Auto Detailing and AppearanceTips and tricks on how to make your Third Gen shine! Get opinions on products or how something looks on your Chevrolet Camaro or Pontiac Firebird.
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My friend did this with his Stang, figured I'd give it a shot with the Bird. Gives the car a much nicer overall look, and the best part is, it took about 10 minutes to do and cost absoloutly NOTHING. I'm sure other people have done it, but just figured I'd share it with you guys in case anyone hadn't thought about it before. Basicly you just take the antenna off the car (Screws off), hold the top part of the antenna in a bench vise, and use a pair of pliers to twist/pull the ball at the end off (Carefull not to loose it).
From there, I just cut off 10" or so, but I guess you could cut off whatever length you wanted to, but I immagine if you went too short you'd have bad radio reception. lol
Anyhow, you'll have to file/sand/grind down the tip once you cut so that the ball will fit back on, i just used a dremel with a grinder really quick and a little sand paper, hammered the ball back on, wiped it down with a damp cloth, dried it, and spray'd it. Looks a lot better than it did before, I'd recomend it to anyone!
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__________________ 1989 Formula WS6 - 355 with a double pumper on top, built up 700R4 (GONE)
1996 Cobra - Bolt ons - (SOLD)
1981 Malibu - 353 with, well, a double pumper on top, built up TH350 (SOLD)
1988 Shelby Z Daytona - 2.2 Turbo, basic mods, A555 5 speed (GONE)
1987 GTA - L98, Basicly stock, 700R4 (CURRENT, and maybe a keeper?)
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Did this have any affect on range? Do you get some stations better or worse now? I had a shorter antena on my sunfire for a while and got worse reception.
__________________ 86 TA, black with silver flecks Turbo Style Corvette hood, 305 4bl, stock tranny, Minor engine upgrades. No cash to do anything radical yet. Engine blown and not in a good way.. Looking for a 350.
"The price of victory is high, but so are the rewards" The Late coach Paul "Bear" Bryant
damn i didnt realize those things were so long! It's been awhile since i paid attention to an antenna. Mines power so i dont see it to often.... Nice job though! Maybe if it was a little shorter like the height of the roof of the car it would look a little better? who knows?
good job.I don't have an antenna anymore I shaved it last year. I think my car looks 10x better without. but I do plan on addind a satellite radio radio to my car later on
This is not a mod I'd recommend if you live in a rural area that's not real close to the radio stations you listen to. The length of the antenna is a very specific size because antennas work best when their length is a fractional increment of the wavelength they are trying to receive. In other words, an antenna works best when it's length is 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, etc. the length of the wave it's trying to receive. By altering the length of your antenna, you're going to have a significant effect on reception. If you live in the city that's broadcasting it, you'll probably be just fine, but for those of us that already get lousy reception because we're on the fringe, it wouldn't be a wise idea.
well, currently theres no radio at all in the car, so i'm all set. LOL
Even if there was, I mostly listen to CD's, and I'm not TOO far from the stations I listen to. Thanks though!
I dont like stations in my area. I think im going to do this today!
When i first started reading i was like "Its just an antenna"
Then you see how long it was and its
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I think it looks good
Originally posted by lxcamaroxl I dont like stations in my area. I think im going to do this today!
When i first started reading i was like "Its just an antenna"
Then you see how long it was and its
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I think it looks good
You're in MA....what stations do you get? I usually only listen to the hillman morning show on 107.3 and other than that its CD's, but the firebird doesnt even HAVE a radio yet so I dont have to worry bout that, lol
Um, why not just spend a whoppiing $5 on the rubber antenna from AutoZone/Pep Boys/Etc?? It'll be close to roof-height, and pretty good reception considering the small size. Here's an OLD pic (May 1 05) of my car w/ the rubber antenna. Really bad angle, but it gives you a general idea.
And by old, I mean it looks more like this now...
It's hard to see in the pic (taken a couple weeks ago - it's flat black primer now), but the antenna and trunk lock are both shaved now. I still have more work to do, but it's not really related to the topic.
The cut-antenna does look greatly improved over the stock radio tower tho
Originally posted by speedingpenguin well, currently theres no radio at all in the car, so i'm all set. LOL
Even if there was, I mostly listen to CD's, and I'm not TOO far from the stations I listen to. Thanks though!
umm.... then why didnt you just take it off and leave it off? your saying all how you have a short antenna but it serves no purpose??? im lost man... nice work though. i do agree shorter looks better but i would just leave it off if i were you.
Originally posted by Jim85IROC This is not a mod I'd recommend if you live in a rural area that's not real close to the radio stations you listen to. The length of the antenna is a very specific size because antennas work best when their length is a fractional increment of the wavelength they are trying to receive. In other words, an antenna works best when it's length is 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, etc. the length of the wave it's trying to receive. By altering the length of your antenna, you're going to have a significant effect on reception. If you live in the city that's broadcasting it, you'll probably be just fine, but for those of us that already get lousy reception because we're on the fringe, it wouldn't be a wise idea.
Good point Jim. I think there may be a way to determine what length is best with respect to the power of the antenna. Back when CB's were a cool thin to have (still are IMO) we have a tool that you could attach to the antenna that would gauge how much gain it used when you both broadcasted a message as well as received a signal (I'm pretty sure I am using the wrong terms here).
Anyway, the bottom line is that when we did this with CB antenna we were able to determine that there were various lengths you could make your antenna that would make for good reception and broadcasting -- both short and long. It depended on what was optimal for the radio itself. I am quite sure you can't just cut the aerial and expect it will work the same but you can determine what length (shorter) will work almost as good.
With respect to design this is another one of those things where I am sure the GM engineers (or Delco as the case may be) knew best. Then again, if you don't care about the aesthics, screw it.
Originally posted by UDAMON umm.... then why didnt you just take it off and leave it off? your saying all how you have a short antenna but it serves no purpose??? im lost man... nice work though. i do agree shorter looks better but i would just leave it off if i were you.
I dunno if I would just "leave it off" b/c IMO having the mount on the fender stickin' up w/ no antenna is more pointless/ghetto than having a cut antenna. Either have an antenna, or shave it, don't leave just a screw/mount sticking up thru the fender.
There are calculators online to determine optimal lengths, but they're for one given frequency. If you listen to more than one radio station, the antenna is no longer 'optimal'.
In general, you don't need the antenna to be "perfect" on an AM/FM radio b/c you don't have to transmit from it like with CB radio's. There may be some way to hook up an SWR meter to an FM radio, but it probably wouldn't be worth the effort of adapting the meter to the radio.
Originally posted by speedingpenguin You're in MA....what stations do you get? I usually only listen to the hillman morning show on 107.3 and other than that its CD's, but the firebird doesnt even HAVE a radio yet so I dont have to worry bout that, lol
I Get like 95.5 and Fun 107 and .....alot of stuff
