Wondering if it is possible to convert the flag style US mirrors to the euro ones. If so, has anyone here done it? Pics? Thanks!
I have been searching for this forever. I was told someone makes a 288 GTO mirror, but it was crazy expensive and I'm not a fan of that look at the 308. The problem is if you attach the Euro mirrors to a U.S. car you will be left with half an exposed drilled hole on the bottom of the mirror base. What we need is someone to 3d print something that can simply bolt to the existing mount. That would be amazing.
I did it and yes you will see a little bit of one hole. I never notice it but maybe because my car is black. The other "challenge" is the metal block under the door skin that accepts the screws for the US mirrors. They don't line up with the euro fastener positions so you have to drill a couple of holes and just use nuts and bolts. No big deal but the door panel has to come off. Afternoon type project.
Not really. The ones that are similar are smaller and they don't have the Ferrari badge which is part of having the Euro mirrors on the car in the first place.
They will one way or the other meaning you need to drill and use nuts and bolts even for the real ones. If memory serves the aftermarket didn't line up with the factory holes either. I tried that route (before I hit an enormous bit of luck and found the factory ones on eBay). I didn't like the way they looked. Just wrong visually.
I've done this a couple of times, most current on a Euro dry sump with non-electric mirrors. My non-electrics were an easy/bolt on. If you don't currently have a RH (USA) mirror, then as Cosgrove indicates, you should add a correct backer-place to distribute the load. The correct mirrors are "Vitaloni Turbo" mirrors, they are the correct size (but specifically not "Vitaloni Baby Turbo" mirrors, these are noticeably smaller). The Turbo mirrors used to be available aftermarket in electric or manual. There are still a multitude of sources for the small (est. 10mm x 15mm) rectangular Scuderia shields (see here eBay under lapel pin or other sources). The factory correct Euro mirrors are all electric and came with OEM shields on Euro QVs, BBi's and Euro 328's (and some others). IIRC, the moldings on the correct OEM Ferrari mirror may have Euro specific markings and/or a little "target area" where the rectangular badge is located.
"I bet no one in Italy wants to put US mirrors on their cars. It's always the other way around." Unless they need to SEE anything. Shortly after buying my 328 in '08 I was interested in converting mine to euro mirrors. But I was lucky to be able to drive a 308 with the euro mirrors which cured me of that interest. They look nice but they are not very good as mirrors. TBF, of course the euro mirrors look better but my 328 was my daily driver from late'08 until '17 and operating the car in traffic every day in the Wash DC/Annapolis/Kent Island area made me appreciate the flag mirrors' function if not their appearance..
Actually I am considering going back to my flag mirrors after 20 years of the euro look. So I can see, lol.
I used the vitaloni baby turbo mirrors around 20 years ago now. I'm not sure I have ever seen the regular turbo mirrors. If someone has a picture, would be interesting to see. The bay turbos are the same left to right. The factory euro mirrors are left to right specific. You do need an adaptor for any of these options unless you are willing to fill and paint holes, because the USA flag mirrors had a large base with large spacing between the mounting nuts. They are either welded nuts, or rivnuts. It's been a long time, but I think they were M4x0.7mm or M5x0.8mm. I made a simple machined piece of aluminum that on the body side, matched the door shape, and has 2 holes to match the factory mounting points. Used some thin foam, so the aluminum is not directly on the paint. Visually I think the difference between the baby turbo and factory mirror is pretty small. But, the difference in pricing and availability is quite large.
Here's my 1980 Dry Sump with aftermarket OEM Style Manual Full Vitaloni Turbos with aftermarket (lapel based) rectangular shields. Extremely close to OEM on QV, BBi, etc. And yes, my OEM Californians are safely tucked away. Image Unavailable, Please Login
I have Euro mirrors on my UK-spec 328 GTS, I have them set up correctly, and I have no problem seeing the road behind me on either side of the car. Yes US flag/elephant ear mirrors may show more than Euro mirrors, but Euro mirrors are far from the complete waste of time that American owners seem to make them out to be on a regular basis (How many euro owners complain that they can't see anything in their mirrors, and need to fit US-spec mirrors? - My monies on: Not many! )
That looks really nice Paul. I would never know those aren't the oem ones. Can you share pictures of the base, so I can see if it matches baby turbos.
@chris_columbia Chris - Thanks and will do, I'm currently out of town, but I've got a set of OEM electrics laying around, so I'll capture some pics and post them here in a couple of weeks. v/r Paul
Chris, et al. Looks like there may have been two versions of the OEM Turbo Vitaloni mirror base. Here are some pics of (what I believe are) OEM Euro Vitaloni Turbo mirrors. First style: To remove the mirror, each one has a small flat head set-screw (pointed) with a lip at the leading/forward end (shown in two of the pictures). This attaches to a bracket which typically stays mounted to the door with two screws which pass through the door skin and screw into a backer plate inside the door. Second style: The base mounting style uses two flat head screws to mount the mirror directly to the door backer plate, which I'm measuring at 80mm center to center (see ~3 1/8" in picture). One screw is under the rubber bellows, and the other screw is under a rearward flat black plastic trim cap. Hope this helps, corrections encouraged... v/r Paul Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Your first mirror picture looks like the turbo base might be similar to the baby turbo length. Is the factory bolt spacing on your car a match for the ~3-1/8" on the mirror? One other interesting thing to note: look at the driver's side mirror locations between our cars. The front of your mirror is almost at the front of the triangle window. Mine is at about the middle of the triangle mirror. Completely different. Just to get it down here in print, here are my dimensions for an 83 QV, and baby turbo mirror. Ferrari factory USA 1983 bolt spacing 4.70". Thread size: M4 X 0.7mm Baby Turbo base size: 4.75" long X 1.32" wide. The maximum bolt spacing allowed by the mirror mounting slot is 3.7", so on the baby turbo, you'd have to have an adaptor plate. The length on the turbo base looks like I wouldn't be able to cover the factory mounting holes either without an adaptor, otherwise one screw would be visible? Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Just to clarify the last picture, the silver screw is going through the baby turbo base, and the adapter before going into the factory mounting threads. The rear black flat head screw is going through the adapter and into the factory threads. There is a middle screw not visible that goes through the baby turbo base and into the adaptor only.
I did a quick image review on European carb cars. Seems the original Vitaloni Californian mirrors on these appear to be consistently placed just behind the leading edge of the doors, like my earlier pics above of my 1980 carb.
Here are some Vitaloni Turbos replicas on ebay uk from an Italian supplier. I'd ask for length of mirrors before I would buy to ensure they aren't the Baby Turbos. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/115478221428?hash=item1ae309d274:g:kKMAAOSwfcti46tp&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAoO25wex0lWsmD1iCyM1d7ZUbXGFGzBw7LEhWtaAe%2BUnNCwcpjqm4Gmfl6aT9%2BmhNuK%2BxWTQVKOjjFReYZGpafWLw0l8AWhdiJWg5qhrNx4k1u%2FzYjWZxNLdGd%2Fc8gZAwS%2FaZJ2mrF%2BlI2Ub8q5e6xtlF3o5z7xy80LuVsRsFvMR8JsP0jX6eN7Gg38dXTXo26KJYvIsmcOYiCb78%2FTJPt3s%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR_aIjIK9YQ
