Carl Bilter Jan 2020

Letter car outside rear view mirrors

Outside rear view mirrors were not particularly common factory equipment back in the 1950's and early 1960's. The first 300 in 1955 did not have an outside rear view mirror available even as a factory option, lest it spoil the beautiful sleek lines of the car. Starting in 1956, the factory offered a left side (driver's) outside rear view mirror as a factory option. Right side (passenger) outside rear view mirrors were available as a factory option in some years and as a dealer accessory throughout the letter car production. By the late 1950's the outside mirrors had become an element of the overall vehicle style, and complemented the “forward look' style of the cars. Yet even on a high end car like the 300 letter series they remained optional equipment at extra cost.

We think that the factory optional mirrors were not installed at the factory, but were instead shipped with the car to the dealer where they were installed as part of the new car prep. The dealers had templates for the proper mirror placement, but some notable variation in placement occurred that will be illustrated later in the article.

On cars not ordered with an outside mirror from the factory, dealers or owners often installed a mirror, usually only on the driver's side, as they were available as a dealer accessory item or through the automotive aftermarket.

1955

All literature for the 1955 Chrysler 300 indicates that no outside rear view mirror was available from the factory. We are not currently aware of any 1955 300s that left the factory with an exterior mirror included with the car, but it is known that some exceptions were made to policy regarding equipment for 300s that was available on other Chryslers. Therefore, it is conceivable that a 1955 300 could have left the factory with an exterior mirror. A door mounted driver side mirror was available from the dealership, part number 1607967, which was used on other Chrysler and Imperial models, that could be installed by the dealer or owner. A passenger side mirror is not listed in the parts book. Here is a photo of the door mount mirror available in 1955.

1956

The 300B featured the factory option of a driver's (left) outside rear view mirror which was a manually controlled fender mounted single strut mirror, part number 1772447. This style mirror also remained available as a dealer item until at least 1959. The 1955 style mirror was also still available at the dealer.



1957

The 300C featured the factory option of a left outside rear view mirror which was a manually controlled fender mounted twin strut mirror, part number 1773071, option code 335, for a price of $4.30. The right side mirror was available as option code 541, also for $4.30. This style mirror also remained available as a dealer item until at least 1960. Here is the driver's side mirror.



Here are photos of the passenger side mirror.



1958

The 300D featured the factory option of a new style hooded mirror. The fender mount twin strut left outside rear view mirror was available as a manual mirror, part number 1830501, or for the first time with remote control, part number 1839408. The left side manual mirror was option code 401, and the remote control version was option code 402 and cost $13.80. A manual passenger side mirror was option code 403.



1959-1960

The 300E and 300F featured the factory option of yet another new style twin strut hooded mirror that was mounted on the fender. In 1959 the left outside rear view mirror was available as a manual mirror, option code 401, for $6.50; or as a remote control mirror, option code 402, part number 2084545, for $18.00. A manual passenger side mirror was available as option code 403, part number 2084546, for $6.50. For 1960 the same mirrors were offered for the same prices. The left side manual mirror was option code 382. The left side remote control mirror was part number 2084787 and option code 383. The right side manual mirror was part number 2084546.



1961-1962

In 1961 a new fender mounted twin strut hooded mirror style was introduced as a factory option that would last through 1964. In 1961 and 1962, the mirror was mounted directly to the fender with no base. The left side mirror was available as a manual mirror or with remote control. In 1961 the remote control version was option code 383, part number 2275014, and it cost $18.00. A passenger side manual mirror was also available, part number 2275015.

Here are photos of the drivers side mirror.



Here is a photo of the passenger side mirror.


1963-1964

The 300J and 300K used the same mirror style as the 300G and 300H, but due to the new body style and fender contours, a base (or “wedge”) was required under the mirror. The factory option included the mirror, base and gasket as a package. The factory optional left side mirror was available with remote control. The left side manual mirror and right side manual mirror were only available as a dealer accessory. In both 1963 and 1964, the left side remote control mirror was option code 482, part number 2421989, priced at $18.00. The dealer accessory left side manual mirror was part number 2421990, and the right side mirror was part number 2495121.

Here are photos of the drivers side mirror with base installed.








Here are photos of the dealer accessory passenger side mirror with base installed.




Some have thought that the base used on the 1963-64 Chryslers was the same as that which was used on the 1964-66 Imperial. That is not the case. Chrysler used a different base for the left and right side and both were different from the Imperial base, which was the same left or right side. The following two photos illustrate the differences between a right side Chrysler base and the Imperial base. The Chrysler base is on the left, and the Imperial base is on the right.



The left side Chrysler base has been available as a reproduction for some time, but until this year the right side base has not been reproduced and has been nearly impossible to find. The club now offers the right side base as a reproduction item here:
www.simplexco.com/auto/wedge/6364.html

As mentioned at the beginning of the article we have noticed a huge variation in the placement of the outside rear view mirrors on the car, specifically in the 1963-64 models. While the dealers had templates for installing the mirrors, the only consistency we have found is inconsistency. Here are photos of the left side mirrors on two 300Js. Note that one car has the mirror installed significantly further out on the fender than the other car does.




Regardless of the left mirror placement on the fender, if the car has a right side mirror
it should be placed symmetrically with the mirror on the left side.

1965

The 300L featured a totally new factory optional left side door mounted mirror, either in manual form or with remote control. The manual mirror was option code 511, part number 2299574. The remote control mirror was option code 512, part number 2495878. The matching right side mirror was a dealer accessory, part number 2525938.