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UK mirrors for US Transit Connect


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I just posted a picture of my UK mirror installation on my 2010 Transit Connect. My van came with manual mirrors and I always wanted to replace them with the UK style. The cost brand new from a Ford dealer in the UK, including shipping, was out of the question. The UK has three types available, manual, like mine, a manual cabled remote (which was never offered in the US), and the electric remote, same as ours. I finally found them used from a dealer that would send them to the US. They are the manual cabled remote, so it took a little engineering to install them, but after 3 hours the result is posted in my gallery. It worked out very well. See my photo gallery for more info.

Edited by 103west43rd
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  • 1 month later...
   

103..... can you please link us to the sellers that would in fact sell them to US buyers? Thanks..

Also that one dude in your photos thread, said he would try a france seller since they drive on the other side (same as us).. did he do any good?? do you know?? should I look to the French too??? thanks..

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I do not have a problem giving you the names of the UK used parts eBay sellers I bought my mirrors from. Please keep in mind they each did not have more than the one I purchased. You might ask them to keep a look out for anymore. firstbusinessparts and hayepresto are the UK eBay business names. Both very nice vendors.

I do not have a further update from the forum member that mentioned France. You might try the French eBay site using Google to translate the French. Remember, it took me a dozen tries with UK sellers before I could find two that had what I wanted and would export to the US.

Also, if in your budget, there is always Trevor from Fordpartsuk. They are a Ford dealer in the UK that has supplied a few of us on this forum with European parts. Trevor would get the mirrors new from Germany. They would be the twin to what we use here in the US.

Good Luck.

Edited by 103west43rd
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103w replied in part...

"Also, if in your budget, there is always Trevor from Fordpartsuk. They are a Ford dealer in the UK that has supplied a few of us on this forum with European parts. Trevor would get the mirrors new from Germany. They would be the twin to what we use here in the US.

Good Luck.""

Now he can get the same mirrors that we have here in the US?? NOT the tall ones???

We have the short ones... and you got the tall ones... and you say that Trevor would get us the tall ones?? or the short ones??

Thanks 103west 43rd/////

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mrtn, try this. Sit in the passenger seat and look at the convex mirror on the drivers side. What do you see? The entire side of your Transit Connect not the road! That is what happens when you install UK mirrors on a US Transit Connect. Yes, the convex mirror is mounted in the mirror assembly the same way on both sides , but it is angled according to what side of the van you drive from. That is why a UK Ford dealer needs to sell mirrors from Germany for US customers rather then sell UK mirrors from their UK inventory. Take a look at my gallery posting of the drivers side picture of the UK mirror I installed on my US Transit Connect. That was taken before I changed the mounting angle of the mirror. You can notice how half of the bottom convex mirror is taken up by the image of the side of the van! Vehicles to the left do not show up unless we are exchanging paint!

Edited by 103west43rd
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Ok, tried it. I observed the image from the same distance on both sides. I scaled it to the landscape so that I saw the rear wheel fully and the top of the mirror aligned to the horizon. The curvature of the main mirror seems to be identical. The fish eye is too wide for testing without a fixed backdrop.Couldn't make an adequate photo as it's raining hard.

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  • 4 months later...

I've had my 2010 for less than a week and am already searching out these larger mirrors. The ones we have are useless. Thanks for posting this info.

Edited by Ken W
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Hello Woody. Since the convex glass is fixed in place, the entire mirror assembly angle needs to be changed to make a difference in the view you get looking at the bottom convex mirror. I have a question before I add how it is done. When you read the work required, you will know why I am asking "what is wrong with the view?". Do you see the side of the van? Or do you just want to have a further view out into the lane? Here is what I did........

It starts with the fact that all out side mirrors will bend toward the door if hit with some force.
They are designed to protect pedestrians.
The top larger flat mirror is adjustable, the bottom smaller convex mirror is not.Since half of the convex mirror view was of the van door, I needed to move the mirror angle away from the door, I first gave it a shove and adjusted it so the view of the bottom convex mirror was where I wanted.
There are then two ways to proceed.
You can fix the mirror in the new position and loose the safety movement ability (the easy way), or, you can modify the swivel joint between the mirror assembly and the mount on the door (much harder).
I first tried the easy way.
Look under the joint. You will see a circular cover plate. it has two slots 180 degrees apart. Insert a small flat blade screwdriver to release the plate and pull it down and off. Use the slot that is closest to the door.
The joint is held together with three screws. After moving the mirror to its new position, drill two starter holes between two of the screws and screw in sheet metal screws to lock the joint in place. Snap the cover plate back in place and you are done. Should take 15 minutes.
I left the mirror like that for a few weeks, but to lose the safety factor bothered me so I finally went with the hard way.
Take the cover plate off and remove the three screws holding the two assemblies together.
You will then see that when the mirror assembly swivels it acctually moves up on two small ramps built into the joint on the lower section.
Using a Dremel cuting wheel, I cut a small portion of the ramps away, only about an eighth of an inch, this allows the mirror to be re-assembled in the new position perserving the safety ability. Instead of just drilling new holes and using machine screws to put it back together, I noticed the mirror assembly portion of the joint has more than three tapped holes for assembly. I then drilled three new holes in the bottom joint, to match up with the new position of the top(mirror) joint. The existing machine screws could now be reused peserving the safety of the mirror moving when hit.

I hope the info helps.

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I honestly thought the blind spot convex mirrors could be adjusted as in the ones on my 2005 Superduty. I want to see more of the road in my blind area in the lanes to my left and right. Was hoping there was a way to gain access to the area behind the convex mirrors behind the outer cover, and modify that mount. Other than that, I like them better than the dwarf mirrors that came with it (2012 XLT)....Guess I need to dig in and see how to remove the outer shell cover. My hats off to your ingenuity in solving a poor alignment issue.... (:

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  • 4 weeks later...

I have the "German" mirrors ordered from Trevor... I read where you adjusted the angle of your convex mirror. How did you do that? Mine could use a little tweaking. Regards, Woody

Would you mind if I asked what they cost you?

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  • 1 year later...

I like them... Bigger mirror bigger view, but the bottom convex mirror is NOT adjustable, but they are on my superduty... Worth every penny when safety is a concern.

OK, thanks for the info. I've gotten used to this type of mirror on my F-550 and am glad that you guys discovered them...I'll be ordering from Trevor soon...

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I might add that the power mirrors are plug and play... No mods necessary to the factory wiring / plugs..... Expect a two week shipping time, and you can use PayPal if you want. PayPal does the $ conversion for you... Regards, Woody

Good to know! I asked Trevor if I was going to need to mess about with the wiring and he didn't know...sounds like it should be pretty straightforward. Thanks!

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  • 2 weeks later...

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