power antenna?
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New User
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 10
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From: Tuscaloosa, AL
power antenna?
This may be a dumb question but i'd like to get better antenna reception and my uncle gave me a universal power antenna to put in the truck but after looking at where the stock antenna is, I can't figure out how to get to it to remove it. I assume I have to remove the cowl vent thing. Anybody know how to do this. Keep in mind I'm 18 and haven't been restoring very long and while I know a lot about my truck this has kept me puzzled. Thanks in advance.
Hotshot
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 18,488
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From: The Big, Oregon
Depending on what antenna is on there, you usually pop off the chrome cap at the base of the antenna, and then take out the screws underneath. I don't know if a power antenna will fit inside the cowl there, though.
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Joined: Apr 2004
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From: I live in a warehouse in
Southernreb05,
Are you talking about room for a motorized antenna? There may be room up in there above the fenderwell, but you can't remove the cowl vent. It's part of the cab. Take out the insert of your glove box. Then you can reach up under the dash and see if there's room in there. This is assuming you don't have the gigantic under and behind dash AC system installed there. If you have AC (with the 2 inch deep glove box) Then you will need to drop the AC unit as well.
Are you talking about room for a motorized antenna? There may be room up in there above the fenderwell, but you can't remove the cowl vent. It's part of the cab. Take out the insert of your glove box. Then you can reach up under the dash and see if there's room in there. This is assuming you don't have the gigantic under and behind dash AC system installed there. If you have AC (with the 2 inch deep glove box) Then you will need to drop the AC unit as well.
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New User
Joined: Nov 2004
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From: Tuscaloosa, AL
Thanks for the advice guys. The only problem I have now is actually getting to the antenna. I removed the glove box and there's another semi-firewall kinda thing between the opening to the antenna in the cowl. This divider has a hole in it for the cable to run but I cant get to anything, especially not enough to try to put a power antenna motor there. I guess my only option is to cut and I hate to do that.
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New User
Joined: Nov 2004
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From: Tuscaloosa, AL
Thanks to everyone's advice I actually got the antenna in. I couldn't go through the glove box although having it out helped make running the wires easier. What I ended up doing was pulling out the passenger side floorboard vent. The opening it gave me was large enough to get the power antenna in and the vent actually mounted back up without having to cut it at all to accomodate for the power antenna motor. I did tear the rubber that connects the vent to the system while I was pulling it off so be careful there. The antenna however works great and looks good. How many people can say they have a power antenna in their 1970 truck?? haha it's the little things that do it.
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Joined: Apr 2004
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From: I live in a warehouse in
Way to go southernreb05, I had forgotten about the vent. (I have a fire extinguisher mounted there, which semi-blocks it.) Sorry about the bum steer on the glove-box liner. The last time I was back there in my '70, I also had the heater core out which made things a lot easier. I hope the vent trick will work on my '69. My antenna looks like a bent coat hanger and I have all that A/C stuff to deal with.
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 101
Likes: 1
From: Dayton
southernreb05, how well does the new antenna work compared to the old one? i would like to put a power antenna in my '70 but have heard that some aftermarket power antennas don't pick up signal worth crap, and i was wondering how well yours works before i buy one for mine. do you know what brand it is or where you uncle got it?
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