Some people should work on cars, others should not. Seems my car was owned by someone who should never have been allowed to touch cars.

My SA had some strange shitty aftermarket mirrors on it, So I went about replacing them with a set off an 83 i got for cheap.

Unfortunately, the aftermarket mirrors didn't have correct hole alignment, seems that the previous owner plugged the original holes, installed some rivet nuts in their place, and painted over everything. On the divers side he kept 1 original hole and just drilled a screw right into the door panel where it didn't align.

Not only are these holes in the wrong place, but the rivet nuts are spinning, So I'm unable to reinstall the old mirror, and I can't attempt to install the new mirror over top.

Looking for some advice on how to tackle this in the least invasive way.

 

Wow thats a new one.

Looks like the area was repainted, overspray on weatherstrip...? iI is probably a safe bet that an original mirror hole could have been filled in, if one of those is an original, use the mount to see where the hidden one is, and see if it just filled in with some bondo? Might be able to slowly pick it out.

Also need an SA expert to chime in regarding mirror mount footprint, not sure if same as FB.

If you are able to find the size of the rivnut, you could use a rivnut tool or same bolt and big washer, to try to tighten and squish the rinvut more to get it to catch. Don't need much, just enough to snug up the mirror bolt.

 

If you don't want to do any bodywork, then what I would do is make a mounting plate that is the same footprint as the after market one. It would allow you to utilize the current holes. Then add some nut-certs (rivnut) or similar to the new mounting that will mount the new mirror. This will allow you to not make more holes in the door. I would then powder coat the new bracket.

This will allow you to mount the new mirrors without any new holds or bodywork.

The early SAs didn't come with a passenger mirror. Hence, no factory holes on that side. I believe it might have been an option.

 

FB & SA mirror mounts identical...if that helps

Stu A
80GS
AZ

 

This honestly might have been the case. My SA is a 79, but the date of manufacture on the inside of the door says it was built in 78, and the hood prop is also on the right side. So signs of it being a very early model.

I would like to drill out the old rivets, but they are spinning. So I can't screw the rivet gun into it, let alone a regular bolt (due to spinning). I think maybe I will take the car to a body shop and see if they can properly remove the existing rivets, clean the area up, drill and install new rivets in the correct location, and hopefully the mounting plate from the mirror will cover up the old holes.

 

Your door tag should also tell you what month of 78 your car was built. Sometime around Oct - Dec of 78 is when they started adding passanger door mirrors. North America production began in March of 78, so quite a few cars came w/o them.

I doubt a body shop will have any magical solution thats cheap. Can you use a dremel or pencil die grinder to surgically grind down the head of the rivet so that you can then drive it out (to the inside) with a small pin punch?

 

I was just getting ready to mention that! My 10/78 SA didn't originally have a passenger mirror. Someone later, sloppily, added one.

 

This is an opportunity! The rearview mirror mounting on both my FBs isn't stiff enough, to put it charitably. They shake so much at highway speed (which can be 85 here in MI) that they're basically useless. There's a nut plate on the inside of the door skin, and it's too small to provide firm mounting. If you're crafty, you can end up with RH & LH mirrors that are actually useful.

If you successfully reinforce your mirror mounts, let me know how you did it so I can copy