck-historical.com/dealerships/1974DealershipDataBook-06.shtml
says
> Windshield-mounted inside rearview mirror. Standard on hardtops and sedans, this
> mirror provides more vertical adjustment to improve rearward vision.
So now it's time to get down to the skinny.
According to the parts catalogs, all models of dodges in 1970 had ceiling mount rear-view mirrors. And each year fewer and fewer dodge models had ceiling mount mirrors. In 1974, only station wagons had ceiling mount mirrors. And in 1975, no dodge models had ceiling mount mirrors.
Here is a list showing the part numbers for the ceiling mount bracket, and the part number for the mirror.
Darn the proportional spacing that I can't seem to turn off. So the chart is hard to read, but the data is there for someone that wants to dig through it.
Dodge
mount mirror
1970 27 2935343 (chrome) 3454875
1970 21,23,29,41,43 2999022 (painted) 3454875
1970 45,46 2945209 (painted) 3454875
1971 27 glued to windshield
1971 21,23,29,41,43 3586103 (painted) 3508226
1971 45,46 3586105 (painted) 3508226
1972 21,27 glued to windshield
1972 23,29,41,43 3586103 (painted) (3508226 <= 15Dec71) or (3695128 > 15dec71)
1972 45,46 3586105 (painted) 3695128
1973 21,27,29 glued to windshield
1973 23,41,43 3586103 (painted) 3695128
1973 45,46 3586105 (painted) 3695128
1974 21,23,29,41,43 glued to windshield
1974 45,46 3760510 3695128
1975 all body styles glued to windshield
21 = 2-dr sed.
23 = 2-dr h.t
27 = conv. cpe. (none in 1974)
29 = fast back
41 = 4-dr sed.
43 = 4 dr h.t
45 = 6.pass sta.wgn.
46 = 9.pass sta.wgn.
---
So my theory was that the bluesmobile had either:
1) a 1973 4-door sedan mount, that was carried over into the 1974 for super-early police-only models before it was phased out for regular 1974 production
or
2) a 1974 station wagon mount, as it would make sense that the same mounting holes would be present in the sedan as in the station wagon.
It turns out that it is #2, and here's why I believe so.
pic 1 is a mount from a 1972 Polara 4-door sedan. It should be the same part number / mounting as a 1973 Polara 4-door sedan.
pic 2 shows the rear of the mount, lined up against my 1976 visor holder (1974-1977 visor holders have all the same spacing between the screw holes). This shows that the holes don't line up, so a 1973 Dodge 4-door sedan mount won't fit a 1974 Dodge 4-door sedan.
pics 3 and 4 show a 1974 Monaco station wagon mount.
pic 5 from
www.bluesbrotherscentral.com/forum/bluesmobiles/10217-theres-new-marin-county-sheriff-town-2.html#post112228
shows Marin County sans headliner.
Notice that it has THREE holes for the visor mount (which only has two holes). The third hole was unused, but is in the exact position needed to mount a 1974 Monaco station wagon mirror. I guess it's not THAT surprising that all 1974 Monacos shared that same strip of metal. Even the 1976 has the same 3 holes there.
pic 6 shows that the holes line up, by me test fitting the station wagon mirror.
Notice that the 1972 sedan mount has a ridge running down the center to the screw hole.
And notice that the 1974 wagon mount is all rounded and smooth with no ridge.
pics 7 and 8 are two screenshots from the movie. These are smooth ridgeless mounts, just like the 1974 wagon.
pic 9 shows a 1974 Dodge coronet wagon mount.
Its holes don't line up, and it doesn't look right, either. I don't know how/why a Dodge Coronet wagon has a different part than the Dodge Monaco wagon, when the part catalog shows a single part number for dodge wagons. But after I figured out what the Bluesmobile had, my heart really wasn't in digging into the nuances of rear view mirror ceiling mounts further.
The coronet wagon mirror is not as wide as the others. I think the narrower width could be screen accurate, but the longer mirror & mount is definitely screen accurate. I provide pic 10 for comparison.
And pic 11 is from a 73 fury, which appears to have the 72 sedan-like mount with ridge. Just a nice shot, and good seat belt shot, too.
So the mirror/mount of interest is a for a 1974 Dodge Monaco station wagon.
I think all the bluesmobiles in the movie had these wagon mounts, except for the few shots that show a mirror mounted to the strip that holds the headliner (pic 12).
I believe those bizarre pic12-like bluesmobiles originally had a windshield-mounted mirror, and they hollywooded a setup that looked closer to the standard bluesmobile ceiling mount.
archived info here:
www.bluesbrotherscentral.com/forum/topic/9593-ceiling-mount-rear-view-mirror/