Quote:
Originally Posted by gtohurstjudge
I just had to put one of these bases in a customer's 69 Judge this week.
Here is the deal.....first of all on the original bases the antenna lead is part of the base
and can't come unplugged. On the repro the cable shoves onto the bottom of the base loosely and falls off if you breathe on it. On my customer's car I plugged in the cable all the way then wrapped the cable and base around and around with electrical tape so the cable wouldn't fall off going down the road. when you install the base in the fender, it leans back
farther than it really should compared to the way the antenna sits with an original base, like
the shape of the base is a little off. On the top of the base where the mast attaches, on the'
original base this threaded top piece is part of the whole assembly and can never come loose from the base. On the sorry repro, with the mast installed, you can easily yank the mast
off the base as the whole top threaded section is just shoved in there with a very loose press fit. I solved this on my customer's Judge by gluing the top section in with weatherstrip cement and letting it sit for 24 hours before installing the mast very carefully, avoiding twisting the top section when tightening the retaining nut for the mast. I had concerns about the radio reception, given all the problems with the repro base but I don't know if this is a problem since my customer had an inoperative radio. I do know I would never ever use one of these bases on my car. One other thing . the antenna cable grommet that goes in the hole in the cowl would not go in the hole no matter how hard I tried to pry it in. Of course, I was installing it with the door and fender bolted onto the car so I couldn't get much leverage. I wound up cutting the factory grommet off the old broken factory base and using it on the new cable....went right in the hole effortlessly.
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Well, I am glad you warned me. Everything you said was true. Top slid out & the wire doesn't stay in. They used a tension pin as the center connector.
I can live with most of these flaws, but the triangle shape embossments on the base that are supposed to fit to the underside of the fender are waaay to shallow, they barely catch the edge of the sheet metal. I am pretty sure it will pull through when I tighten up the top nut. Pretty disappointed in that way more than the other issues. mast & the securing nuts look fine though.
Its funny when you order three pages of parts, it finally shows up, you spread it out on the floor and say to yourself "is that it?" Check the packing list & yup, its all there (except one washer this time)
I always seem to feel that way & I am guessing I am not the only one?
Its excitement with a sadness at the same time.
