LordRipberger

Hey Guys,

I was shopping around on American Muscle, looking at the shorty 14" antenna. After reading the reviews I have a few questions I would like to ask.

Does the original antennas ever have an issue with rust? Several of the reviews said their new shorty antenna was rusting, and as I wash my car a lot and I live in Indiana, rust can be an issue. So I want to know if the original also has issues. If so, then replacing it wouldn't be that big of a deal.

Also, I read that the 8" antenna looses a lot of reception compared to the 14". How do you feel about that? I listen to the radio a lot so this is important.

Thanks.

Nuke

Both my Stangs have 14" shorties; one from AM and one from ebay. Neither the original buggy whip nor the shorties show(ed) signs of rust.

I used to do a lot of long distance driving with the Stang. I noticed a minor drop in reception distance with the shorty; I had to be perhaps 10-15 miles closer (than the previous ~60 miles out) to my home town to get the equivalent FM reception.

Alec

My 8" shorty from ebay has a little rust on the part that screws in but it doesn't affect anything, I never have problems unscrewing it.

I don't listen to the radio much, but I tested it out and didn't notice any loss in reception

wayne613

Yes, mine has a significant amount of rust '8 inch shorty. Mid-part and at the screw-in junction. Enough that I yanked it a few days back and bought a '12 from Auto-zone as it's a bit more flexible.

Shouldn't really be an issue unless you go through the automated car-washes like I have previously that actually touch the car. This bends the thing as it's rigid, but not inflexible such as a solid piece of steel would be. Not that you should take it through one of these, as they tend to scuff the clear-coat, which has happened to mine, but I'll buff it out at some point later. Just a few times I was in a hurry, and couldn't be bothered to find a touch-less, or do it myself. Which has a price-tag with it.

The original was fine, no rust for the year it was on. The '14 I can't really comment on. Loss wise I don't think that one will be much at all.

Some reception loss with my '8 shorty, but fairly minor, roughly about 3db gain loss I'd guesstimate, using the tuner I have on the computer in the car to gauge it from what it was. Only about 1 with the new auto-zone cheapy that I replaced it with.

LordRipberger

I don't like the car wash either for that exact reason. However, sometimes it is necessary for the winter.

With that said, could you just unscrew the antenna before going into the car wash so it doesn't get damaged? Is there are any issues with water going down the antenna whole? Maybe even causing rust in the threads? Or it has no where to drain?

wayne613

The stud is in the base, not the antenna itself, so no real issue of taking it off in that regard before washing the car. If you look briefly at your existing antenna, it's just a simple screw it on and done.

Yes, you can remove it no problem, but figure on scratching it if your going to do this fairly often before a non-touchless carwash. So it will get rust in the spots that are scratched, the paint job on these isn't at the level of the paint job on your car. The '8 shorty I had got pretty beat up just using a wrench to put it on, the stock had no issue.

LordRipberger

I haven't replaced it yet. So as of now, I am still sporting the stock one. I didn't really get a close look at mine, but when I removed my stock one just to see if I could a few minutes ago, I figured out it was easy. But I still have concerns with taking it off before a car wash. I mean, the base will have a hole in when I remove the antenna. Can it drain anywhere? I know the base covers a hole in the fender, but I thought that was for electrical purposes; not good for water. Is it possible that the threads in the base will rust?
If I remove the antenna it shouldn't get any scratches right? Or are the antenna's threads painted as well.

Keep in mind this is for only winter use. As I wash mostly by hand. But I don't have a garage and its too cold to go out with a bucket and water. My car is red and looks white right now from a road trip. This is why I was asking about removing the antenna and taking it to the car wash.

wayne613

Itīs a solid threaded stud that sticks out. Exposing it for a few minutes isnīt going to hurt anything so long as you dry it before screwing the antenna back on.
The threads themselves obviously are not painted, Iīm referring here to using a wrench or the like to get it off and back on correctly. You will likely scratch the pressure points on the outside base of the antenna unless you use a rag or something when taking it off/putting it on.

VistaBlue

There are two reasons why it really shouldn't matter. One, they are cheap enough that even if you have to replace it every few years, it shouldn't be an issue. That and a bit of sanding and rattle-canning will cure any rust you find.

AzPete

I took my stock one in the '07 GT Vert we had and cut (smoothed the end) it to the length I wanted and tapped the ball from the old end back onto the shorty. Never a rust problem or a reception problem. Cheap too.