The mirror specification on the MGB changed at several points across the production run, and understanding what the car originally came with is important before ordering. Single or paired wing mirrors were quoted as factory-fitted optional extras until 1965, when in line with revised BMC policy they became dealer-fit accessories. The preferred type was a Desmo Boomerang Continental with trapezoidal head, though Desmo Boomerang round head and Magnatex Viewmaster round head mirrors were also available, all offered with convex or flat glass and with Boomerang or Viewmaster escutcheon plates to suit.
Door Mirrors
A driver’s door mirror became standard factory equipment on the MGB from 1973. The Mark II model for the USA and Canadian market had received a driver’s door mirror as standard from the start of MkII production in late 1967, and the 1968 MGC GT and all 1969 model year North American cars had the odd-looking combination of a door-mounted mirror on the driver’s side and a wing mirror on the passenger side, with the two mirrors being of different types. Two door mirrors were fitted to North American cars from 1972 models.
The first home market MGB to have two door-mounted mirrors as standard was the V8, but these also arrived on four-cylinder models at the start of rubber bumper production a year later. The later door mirrors were originally chrome-plated but were changed to stainless steel in March 1976. A matt black version was fitted only to the 1975 GT Jubilee model.
In 1977, British Leyland took away the passenger door mirror on home market cars, though it made a brief comeback on the 1980 Limited Edition models.
Interior Mirror
The interior rear view mirror also changed several times. The original roadster mirror was frameless, with a gold-painted metal backing plate, clamped to the central tie-rod inside the windscreen.
From June/July 1968, roadsters received a mirror with a grey plastic backing plate. For the 1970 model year, a dipping interior mirror with black backing was introduced, fitted to the upper windscreen frame on all roadsters, and this type remained to the end of production. The dipping mirror on GTs was very similar. The GT interior mirror went through its own sequence, initially mounted on a stem above the windscreen with a buffer, changing to the break-away type for North American markets which was soon standardised across all GTs.
Pre-1973 cars that have never had a door mirror fitted will require the plinth kit alongside the mirror for a clean installation to the door skin.