Antenna position

[dancrim]

I am in the process of a backyard restoration of a 65 BJ8
with BMC radio. Does anyone know the "proper" place for
the antenna? Or is there one? Currently it is mounted on the
front, passenger side of the front shroud. An AHC member said it should be on the fender. Any Ideas?

 

[Keoke]

I am in the process of a backyard restoration of a 65 BJ8
with BMC radio. Does anyone know the "proper" place for
the antenna? Or is there one? Currently it is mounted on the
front, passenger side of the front shroud. An AHC member said it should be on the fender. Any Ideas?

Hi Yes with the antenna location you have it would be difficult/costly to relocate it.

This is because it would leave a hole in the aluminum shroud that would require filling.

Should this filling be improperly done it could lead to water leaks in the car.

From a functional stand point that location will perform satisfactory and includes the shortest cable length between the antenna and the receiver.---Keoke

 

[dancrim]

Thanks for your reply. As for thr relocation, I can weld in a circular plug
to fix the hole. The location is Sat. as you say, however I am not sure if
these cars were shipped with the radio or was this a dealer add on. If shipped fron the factory, I don't know if there was a standard location.

 

[66healey]

My 66 has the antenna in the shroud like yours is. It has been in my family since new, and came with the radio when new. So for a 66 at least, that is the stock position.

 

[Keoke]

In most cases it reportedly was a dealer install. No I think each dealer just did it as he judged economical and no standard was used?
The only downside of this location is other antenna configurations such as electric or hidden unit installations are impacted by the glove compartment.--Keoke

66Healey

I have Two 66BJ8's on one car the antenna was in the shroud the other is in the fender. The Heritage Certificate sheet shows the fender mounted one was done at the factory.

 

[dancrim]

Most interesting (Holmes here) I have the Heritage Cert. and it is correct for my car, but no radio is mentioned. If the radio was in fact a dealer add on, the easiest mounting solution would be the shroud. saving lot of work to take off the door and fender. I never thought of that till your reply. What a great site.

 

[Keoke]

Most interesting (Holmes here) I have the Heritage Cert. and it is correct for my car, but no radio is mentioned.
This suggests that the radio was in fact a dealer add on, the easiest mounting solution would be the shroud.

saving lot of work to take off the door and fender. I never thought of that till your reply. What a great site.

Well Keoke, is going to spoil your whole day on this last point!

You can mount this type fixed antenna without removing the fender or door It will only require the proper sized hole in the fender and that you put a small hole in the firewall allowing the antenna lead to be fed in. --Keoke

But basically your response was correct as one hole is easier than two- :laugh:

 

[GregW]

The dealer installed antenna for my car was on the rear bumper. Never seen it like that on another car. No drilling required in the body at all, wire came into the car through the bumper bracket opening. The downside, it was pretty ugly.

 

[zblu]

Greg,
Had one of those horrible antennas on my 4x4, went to the plastic stumpy flex one, deleted all those cold joint connections.
Have had problems in the past with the radio in different cars being in the same plane as the genny, sometimes suppressors fixed it otherwise you would get a noise thru the soeakers that matched the revs of the genny, mind you how loud are you going to have the radio so as to be heard over the engine?

 

[anthony7777]

dancrim, my bj7 came from the factory with the radio installed at least thats what the heritage certificate says, its located on the right front fender, passengers side, its a one piece non-retractable unit, ive tried to replace it with several new ones that would retract so i could put a cover on, the problem is that there is a brace in the fender that will not allow even the shortest depth retractable unit to fit, i guess what im saying is if you plug up you existing location you should check for obsticles at any other location you might be considering.

 

[GregW]

Hi Zblu,
That antenna will not be going back on my car. Even if it wasn't trashed (broken and rusty). I will be trying one of those hidden ones that the hot rodders use. I'm going to try it under the lip of the rear shroud. Honestly, the choice of radio stations here in the Los Angeles area is lame, I usually listen to CDs or my MP3 player. Yes, it will be loud enough to hear over the engine, and wind.