For the Love for my Father, My 69 GTX Restoration

[moparnation74]

This is not for the "faint of hearts".............

I have finally accomplished a task that has haunted me......

Let me describe my "crude" process.....First, hairdryer, waste of time.....WD40 did zero damaged to the adhesive.....Heat gun was not in the cards.......

I pulled out the big balls MAP gas.....Putty knife and a 90 degree pick......I laid the mirror face down on the concrete and ran the torch around the perimeter until I heard "crackling". There is a 1/4" hole on the backside and i used the 90 pick and worked its way in slowly without scratching the mirror. Then I put the heat to it again. So with the tip of the pick facing north towards the edge of the mirror. I her so carefully pried back towards the center. It opened a gap between the mirror and the housing. Then came the putty knife.

The key at this point is DO NOT pry with the putty knife. Now I am using physics, heat and pressure. With the putty knife wedged in tight. I went crazy with the heat with the mirror face down on the concrete and putty knife in place. I went to pick it up by the putty knife and the mirror resided on the floor, done deal...

I finally, finally......still cannot believe have the perfect date coded mirror for the X......When the car gets back in the future. I will update with the install......

What a way to start a beautiful Sunday!

Ohh BTW look at the date on the back of the housing......very fitting......

 

[plowman]

Way to go Justin, still sounds like a pain in the ***.

 

[747mopar]

This is not for the "faint of hearts".............

I have finally accomplished a task that has haunted me......

Let me describe my "crude" process.....First, hairdryer, waste of time.....WD40 did zero damaged to the adhesive.....Heat gun was not in the cards.......

I pulled out the big balls MAP gas.....Putty knife and a 90 degree pick......I laid the mirror face down on the concrete and ran the torch around the perimeter until I heard "crackling". There is a 1/4" hole on the backside and i used the 90 pick and worked its way in slowly without scratching the mirror. Then I put the heat to it again. So with the tip of the pick facing north towards the edge of the mirror. I her so carefully pried back towards the center. It opened a gap between the mirror and the housing. Then came the putty knife.

The key at this point is DO NOT pry with the putty knife. Now I am using physics, heat and pressure. With the putty knife wedged in tight. I went crazy with the heat with the mirror face down on the concrete and putty knife in place. I went to pick it up by the putty knife and the mirror resided on the floor, done deal...

I finally, finally......still cannot believe have the perfect date coded mirror for the X......When the car gets back in the future. I will update with the install......

What a way to start a beautiful Sunday!

Ohh BTW look at the date on the back of the housing......very fitting......



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Love it when a plan comes together especially when the chances of epic failure are one wrong move away! I had one of those moments last night. I had a really nice (nearly new) Curtis compressor given to me but the cast iron pulley/fan was severely bent 3/16 runout and have been scratching my head everyday I looked at it. Finally last night I decided the best way to straighten it is the same way is got bend (it was dropped) so I started carefully whacking it with a sledge if that's possible lol. After 15 minutes what I've been putting off seamed like an easy fix.. very minor runout now. Unfortunately they had already tried this and hit the lip of the belt groove breaking it off so now I need to fix that, easy peezy compared to straightening it without breaking it. I'll likely pass that one off to dad, he's the master of welding cast iron.

 

[moparnation74]

Way to go Justin, still sounds like a pain in the ***.

Thanks Gary....more stressful than a pain...the ultimate fear of a crack, chip, scratch and the thought of, Will you find another?....

 

[moparnation74]

Love it when a plan comes together especially when the chances of epic failure are one wrong move away! I had one of those moments last night. I had a really nice (nearly new) Curtis compressor given to me but the cast iron pulley/fan was severely bent 3/16 runout and have been scratching my head everyday I looked at it. Finally last night I decided the best way to straighten it is the same way is got bend (it was dropped) so I started carefully whacking it with a sledge if that's possible lol. After 15 minutes what I've been putting off seamed like an easy fix.. very minor runout now. Unfortunately they had already tried this and hit the lip of the belt groove breaking it off so now I need to fix that, easy peezy compared to straightening it without breaking it. I'll likely pass that one off to dad, he's the master of welding cast iron.

Perfectly put Dev.....We both had a plan that brought it together......I love the "at home" bush fix....True genius!

Glad to hear your situation worked out.....

 

[Fran Blacker]

This is not for the "faint of hearts".............

I have finally accomplished a task that has haunted me......

Let me describe my "crude" process.....First, hairdryer, waste of time.....WD40 did zero damaged to the adhesive.....Heat gun was not in the cards.......

I pulled out the big balls MAP gas.....Putty knife and a 90 degree pick......I laid the mirror face down on the concrete and ran the torch around the perimeter until I heard "crackling". There is a 1/4" hole on the backside and i used the 90 pick and worked its way in slowly without scratching the mirror. Then I put the heat to it again. So with the tip of the pick facing north towards the edge of the mirror. I her so carefully pried back towards the center. It opened a gap between the mirror and the housing. Then came the putty knife.

The key at this point is DO NOT pry with the putty knife. Now I am using physics, heat and pressure. With the putty knife wedged in tight. I went crazy with the heat with the mirror face down on the concrete and putty knife in place. I went to pick it up by the putty knife and the mirror resided on the floor, done deal...

I finally, finally......still cannot believe have the perfect date coded mirror for the X......When the car gets back in the future. I will update with the install......

What a way to start a beautiful Sunday!

Ohh BTW look at the date on the back of the housing......very fitting......



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Definitely not for the faint of heart, well done.

 

[plowman]

I believe your mirror assembly is a different part number than mine. Your look like it was fully to the mirror backing. Mine had three little mounting post that mounted by a pad with glue. Looks a lot simple than yours

 

[moparnation74]

Definitely not for the faint of heart, well done.

Thanks Fran!.....

 

[moparnation74]

I believe your mirror assembly is a different part number than mine. Your look like it was fully to the mirror backing. Mine had three little mounting post that mounted by a pad with glue. Looks a lot simple than yours

Gary

Mine is not a 70 as yours it is an early 69 built in 68, comparing apples to oranges....The mirror I removed this from is from the remote adjustable mirror......The mirror is the same size for both.....The non remote mirror attaches as the one your referring to......So when your searching. You have two choices to find a correct mirror.....

Justin

 

[NJRR]

Just have some parts updates........

Finally found a mirror with good reusable glass for the X. It has the correct date range for the SPD. The date on the mirror is 9JC8 for September 1968.....

Anyone have any good ideas on how to soften the glue to remove it safely?



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Hi Justin- I know it's after the fact and you successfully got the mirror off, but my technique for removing glued on mirrors is taking fishing line or dental floss and slipping it behind the mirror and using the line/floss in a back and forth sawing motion to separate the glue from the mirror. It's sort of like a wire cheese slicer, with the thin wire easily cutting through dense cheese, once it separates the cheese/glue, there is no resistance to keeping it moving because it is so thin. Wire is stronger than line/floss, but might damage the mirroring. Just an FYI for anyone else too. - Abe

 

[moparnation74]

Hi Justin- I know it's after the fact and you successfully got the mirror off, but my technique for removing glued on mirrors is taking fishing line or dental floss and slipping it behind the mirror and using the line/floss in a back and forth sawing motion to separate the glue from the mirror. It's sort of like a wire cheese slicer, with the thin wire easily cutting through dense cheese, once it separates the cheese/glue, there is no resistance to keeping it moving because it is so thin. Wire is stronger than line/floss, but might damage the mirroring. Just an FYI for anyone else too. - Abe

Abe

thanks for the input......The only flaw in your approach I see is the the mirror sets in the frame and its tight. There is a 90 degree lip on the metal frame.....Have you done this with a mirror in the frame?

Btw my route took five minutes.......

Justin

 

[NJRR]

Abe

thanks for the input......The only flaw in your approach I see is the the mirror sets in the frame and its tight. There is a 90 degree lip on the metal frame.....Have you done this with a mirror in the frame?

Btw my route took five minutes.......

Justin

I've done it on several mirrors, both in frames and out. The fishing line is flexible enough to slip in the small gap between frame and mirror yet stiff enough to "push" it into a space to get it where it needs to go. Just another method.

 

[moparnation74]

I've done it on several mirrors, both in frames and out. The fishing line is flexible enough to slip in the small gap between frame and mirror yet stiff enough to "push" it into a space to get it where it needs to go. Just another method.

Good to know and thanks for the info. It just seemed with the recess mirror it may not be possible....How long did it take?

 

[oldbee]

This is not for the "faint of hearts".............

I have finally accomplished a task that has haunted me......

Let me describe my "crude" process.....First, hairdryer, waste of time.....WD40 did zero damaged to the adhesive.....Heat gun was not in the cards.......

I pulled out the big balls MAP gas.....Putty knife and a 90 degree pick......I laid the mirror face down on the concrete and ran the torch around the perimeter until I heard "crackling". There is a 1/4" hole on the backside and i used the 90 pick and worked its way in slowly without scratching the mirror. Then I put the heat to it again. So with the tip of the pick facing north towards the edge of the mirror. I her so carefully pried back towards the center. It opened a gap between the mirror and the housing. Then came the putty knife.

The key at this point is DO NOT pry with the putty knife. Now I am using physics, heat and pressure. With the putty knife wedged in tight. I went crazy with the heat with the mirror face down on the concrete and putty knife in place. I went to pick it up by the putty knife and the mirror resided on the floor, done deal...

I finally, finally......still cannot believe have the perfect date coded mirror for the X......When the car gets back in the future. I will update with the install......

What a way to start a beautiful Sunday!

Ohh BTW look at the date on the back of the housing......very fitting......



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Did you ever think of a “soak” in toluene? Sorry couldn’t get on the last couple days because of pop ups from Amazon & Walmart ads (?). Prying forcefully is not the way to go! The “pop-ups” were from ‘safari’ on my iPhone.(it obviously knew I loved FBBO!)

 

[moparnation74]

Did you ever think of a “soak” in toluene? Sorry couldn’t get on the last couple days because of pop ups from Amazon & Walmart ads (?). Prying forcefully is not the way to go! The “pop-ups” were from ‘safari’ on my iPhone.(it obviously knew I loved FBBO!)

I have been having the same issue on my iPhone and I have deleted everything multiple times and no luck......

Thanks for the input but thats a nasty chemical.....

There are a variety of chemicals and chemicals that will damage the mirror backing.......Also, I dont have every chemical know to man in the garage. I would rather start simple and then move more complex.Paint thinner would have been the next choice as where I read many have had great results with that.

I didn't pry on it forcefully, just enough tension to flex it out to get the putty knife in....Once the putty knife was in, then heat along with the tension of the blade. As the glue meted, the mirror magically released.........the mirror is out and undamaged....

In hindsight. I think you could just lay the mirror flat and just go to town with the heat and it would fall out......

 

[oldbee]

Glad it worked out for you!!

 

[moparnation74]

Glad it worked out for you!!

Jeff

Thanks my friend.....I wish I had a three or more mirrors to just try again. To try my process again and the PT/acetone/toluene as you and others suggested. Also, the wire trick.....

Justin

 

[NJRR]

Good to know and thanks for the info. It just seemed with the recess mirror it may not be possible....How long did it take?

It goes pretty fast depending on the size of the mirror and amount of glue.

 

[Richard Cranium]

A little off topic, but mirror related. On a manual mirror, is there any way of tightening up the mirror on the pivot ball?

 

[moparnation74]

A little off topic, but mirror related. On a manual mirror, is there any way of tightening up the mirror on the pivot ball?

I never tried.....but I am interested to know if possible......If I had one to meddle with I could try...