I bought the shorty antenna for my car, and really liked the look of it, but still had to take it off every time I put the car cover on. Since I don't listen to the radio anyway, I decided to do an antenna delete. But I don't like the look of the billet delete kits (too big and too shiny), and I didn't want to spend $20, so after some scrounging around at the hardware store and in my junk drawer, I came up with this:



It's a 10/24 x 1" black socket head bolt and a 1/4" vacuum plug cut down to size. Thread the bolt into the radio antenna hole, then slip the vacuum plug over the bolt head. Not only is it cheap, it only takes about 15 seconds to do.



Black socket head bolt - 35 cents
Vacuum plug - freebie from junk drawer
Getting the look I wanted - priceless

 

Quick, easy, and cheap !! Three of my favorite adjectives. ME LIKEY !!

 

diddo^

 

Not a bad idea, good job.

 

That's all well and good, but I think the ugly BLACK pimple looks worse than the skinny antenna mast. The only way to do it for appearance sake is to remove it completely and fill the hole & paint.

 

I don't want to break the factory paint, nor do I want to spend $300 in the process. And, I can always put the antenna back on if I want to, or when I sell the car.

 

I got hit in an accident and told the body shop to fill the holes then
total cost:
Amplified antenna (Fry's) $28
Install: Free
Fender replacement: no stang for 3 weeks , but free, too.

 

What's that? Where does it go?

 

Dusting off the old memory cells... I recall there was a time when they made auto retracting antennas. You turn the raido on it goes up, turn it off it automaticly and fully retracts. Some versions of the thing actually submerged into the fender well. That might be a more elegant solution... if they still make such items.

Regards,
Chuck

 

Why Ford couldn't intigrate the antenna into the rear glass like 99% of other cars do is beyond me. Such a beautifly designed car and still a big ugly black block and truck mast stuck to the fender.

 

Because they're cheap bastards.

 

It sticks to the inside of the windshield like this:

http://www.cherod.com/mustang/HowTo/...a%20Delete.htm

this guy has some other ideas that i am going to try...

http://www.cherod.com/mustang/HowTos.htm

 

Look at the mirrors, (all of the black plastic pieces), hood prop, turn signal handles, sharp corner by drivers knee, no radio controls in wheel, E-brake handle looks like the flap actuator out of a 1956 cessna and is on the wrong side of the console, no internal trunk button. All of these design refinements would cost about an extra $500 per unit, my '04 4runner has all of these and was $500 more than my '06 GT. I had to take the 4runner this morning, and missed driving my car though......
I have only driven the car 69,000 miles, my impressions so far are:

Function: 9/10 (first V-8 i have ever owned) hurst shifter/CAI will make it a 10
Appearance: 8/10 (painted mirrors will do alot for this)
Comfort: 8/10 My list above would bring that up.

I under stand tha production vehicles are a collection of design compromises, but I figured the list above was a no brainer. I do however like the start Ford made on this car.

 

The antenna is one of my pet peeves.

Retro is one thing. Retro to the 1950s is another. They could have at least made it manually retractable for those of us with car covers! Heck, my 1980 Civic had that!

 

These short commings are partly to blame for the perceived lack of refinement and quality the public has towards the American car. These knuckled bean counters still don't realize that the buyers of the Mustang would gladly pay extra for these items. A fixed mast antenna is just plain BAD engineering. The enhancements are subtle but the decontenting is glaring! Man, its taking a long time for US auto makers to learn. They would rather focus on the short term profits than the long term gain that would be made by increasing quality and content.

 

nynvolt, I agree that they should have placed the antenna in the rear windshield...but that costs money and when you add it up over all the units they produce it would cost Ford too much...remember they're providing a 300HP engine and still keeping the base price of the vehicle for under $30K.

 

They didn't have this type of antenna in the '50s
Is is manually removable. You just need a little wrench.
Back when all cars had manual antennas, people forgot or just didn't put them down.
They broke off all the time and it was a pain to fix them.
That is the reason the industry went to the solid whips instead.
These can actually go through a carwash.

 

I love my Mustang so don't get me wrong but my $16k 03 Civic ex had all the amenities my $29k Mustang has and more. The interior was very nicely done, cup holders had a sweet little door that when closed gave the console a clean solid look, also even with a huge soda in the cup holder I could shift it without bumping the cup. Had a hidden coin drawer, this was really cool. Antenna in the rear window. Sun roof that popped up or slid back. Hidden lock to make the valet key useless if you tried to open the trunk or glove box. Locking fold down seats. The list goes on. It lacked the appeal of the Mustang and obviously the power but it had alot of cool amenities for a base model economy car.

Think Ford could swing for running the antenna in the rear window. That really is my only gripe with the car.

 

Yes, you are technically correct. But I don't think having to remove an antenna with a wrench every time you want to run it through a car wash or put a car cover on is exactly 21st century technology. (I cut a hole in my cover for the purpose - it's still a pain.)

Let me put it this way...do you know of anyone who had a car with a hidden/glass mounted antenna who added a non-retractable mast because it was cool?

 

Not for looks or to be cool but...
Back when they first started putting them in the glass, the reception was so poor that people added antennas so they could get their favorite radio station.