why are mirrors not standard cadillac?

So I am putting final chrome on. I had ordered mirror gaskets for my 64 Superior. they are too small. The mirrors are rectangle, not round and the base is longer for both RH/LH. Is the rearview special made as well? It looks too big to fit in a stock cadillac. So who made them for Cadillac/Superior and is this standard throughout all coach mfg, ie MM, Eureka, etc.? Begs the question, if I ever needed to replace one, would it have to be from a donor?
 
Is it possible that you have mirrors from a later model Cadillac? From what I understand, Cadillac used round mirrors until sometime in the '70s. Is it possilbe that your square mirrors were put on sometime after the car was built?
 
the 64 used the mirror off the 59 on the CC. the cowl is a 59 cowl also. so there are a couple seals on the cowl and door that are only found on the 59 car. just one more of those odd things you find on the early 60s. it has to do with how the stock mirror manuale adjuster went inside the car. remember superior made the doors using the front half of the 59 door frame. the 64 door frame is a different shape to accommodate the adjuster they used on the mirror. I was hoping to avoid plaiting the one we have here by getting a diffeent on . thus I learned my lesson.
 
Mirrors on any of our cars is always a very sore subject. This especially applies to the '59-'64 Cadillac model years with the dogleg windshield. Trust me when I say, there is not such thing as a good mirror, only those that are less bad than others. Worst of all, if you were to purchase an OEM style mirror from McVey or Ed Cholakian, it would look great, but you'd have to have a weird twist in it to be able to see anything. Even at that, you'll only see half of what you'd like. That's the case with my '60 Eureka.

I actually have two mirrors on the passenger side door. One is the standard Cadillac mirror that is mounted to the sheet metal of the door, the other is aftermarket, clamped to the upper edge of the door. It's not the prettiest, but beats having the side of your car bashed in when you're involved in an accident because you couldn't see what's on the right. See photo below for reference. By the way, that's not me in the photo, just some admirers in downtown Des Moines during the 2006 CLC Grand National. Tom
 

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I thought all the CC cars used the long stem rear view mirror. Found a 63 uperior in a salvage yard with a short stem rear view mirror installed.
 
What else is there to know about parts interchangability on the 63/64 CC? I know the rear license plate lense on the 63 Superior are from a 55-56 chevy wagon.
U-joint U bolt; Neafco, 1-0189
Rear u-joint; same as front.
 
I thought all the CC cars used the long stem rear view mirror. Found a 63 uperior in a salvage yard with a short stem rear view mirror installed.

From my observations, most commercial chassis cars did have the long stem rear view mirror, but I have noticed some exceptions. For example, Dan Skivolocke's 1959 Superior ambulance has a short stem mirror. After noticing this, I realized that a long stem mirror would be useless in that car because of the partition.

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I believe that there are 2 different type of mirrors being discussed in this thread. The original question was in reference to the outside door mirror, and the associated door mirror gasket. Brad, you have brought into the discussion the inside rear view mirror, I believe. Please correct me if this isn't what you are referring to. If it is the inside rear view mirror, then the mirror itself is the same for many years, and the only way to tell the vintage is if it is a day/night mirror. Then the "lever" to change from day to night changes design every few years, however, the function remains constant. The mirror bracket that GM supplied for the commercial glass cars is a long neck bracket, however, as you have pointed out, a short neck bracket might be preferred in some instances.
As for the outside door mirror, I believe that GM provided a special mirror for the commercial chassis cars that looks like the GM mirror used on the same year Cadillac, but isn't the same. Only checking the Cadillac parts manual will give a definitive answer to this question as to which years this option was available.
 
I know that the outside door mirror on the passenger side on my Fleetwood 75 is different than the standard mirrors on the other models, must be angled differently due to the car being longer. Also, the inside rear view mirror is also different, is is wider than the regular cars. I just had new mirror glass put in the passenger side mirror last week. It will be nice to actually see something over there other than four pieces of broken mirror glass, all reflecting something other than what you need to see. The glass that fit was exactly the same size as a '79 Sedan DeVille. All done for $32.00.
 
Brad, you have brought into the discussion the inside rear view mirror, I believe.

I was responding to the comment made by Russ regarding the stem/bracket length on the review mirrors. The OP (Doug) was discussing both types of mirrors.

Regarding sideview mirrors, some commercial chassis cars seem to have factory-style side view mirrors, as Paul mentioned. Yet some others have mirrors that look to be made by aftermarket companies, such as Yankee. One popular style of aftermarket mirror was used for a few years as far back as 1959, and at least as late as 1966. Although I cannot recall what company produced the mirrors I'm speaking of, they can be seen on cars used for the 1959 Superior factory promotional and catalog photos. If I am able to determine the maker of these mirrors, I will post it here for those who may find it helpful.

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As for the side view mirrors on Doug's car, they may not be original but square mirrors did exist in the aftermarket, and could have been added when the car was new. With so many different styles of round side view mirror used on professional cars of the same period, restorers can use what they prefer and still be correct.
 
examples of mirrors

here are my outside mirrors. they are manual adjust from outside only. the inside rearview mirror has a very long stem on it. comments?
 

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here are my outside mirrors. they are manual adjust from outside only. the inside rearview mirror has a very long stem on it. comments?

The mirror pictured is probably from the early 1970's. It actually looks like a Vega mirror to me. Aftermarket mirrors of the early 1960's have a different appearance. Check eBay for something that you might like.
 
most definitely a add on mirror. if you have the mirrors on the spot light toss the after market ones way. not all the pro car had the mirror added to the right like the left one. the right factory style mirror is unusable in the position they put it. but it's balanced on the car. that's why you see the add on style up on the fender in some. Brendon's had both on the right. the factory mirror sits behind the widow post. you could see out the spotlight mirror looking threw the corner of the windshield. but all you could see is the factory mirror. we are removing the factory mirror and plugging the holes. all the GMs in this set of years had this problem with the right door mirrior. you need a left spot light head with the mirrior let me know I have a few of them. I'm looking for a right door spot light mount for the 53.
 

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I definately need the spolight with the mirror.....NEVER have seen one that I recall....looked in Superior Book but couldn't find any that I could see.
 
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