Hi. I'm looking for some help with an idea I had....

I think it would be neat to mount a power antenna so that the tip of the antenna (when retracted) was flush with the top of the rear quarter panel. The antenna would be mounted in the trunk/cargo area, and be nearly invisible when retracted.

The problem is, how would I keep water from running into the hole?

Does this idea have any merit, or will it not work?

Mathius

 

I'd think the antenna would seal against it's mounting bezel pretty tightly. You'd probably just have to french the bezel, and to seal the bezel to the car, you could probably just use black silicone.

 

Awesome idea if you're ambitious but a hidden antenna can work just as well, especially with a booster.

 

That would be a lot of work to get it to look right and I don’t think that you could ever get it to seal water out, but would be cool. Shaving and relocating is generally the easiest… my brother shaved his and wired the radio antenna connection into the defroster grid. Audis do that from the factory but the defroster grid is also functional in that case, I don’t know how they do that.

 

Anyone ever wonder why GM got rid of the 2 antenna wires molded into the windshield like they used to do in the 70’s?

 

According to my dad, they were only used for AM. I have one in my '76 Malibu. 'Course the radio never worked since I bought the car and it only had 24k on it when I got it.

He also said they didn't have great reception, but AM needs a stronger signal doesn't it? Not sure.

I haven't heard anything good about the "hidden" antenna's. and I don't like the idea of just sticking my antenna under the dash.

The defroster thing is something I've never heard before, and may have merit.

TomP, I think I understand what you're saying, but in order to truly hide the bezel, I'd have to french it into the trunk, effectively making it inaccessable, or else I'd have the same problem, water draining into the trunk.

Frenching the antenna on the outside of the vehicle just doesn't look as good to me on a curved quarter panel such as we have as it does on a truck, where you can mold the tubing into a flat panel.

Mathius

 

am is a much weaker signal thats why you can never pick anything up on it you need to be pretty close to pick up that signal

 

my old blazer had one in the windshield and it picked up fm radio pretty good.