Question about side mirrors. One of the few things I hate about a gen2 is the truck looking mirrors. Wondering if a gen 3 or 4 bullet style side mirror would fit on a gen 2 door. If you have both can you measure the base and tell me if there is enough room?
Who ones both a gen2 and gen 3 or 4?
- Thread starter Sybil TF
- Start date
NHL2133
Enthusiast
My 3000GT takes offense to you calling it's side mirrors "truck looking". 
My 3000GT takes offense to you calling it's side mirrors "truck looking".
So does my Viper. I want power mirrors and of course I have an idea. Gen 5 looks cool with the bullet mirrors so why can't mine?
My 3000GT takes offense to you calling it's side mirrors "truck looking".
My 3000GT has BEAUTIFUL mirrors!..
(except for my vipers)..it is the most beautiful car out there!!
Isn't that a glorified Stealth?
I think I'd rather put it like the Stealth is a 3000GT wannanbe! LOL!
The other car is kinda purdy also.
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The other car is kinda purdy also.
Nice!
Wait! Do you have a gen5? Aren't the side mirrors the same as the gen 3,4's? If so measure the width and length of the mirror base for me.
Without getting too close to the car..(wouldn't want to damage the paint)...the mirror is (approx) 8 inches by 4 1/4 inch...and about 4 inches deep....hope that helps!
Well, need to know the width of the base where it bolts to the door. Hopefully no more than 2.5 inches.
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Looks to me...to be about 5 inches long..and 2 and a bit wide....(again..not exact cause I'm staying away from that VERY expensive paint job!!)..LOL!
Thanks! May be enough room but some say the angle will be off. I'm going to look into it further other wise will just order gen 2 power mirrors.
Jance GTS
Enthusiast
I actually started a thread asking about the Gen 3-4 and 5 mirrors. All of them are the same. I purchased a pair of 2008 mirrors and they will fit with a little bit of work. They actually just plug right in with the Gen 2 harness so nothing extra needs to be done with the wiring. It won't be a direct bolt on replacement but it can easily be done. The issue I'm running into is the position and angle of the new mirror so it will not only look right on the outside but still be useful while looking at it from inside the car. The base is really close to sitting on the door but not quite there yet. I'm getting the entire car repainted so if I have to modify the door, it's not a problem for me. The will work, but not without some effort. 
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Interesting. I have a 96 GTS so no power mirrors. How long before you get this done?I actually started a thread asking about the Gen 3-4 and 5 mirrors. All of them are the same. I purchased a pair of 2008 mirrors and they will fit with a little bit of work. They actually just plug right in with the Gen 2 harness so nothing extra needs to be done with the wiring. It won't be a direct bolt on replacement but it can easily be done. The issue I'm running into is the position and angle of the new mirror so it will not only look right on the outside but still be useful while looking at it from inside the car. The base is really close to sitting on the door but not quite there yet. I'm getting the entire car repainted so if I have to modify the door, it's not a problem for me. The will work, but not without some effort.
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Jance GTS
Enthusiast
Before the end of the year! LOL
No idea really, I'm going to be cutting down the base of the mirror and reshaping it to fit the door. These mirrors have huge bases on them so I want to cut out a good inch to get them to look right. This car is a side project so no telling when I will get to it.
What year and model will you be putting them on? Also I guess you will be cutting the base at different angle? Have you place the mirrors on the door to see what it looks like?
Jance GTS
Enthusiast
They are going on a 2000 GTS. If I place them on the door going into the stock mounting holes for the Gen 2 door, they are slightly misaligned and don't look right. If I turn them slightly at the base it looks better on the door, but I need to find a happy medium so they line up on the door so they are not over to one side to much.
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The base of the mirror is in the stock Gen 2 location in this picture, but i turned the mirror housing out so I could see better. This right now is my dilemma because I have to adjust the base so it sits the way the mirror housing is turned. Otherwise the mirror will be crooked on the door and won't look right. When I do cut the base at a different angle I will probably have to cut down one of the corners to drop the mirror down so it's not running uphill. Right now as is, the mirror runs uphill so the mirror face side needs to be cut and dropped down so it will look stock. Did I lose you on all that? lol.
Jance GTS
Enthusiast
I need to adjust the base and the housing. The housing is right, but the base is wrong.
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Jance GTS
Enthusiast
I'd say it's off about a 1/2" both ways. I need to move the base up from the stock holes about a 1/2" to center it on the door, but I also need to move the entire base back about a 1/4" - 3/4" so I can see out because the a-pillar blocks part of the mirror in the stock location. By doing all that, it won't let the base sit flush on the door, so that will have to be reworked and reshaped to sit flush. They are close to sitting flush now, but by the time I move it all around it will change it quite a bit.
So it bolts up to the stock location but you can't see squat out it? How does it look bolted up in the stock location? Doe it look like it is meant to be there? Also, what color is your car?
I don't have power mirrors on a 96 GTS, any suggestions on running the wiring?
I don't have power mirrors on a 96 GTS, any suggestions on running the wiring?
Jance GTS
Enthusiast
Let me go through this step by step because there are a few things that need to be done in order to bolt these mirrors up.
#1. The Gen 3/4/5 mirrors have 3 studs that drop down onto the door and are bolted to the door from the underneath side.
The Gen 2 mirrors are NOT mounted this way. The base of the mirror bolts to the door from the outside of the car by turning the mirror housing to gain access to the bolts. There are nuts welded to the inside of the door skin that allows you to bolt them down without being inside the car.
Since the new mirrors have 3 mounting studs you need to remove the center stud on the new mirror to make it work on a Gen 2.
#2. The welded nuts on the door skin need to be removed to make room for the new studs to drop in place so you can bolt them down. You could ream out the holes on the nuts but it's easier to just remove the nuts entirely. I just put a socket on them and tighten them until I broke the welds. IF you don't like this method you could simply drill new holes and leave the nuts welded in place so you can go back to the original mirrors.
#3. Now you can drop in the new mirrors and bolt them down.
_______________________________________________
DISCLAIMER
This is where I'm extremely picky with this mod. Your results will vary.
However I'm a perfectionist and I'm still in the building stage of this mod.
_______________________________________________
You can see out of this mirror as is with no more work involved in stock location but the a-pillar blocks a little bit of your view closet to the window.
Here is why I want to tweak the base and mounting position.
Gen 2 door and mirror angle.
Gen 3/4 door and mirror angle.
Gen 5 door and mirror angle.
Do you see the difference of the mounting angle on the doors for the different Gen's of Vipers? Since there are different shapes it creates different angles and viewing angles of the new mirrors on the older doors.
So.....
You will get small gaps around the base like this.
So what I want to do is drill new holes moving the mirror base up closer on the door that centers the mirror base and will also move out the mirror housing away from the a-pillar.
However before I do that, I will move the mirror back towards the door and then rotate it up so it will center the mirror base on the door which will bring it back away from the a-pillar.
So back to your questions. Yes you can see out of it, but I wouldn't do it without adding power to it. It's just a simple 3 wire hookup and you could get the control knob and harness from a Viper salvage yard or even eBay. The overall position of the mirror looks fine as is, all of it will just depend on where you are sitting in the car and how tall you are etc. To many variables to really explain it in depth. I tried to explain this as best as I can. My car is red.
#1. The Gen 3/4/5 mirrors have 3 studs that drop down onto the door and are bolted to the door from the underneath side.
The Gen 2 mirrors are NOT mounted this way. The base of the mirror bolts to the door from the outside of the car by turning the mirror housing to gain access to the bolts. There are nuts welded to the inside of the door skin that allows you to bolt them down without being inside the car.
Since the new mirrors have 3 mounting studs you need to remove the center stud on the new mirror to make it work on a Gen 2.
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#2. The welded nuts on the door skin need to be removed to make room for the new studs to drop in place so you can bolt them down. You could ream out the holes on the nuts but it's easier to just remove the nuts entirely. I just put a socket on them and tighten them until I broke the welds. IF you don't like this method you could simply drill new holes and leave the nuts welded in place so you can go back to the original mirrors.
You must be registered for see images attach
#3. Now you can drop in the new mirrors and bolt them down.
You must be registered for see images attach
_______________________________________________
DISCLAIMER
This is where I'm extremely picky with this mod. Your results will vary.
However I'm a perfectionist and I'm still in the building stage of this mod.
_______________________________________________
You can see out of this mirror as is with no more work involved in stock location but the a-pillar blocks a little bit of your view closet to the window.
Here is why I want to tweak the base and mounting position.
Gen 2 door and mirror angle.
You must be registered for see images attach
Gen 3/4 door and mirror angle.
You must be registered for see images attach
Gen 5 door and mirror angle.
You must be registered for see images attach
Do you see the difference of the mounting angle on the doors for the different Gen's of Vipers? Since there are different shapes it creates different angles and viewing angles of the new mirrors on the older doors.
So.....
You will get small gaps around the base like this.
You must be registered for see images attach
So what I want to do is drill new holes moving the mirror base up closer on the door that centers the mirror base and will also move out the mirror housing away from the a-pillar.
You must be registered for see images attach
However before I do that, I will move the mirror back towards the door and then rotate it up so it will center the mirror base on the door which will bring it back away from the a-pillar.
You must be registered for see images attach
So back to your questions. Yes you can see out of it, but I wouldn't do it without adding power to it. It's just a simple 3 wire hookup and you could get the control knob and harness from a Viper salvage yard or even eBay. The overall position of the mirror looks fine as is, all of it will just depend on where you are sitting in the car and how tall you are etc. To many variables to really explain it in depth. I tried to explain this as best as I can. My car is red.
Jance GTS
Enthusiast
Possible but still working with the square vs rounded. It almost lines up on the base but the angle of the mirror is way off.
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