'08-current Super Duty truck mirror conversion for E-Series

[mgmetalworks]

I don’t know about you guys but ever since the updated E-Series styling in ’08, I just haven’t felt like the trailer tow mirrors for the van look right. They’re functional and serve their purpose but to keep consistent with the grill/headlights/bumper styling, the mirrors should follow the same kinds of lines. The Super Duty truck mirrors updated in ’08 but Ford decided not to update the van mirror styling, probably because the E-series was to be discontinued and the mirrors between the truck and the van share very few interchangeable parts.

The other thing that disappointed me was that after driving a new F350 with power telescoping, power folding, heated, turn signal mirrors, I realized that the van mirrors, though functional, kinda sucked compared to the truck mirrors… I found that the bottom convex mirror from the truck was much better for spotting cars in my blind spot and provided a great view of the surroundings when backing up. Not to mention the power folding for pulling into tight parking spots! Going back to the van with the little sliver of a mirror, I started looking into what it would take to make the swap.

Basically, it takes a lot of work to do this from scratch. The truck and van mirrors are VERY different in how they mount to the door. Different size, different position, different angles… You’re not going to take a truck mirror, drill a few holes in the van door and be done. What I’ve done is designed a new mounting base for the truck mirror to work on the van door. I’m also in the process of designing a new plastic shroud for the new assembly that will keep the same styling as the truck mirror.

I hope to be done with this project within a couple months and make this conversion available to others as a bolt-on upgrade. Here are a couple pictures of the ’08-current truck mirror mounted to my van using my prototype mount. I’ll be working on the mock up of the plastic shroud this weekend and I’ll post more pictures as I progress.

You can see a big difference between the old mirror and the new one. I'm loving the look!

 

[Jasper Jones]

I would definitely buy this! I agree, the new style mirrors look better with the new front ends.

 

[scoutkid]

Slick!

 

[r_w]

Love it. It definitely looks better, but more importantly they will WORK better.

 

[mgmetalworks]

Thanks guys!

Cool thing about the truck mirrors are all the options you have for various functions.

From my research they come in:
-Fully manual (no power mirror functions at all and no turn signals)
-Manual fold and extend but power mirror adjust (with or without turn signals)
-Manual fold and extend but power mirror adjust AND heated mirrors
-Power fold, power extend, power mirror with heat
-Power fold, power extend, power mirror with heat AND memory position


In short, a lot of combinations depending on how much you want to dig into the wiring (and how much you're willing to pay for a set of mirrors). There are also some aftermarket parts available for bling if thats what you want (chrome covers, LED signal lights, etc..).


The mirrors I got for my van are the power fold/extend/heated/signal mirrors. I got the factory control switches with the mirrors that I'll be incorporating into the door panel. One challenge is finding the right connectors for the switch housings. So far the only source I can find is to salvage the connectors from a wrecked Super Duty...which is made difficult by the fact that many of the truck guys are making the swap for their older trucks. Supply is very limited and expensive. I'm going to attempt to 3D print a connector housing to see if I can make it work for me but in the long run I'm looking into sourcing the housings from a connector supplier I've worked with in the past.


Lots of little details to sort out but making progress.

MG

 

[Jasper Jones]

Any updates on this? I really like the look of the new style mirrors.

 

[mgmetalworks]

Well since you're following my other thread for the transformer seats, you can probably imagine that I've been a little occupied...

I have actually made some progress but more behind the scenes stuff....

-First, its taken a ridiculous amount of searching online to find the right connectors for the factory Super Duty switch housings. I found the Ford connectors...but dang they're expensive. The switches are spendy too. You can find both on ebay fairly regularly and in wrecking yards but you're gonna pay a premium because they're in pretty high demand. What I've tried to do is track down all of the housings and terminals from the actual manufacturer. I've got about 98% confidence that I've identified all of the correct parts from the right manufacturers...just waiting to get my samples.

-I've bench wired the mirrors and confirmed that everything functions correctly and identified which wires I can use in the existing van harness and which I need to add. It will be a bit of chore to do the wiring but doable...with patience and beer.

-The design of the mounting base is essentially done. I'll be cutting a bunch of parts soon to make the production versions.

-Internally there is a component that engages with the power fold motor and also serves as hard stops for fully extended and fully folded. I've done two rounds of 3D printed parts to test fit and function and everything is working well now. I need to put together some drawings so I can send them out for CNC machining.

-The plastic shroud that covers up the mounting base and arm pivots is the challenge of this project. I've first got to get a shroud pieced together from sections of the Super Duty part and the van part. Lots of epoxy, shaping and sanding. Then I'm going to scan the part with a 3D scanner and put it into CAD. When I have both left and right sides modeled, then I'll make a mold on a CNC. I think I'm going to go with a vacuum formed part but I could also use the mold for fiberglass or carbon fiber.

-The last thing is to try to put it all together as an upgrade that others can buy. The cost really depends on how many people are interested, which mirrors you want and how much you have to pay for the donor pair. You can't buy individual parts of the mirror, you can only get the whole thing. They aren't cheap either. Then they have to be converted over to the van specific parts. I can tell you right now that it isn't a trivial task to completely disassemble these mirrors and change out parts. I would probably buy the mirrors myself, convert them and then resell them. I won't even guess at a price until I have the whole project done though.

I'll make a lot of progress on this once the other project is done...looks like next week I'll be able to get started again.

MG

 

[Jasper Jones]

Well since you're following my other thread for the transformer seats, you can probably imagine that I've been a little occupied...

Yes, I can imagine! Sounds great, though. Glad to hear you are still working on it.

Honestly, I would probably just want manual fold/extend and power adjust with heat and signals, but full power with memory is quite enticing. I will definitely be following your progress with this one.

Keep up the good work!

-Jason

 

[mgmetalworks]

Progress report...

I mounted a mirror up over the weekend and wired up the power fold motors for a test... Turns out that I was a little off on the internal indexing mechanism. What a difference a couple degrees makes... The mirror functions fine it just won't fold in enough (and then rotates too far out the other direction). A simple rotation of the indexing features in CAD and a new set of 3D printed test parts will be made up. Better to spend $40 for rapid prototypes vs machining multiple sets of parts that won't work.

I did end up "cracking the code" of the elusive Ford connector housings. I've probably read over 50 pages across multiple Super Duty truck forums about how Ford doesn't sell just the connector housings and you have to pay upwards of $40 for the factory "pigtail kit" (which isn't even correct) or find used parts in wrecking yards. Well...one thing is right, Ford doesn't sell the housings. TE Connectivity and Molex do though. Housings are about $2-3 each and terminals are ~$0.13 each. Kind of a pain to find all the right stuff but I figured out a few tricks for finding other Ford connector housings and terminals if the need arises.




I got a time delay relay for the heated mirrors. The idea is that you hit the switch and the mirror heat runs for 1-30mins (adjustable to whatever you want). If you want it off sooner, hit the momentary switch again or shut of the ignition.

Last thing for this week was that I made a trip to U-pull-it and scavenged tons of wire in multiple colors and stripes for the wiring harness I need to build. Call me crazy but automotive wiring is actually one of my favorite things about custom cars/trucks/vans.

MG

 

[steelheadbum]

mgmetalworks's,

I DIG THE NEW EARS!! Hurry up already... I'm just in WA and will come for a visit!
Buck

 

[Jasper Jones]

Awesome news! I look forward to more!

 

[mgmetalworks]

Progress!!!! 3D printed parts (round 4) turned out good. One last little change to the model before parts are ready to be sent out for machining. Next up is working on the model of the plastic shroud. I'll try a 3D print of that for fitment, then work on making a vacuum forming mold for making multiples.

 

[Jasper Jones]

Looks great, keep up the good work. I'm jealous of your 3D printer, I've been eyeing one for a while!

 

[mgmetalworks]

Looks great, keep up the good work. I'm jealous of your 3D printer, I've been eyeing one for a while!

I'm excited about the SLA style printers...probably the way I'd go for my own shop.
.
http://formlabs.com/

 

[89s rule]

Another great use of technology and brains! We have one of those 3D printers at school, I always wonder what I might be able to get a few students to produce. Guy on 4runner.org made a custom snorkel for his 3rd gen 4runner. Keep up the great work!