Thanks for routinely checking in Don, it is appreciated!
It's funny about things we took for granted years ago. The dependability of a mechanical fuel pump used to be the same as the old ball bearing wheel bearings. In my old 1962 JC Whitney catalog they were so common and dependable the cost for inners was $1.98 and outers were $1.50. If they were good when I got the car (any car), with regular cleaning and repacking they lasted the life of the car.
The front wheel bearings were shot when I got my GMC. I bought new ones at about $100 per side, and went through 4 sets in as many years, and I know how to set the preload on front ball bearings. The outrageous cost of inferior bearings was the main reason I swapped to the coil spring suspension!
I couldn’t help but laugh at your story of checking the ID of your own nephew out of routine. Both times I looked at the wrong place for the mirror, I had an instant flashback to how many times I did just the opposite when I relied on a peep mirror for over 20 years. In those days I drove mainly in commute traffic, and frequently in the early morning or late afternoon I had to swing the sun visor over to the side - blocking the mirror. Inevitably I’d want to pass someone, and glance up in the mirror to make sure the lane was clear. It would take my brain a couple of nano-seconds to process the realization that I had no information and either had to cancel the pass or move the visor for a double check.
It caused me to routinely get stuck behind someone I didn’t want to follow, but at least I had the discipline to hold my position instead of doing something stupid. That was my biggest disappointment with peep mirrors, but to me it was a minor inconvenience for having something so cool and rare (at the time).
Peep mirrors were uncommon in my childhood. There were two kinds, the type that clamped on top of the door, and a different model that clamped on the vent tray of GM cars. Both were exceedingly rare. Most people used straight arm “clamp on” mirrors at the front edge of the door before the factory started offering OEM options. By 1970 when I found my first peep in a wrecking yard and the mid 1980’s when the aftermarket started reproducing them, the only two I ever saw were mine. The second one came into my possession when I purchased an original owner 48 Chevy coupe and found a brand new Yankee peep mirror in the original box under the back seat!
I know I’m almost starting to show my age,
but I still appreciate that sometimes having something cool is worth the price it costs!