If you have non-power mirrors, you may have noticed that the mirror control housing on the door panel is lifting away from your door panel. This was happening to my 1985 GT, so I developed this fix for my car and am passing it on to you.
First, remove the inside panel of the door - refer to the Haynes Manual - chapter 11, section 8 entitled “Door Trim Panel - Removal and Installation” for the details on how to do this step. Next, remove the mirror control cable from the housing - there is an Allen head screw on the window side of the mirror control housing that holds the cable to the housing. Then, remove the nuts on the underside of the door trim that holds the control housing to the door panel.
Next, fabricate a reinforcing plate as shown in Fig. 2. The plate size is not critical, but it should be close to the dimensions specified in the drawing. I used a flat plate from an electrical box cover - strong and cheap! Reinstall the mirror control housing as shown in Fig. 1. Finally, reinstall the door trim panel and you are finished. Even though this is such a small, detail thing, I have seen some Fieros with the housing pulled completely apart from the door panel. Hope this is a help!
Or, if you do not want to hassle with making a template yourself, our member, Tom Derr has come to the rescue!! Tom has assembled a kit that includes instructions, a replacement hex nut for the mirror control bezel, two white trim panel fasteners in case some of yours get damaged during replacement, and the bezel reinforcement plate. Diagrams are included and the job should take less than an hour to complete. The cost of the kit is $8.55 including shipping costs. To order, write Tom Derr 248 Indian Creek Drive Mechanicsburg, PA 17050.