I need an antenna, but - have you ever seen this before?

[moparedtn]

Didn't know what forum to post this under so move it if you need to, mods...
Anyways, first the pics (car is a '68 GTX):

Yep, you're seeing this correctly - this fender has no evidence of ever having the normal larger antenna hole in the fender where all the others are.
Instead, it has this smaller (1/2") hole stamped (not drilled - "punched" might be the better description) out of the very corner of the fender, right in front of the door (and just forward of the hinge).

The car is a factory radio car and I've just picked up a radio for it. Now I have to figure out what to do with an antenna.
Does anyone know of a compact type antenna that only requires a half inch hole? What size hole does the original antenna actually need?

 

[Kern Dog]

I wonder if that is an early aftermarket replacement fender?

 

[GetX'd]

That's what I was thinking. Must have been a repop and they didn't account properly for the antenna. Not sure what I'd do......

 

[Ranger16]

You could enlarge the hole and use a manual antenna from http://www.antennamastsrus.com/Manual Antenna.htm.

 

[Richard Cranium]

#1, that hole is in the wrong spot.

&

#2, replacement RH factory fenders often times did not come with the antenna hole cut out.

 

[moparsteve636]

Weld up the hole and redrill it in the correct place! also the right size hole!

 

[moparedtn]

I wonder if that is an early aftermarket replacement fender?

That's what I was thinking. Must have been a repop and they didn't account properly for the antenna. Not sure what I'd do......

Could be, who knows? But here it is...
It's certainly as stout a metal gauge as any factory one.

You could enlarge the hole and use a manual antenna from http://www.antennamastsrus.com/Manual Antenna.htm.

That remains a remote possibility, with me using the 1/2" hole as a guide and stacking hole saws on a drill, using a half inch HS as the arbor for a bigger one.
I'd hate to do it if I didn't have to, though. It's sort of irreversible to someone like me, who doesn't do bodywork & paint at all.
I appreciate the link to that website; I've written them to see if they have any suggestions.

#1, that hole is in the wrong spot.
&
#2, replacement RH factory fenders often times did not come with the antenna hole cut out.

The first is apparent, as I stated; the second is obviously also true.
Dealers often installed radios on radio delete cars by punching holes in fenders for the antenna, but this car is coded to have had a factory radio - so either this is some ultra rare factory deal or a replacement fender that someone has punched a hole in, probably using something like a Whitney punch.
Only other explanation I can come up with is some sort of "cop car" scenario, where the fender was originally on a service vehicle and the hole was for an antenna for radios other than the usual AM Golden Tone this one is coded for.

Weld up the hole and redrill it in the correct place! also the right size hole!

This I won't do. It's beyond my capabilities and I can't justify paying someone else to do it. As it is, the hole isn't particularly bothersome in and of itself; I have a little rubber body plug in it now that fits nice and snug to keep moisture out.

If all else fails, I could always drill another hole in the "correct" position.
I'd just as soon find a compact antenna that utilizes the smaller hole, though.

 

[moparedtn]

I went digging through some old pics the previous owner gave me of when the car was first brought to his shop after being plucked from a field.
This is a close-up of one such photo:

It appears that not only did the car actually have an antenna in that position in the past, but that it wasn't just one of those thin wire looking types - that's obviously a typical multi-section garden variety antenna, could even be the original one to the car, transplanted.
This tells me a couple things:
1. If that fender is a replacement, it's been on the car for a relatively long time
2. The fender probably wasn't some sort of special "cop car" issue or some such
Still can't get past the small size of the hole, though.....

 

[Richard Cranium]

There's no such thing as a special cop car fender. It could very well be that your car simply didn't come with a radio and someone added one later. The build sheet could easily verify that.

 

[moparsteve636]

That would be a likely solution! The antenna was put there for the ease of installation! They didn't have to pull the inner splash shield to mount it!

 

[1969 Hemi RTs]

my NOS RH 69 Coronet fender has no hole.

 

[moparedtn]

There's no such thing as a special cop car fender. It could very well be that your car simply didn't come with a radio and someone added one later. The build sheet could easily verify that.

That would be a likely solution! The antenna was put there for the ease of installation! They didn't have to pull the inner splash shield to mount it!

As I've stated a couple times in this thread already, the car did come with a radio from the factory; the build sheet states as much:
Radio: (422) radio am golden tone

The antenna hole being where it is not only doesn't make sense, but the way the hole was fabricated is interesting to me as well.
It isn't drilled; instead, the edges are slightly rolled over, as if someone used a large punch of some sort (like the aforementioned Whitney punch I'm familiar with, which we used in my profession to stamp holes in building z-purlins).
It looks like a large press actually produced the hole, in other words.

Anyways, since nobody has apparently ever seen such, I'll just assume this is a replacement fender from long ago and that the body shop/dealer/whoever decided to make the hole there to keep from having to disassemble things.

Given all that, I'll ask again:
Does anyone know of a compact type antenna that only requires a half inch hole? What size hole does the original antenna actually need?

 

[Richard Cranium]

If you aren't going to make it right, this is probably your best option....

 

[moparedtn]

If you aren't going to make it right, this is probably your best option....


View attachment 507898

No, my best option is to install another one like it had in a previous life
(a stock one if somebody would tell me what size hole they actually need?)