The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay New radio Antenna-Hood not happy...

Here's a weird one for ya, maybe somebody has a suggestion... Just bought a "reproduction" antenna from LMC Truck, and put it in what I would assume is the right spot on a 51 3100(the hole was there, pass side on the cowl). What a pain to install, had to grind down a bunch of stuff, lousy kit in every way. Worst part is, when I finally finished and opened the hood-rather, tried to. The hood only went up five inches, then the back of it near the windshield slammed into the antenna. What's the stock way and how did they get it to work? Rotten antenna :mad: was 70 bucks, somebody help! As always, thanks for any help!

I'm not sure of the "factory" way but why not put it in through the side? an antenna from most part houses will mount that way. you have the base coming out of the side horizontally but the antenna sticks straight up. doesn't look bad and is a lot less expensive.

Dan51, The correct stock location is actually on the driver's side of the cowl. Placement needs to be very precise because the mounting bracket under the cowl attaches to predrilled holes in the inner body panel. We obtained one of the aftermarket antennas and it worked well but it came without the template to drill the 13/16" hole (we used one of those stepped drill bits and it worked very well but you must go SLOWLY). We obtained a copy of the template. Check out this link for a picture of the antenna and a copy of the template. Notice how close the antenna is to the fully opened hood. If you want a xerox life size copy email me and I will snail-mail you a copy.

Yow thats a close fit Lightholder. The antenna placement gets even more complicated if you are runnin' an outside sunvisor.

Hey MT, we're not so rust free today with ex-hurricane Marty passing over. How much rain have you gotten down Tucson way; we've only gotten about a 10th of an inch so far...

Its been raining for 36 darn hours straight.
I am sick of it already.

Not necessarily. My '55.1 GMC has a stock antenna hole in the passenger side of the cowl, and nearly every '54 GMC I've seen is identical. However, earlier GMC and all Chevy through '54 seem to have the antenna mounted on the driver's side. Is there a chance the cab or cowl has been replaced?

Dan, you're probably not going to like this, but I went to NAPA and bought the cheapest antenna I could find. Sectional stainless steel with a pivot base, cost $7. No trimming or grinding required, just matched the angle of the windshield and tightened the nut (the hood cleared by 1/8" when fully open). Looked great until a tree grabbed it on a narrow dirt trail, now it's just a stub. :p

When I got my truck the antenna was on the passenger side cowl ... it was a power antenna, and if it was left up -- same thing -- the hood would take it out if opened. That bugged me ...

Next was the power part of the antenna was way too visible in the cab ... that bugged me even more!

Anyway, the short of it was my decision to put a side-mount antenna on instead ... I bought it from Chevy Duty and am very pleased! I wound up installing it BEHIND the cab, on the driver side though, because mounting it on the side cowl, where it was supposed to go, made it impossible to mount at a nice 90-degree angle.

You can see the final result here:
Antenna Install

horvath: Nice Truck!! I really like that idea just wondering tho how is your reception? I have power ant. for 59 I cabbage off of our dem. derby car but not sure what I'm reading do I want to do that. popcorn The Truth is Out There (just interested)

My 55 1st series had an antenna hole on the driver's side. I filled that in, and mounted a Radio Shack power antenna on the passenger side. Not sure if I am going to have a hood clearance problem (hood isn't on yet) but if I do, the radio will have to be off before I lift the hood.

I have the same Radio Shack power antenna in my 57 chev sport coupe and it works great but took a little work to install it. Also one less hole to punch in the car cover. The truck installation was a snap.

Hey, Popcorn3023

My reception is fantastic! Better than the power antenna was, and I keep the antenna down at 24" ... it opens up to over 6 feet!!!


I think this antenna is the coolest look for a truck, too. Be careful if you order one from Chevy Duty ... I just found out that they may have switched suppliers and the new supplier has black plastic mounts. The one I got (just before they switched suppliers) has nice looking chrome mounts.

Looks like The Truck Shop has the same one I got ... they're only $18, too!

Thanks for all the good information fellas. I wonder if Hedgehog is correct about the cab possibly not actually being a 51. The previous owner did 75% of the restoration, and it was already painted awfully nicely, with the antenna hole on the passenger side. I checked caerefully on the drivers side under the dash and it doesn't look like there was ever a hole there...hmmm. The truck was painted four years ago and I'm not sure I'm up to moving the antenna and matching the color and all, so I'll probably wind up using the existing hole and getting either a power antenna or one of those cheapo ones that pivot. Bummer, but cruising on a pretty day, I'm sure it'll be the last thing on my mind! Thanks again!

The power antenna ain't a bad idea ... just remember to keep it down when you're gonna open the hood. My biggest problem with the power antenna was the motor being so visible in the cab!

I've never seen a "factory" (which is usually really dealer) antenna installed anywher except the stock location. That "original" antenna goes hard up on the beltline and actually is just a whisker into the beltline for proper fit. Here's how the factory manual shows the setup with a visor intalled on a '54 GMC:
[img]http://www.oldgmctrucks.com/photos/stovebolt/54sunvisor.jpg[/img]

Here's a different look:
[img]http://www.oldgmctrucks.com/photos/stovebolt/RadioAntenna.jpg[/img]