NEWBIE QUESTION ABOUT VITALONI SIDE VIEW MIRROR

The Vetroresina cars only had one mirror on the driver's side as standard fitment and was mounted with machine screws into a metal backing plate on the inside of the door.The passenger mirror was an option and consequently used self tapping screws.I should add,I am no expert but this is what I discovered on my glass car after enquiring why the difference in the mounting of the mirrors.
I think you will also find the mirrors did have a shiny finish originally and this has weathered to a matt finish over the 40 odd years.
These mirrors are available from a lot of racing outlets so shop around for the best price,don't tell them it is for a Ferrari!!

 

You own the perfect automobile

Of anything. Ever.

 

You can buy the mirrors with a shiny or a textured finish.

 

Vitaloni California is the correct description to search for.
I don't know what you mean by threaded inserts for securing being the right way as,if you look at your original fixing on the inside of your door,you will see a metal plate that has been secured separately,probably glued,with the two threaded holes ready to take the mirror securing machine screws.
However,as I previously stated,this is what I found on my 1977 Glass car.

 

Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Congratulations on a great car, in a great colour!

Photos of my mirrors and the screws FWIW

John

 

Expensive .... https://www.ferrariparts.co.uk/part/ferrari/60058500?id=83839
Cheaper but shiny from superformance - you could try asking them if they can supply 'textured'.

 

Hi Steve,

My two cents…. take it for what it is;

You do not want to use that type of threaded insert on fiberglass. Those are made to bite into metal and will most likely make the fiberglass crack as it exerts pressure. Not enough bite and you have an eternal spinning in the hole fastener, too much and crunch. Trust me, I’ve used them for over 25 years. Also, unless you were to countersink them a tiny bit, the top ring would act like a small washer on top of the paint and I do not know that the mirror would sit completely flush. They make other variations of the same idea from rubber (which do not require a crimp) and some from aluminum (those are more similar to ones used on drywall) that “bite” a little differently, but for all of them you run the risk of over tightening just enough that it spins and then you are fighting that battle to get them out. That, and for all of these style fasteners you are drilling a bigger hole for a small fastener. In most cases where a metal fastener is needed in composites, you would embed a nut plate. That spreads the point loading and keeps it from spinning.

If it were me, on either sheet metal or certainly composite, I would pull the door panel and slip a nut plate or threaded plate up there for the bolts to pass into. That is basically what is factory at least on the 328. That will spread the load and minimize any risk of cracking since it just sandwiching the panel in between. Also means the holes drilled in the door barely need to be larger than the threads. You could easily just cut a small length of aluminum flat stock, drill it and tap it. You could also put a small dab of epoxy on it to keep it up there if you like, but I don’t know if removing and reinstalling the mirror from the outside is a priority.

Anyhow, congratulations. Absolutely beautiful car.

 

Not sure what the inner structure is on the driver side door for the mirror attachment, but if it is a separate nut plate or backing plate, you may be able to just buy another one to use on the passenger door. I am not familiar with what they used on the vetroresina cars. If it is a separate part not embedded in the lay up, I would expect it to be similar to the part below.

https://www.ferrariparts.co.uk/part/ferrari/61022000

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Same nut plate on my UK plastic car on both doors. I think the UK cars were required to have two mirrors. I sure wouldn’t add a mirror to plastic car. The pax side mirror is so small it’s more useless than the drivers side mirror. The original matte black textured mirrors are hard to find and hard to match exactly. But they are out there. The base plates vary too. So find a matched pair you like and go from there.

 

As I said, mine was borne with one there and it’s useless. I swear I’ve never looked at it…ever. Look over my shoulder all the time. Image Unavailable, Please Login
This is the pax side on my car.