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In our never-ending campaign to take away the reason for saying "Let's not take the old car...," comes a luxury limited to brand new cars. Until now! I must admit one of the things I like the most about my newer Chevy truck are the lighted mirrors on each sunvisor... not to mention my occasional liking them as well. This article will show the installation of a new lighted vanity mirror on the side visor. Installation is similar for the driver side as well.
Time Frame: 1 Hour
Image 1: The vanity mirror PIN 57-171672-1 is made of plastic so you can easily match it to your interior color scheme or leave it off-white. When the flip-up door on the mirror is opened, the two vanity lights will illuminate.
Image 2: There are two attaching tabs on the back of the vanity mirror that will snap into two nylon bushings that will be installed onto the sunvisor. To make a mark for the location of the nylon bushings, apply a small amount of grease on the two tabs and the vanity mirror centered on the sunvisor. The grease will leave marks where the bushings will need to be installed.
Image 3: Using a razor knife, cut a 1-1/4" hole into the sunvisor material at both marks. Mark the sunvisor again using the vanity mirror and add grease where the bushings will be installed. A 7/8" hole must be marked and cut into the sunvisor Masonite inner for the nylon bushings. A 1/2" socket and a deep socket works great to mark the location.
Image 4: Here is where you need to be careful and take your time! A 7/8" hole needs to be cut in the sun visor only and not through the other side into the sun visor material. Using a SHARP razor knife, cut a 7/8" hole in the sun visor. Cut slowly and remove the layers of the material as you cut so you don't cut too deep and damage the material on the other side.
Image 5: Two 5/16" holes need to be drilled halfway through the sunvisor for the vanity mirror door return springs, and two notches must be cut halfway through the sunvisor for the vanity mirror lights. Using the grease trick, mark the sunvisor and cut the holes and notches.
Image 6: The vanity mirror can be disassembled for painting. The mirror glass frame is flexible and can be removed from the mirror assembly.
Image 7: Using a small flat blade screwdriver, remove the two vanity light lenses.
Image 8: The lights for the vanity mirror snap into the back side of the mirror housing. Remove the lights and cover them with masking tape so that no paint gets on the light bulbs.
Image 9: We will paint the mirror housing with PIN 30-44 Tropical Turquoise to match our turquoise sunvisors. Any type or color of original or custom lacquer or enamel spray paint may be used. Before painting, clean the vanity mirror housing with mineral spirits so the paint will stick. Spray several light coats of paint until the mirror housing is completely covered.
Image 10: Once the paint has dried, install the vanity mirror lights, lenses, and the mirror glass back into the glass frame.
Image 11: The vanity lights have a two-wire harness. Using a coat hanger, feed the wires through the sunvisor material to the open corner where the sunvisor bracket mounts.
Image 12: The nylon bushings have barbed legs that hold the bushing tight to the sunvisor. Snap the bushings into the new 7/8" holes in the sun visor.
Image 13: With the wires through, snap the vanity mirror into place.
Image 14: The wire for the lights may be run behind the sunvisor bracket and fed down behind the inside windshield molding. One wire needs to be connected to a good body ground, and the other wire must be connected to a good constant 12-volt source. The orange wire in the dash harness that powers the dome lights works great as a 12-volt source.
Image 15: With the door flipped up, the vanity mirror light will illuminate, allowing you or your companion to adjust your hair or face as required. The vanity mirror is so thin that when the sunvisor is up, you will never know it's there. Just one more great addition to modernize a true American classic!