[mviker]

I was fortunate and managed to buy a good power antenna assembly from one of our great PY members, but it will need a little love before I can install it, so I thought I'd post a couple pics and see if anyone can point me to someone that might have some pieces I need to git 'er working right.

First, the top part of the antenna assembly that has the threads to screw the chrome retaining nut on, is broken off. I need to find a replacement. Same for the hard rubber/plastic sleeve that runs inside it. After checking the PY catalog, it looks like I can buy a replacement chrome retaining nut, along with a new mast once I have these parts.

The last item I'd need is the actual antenna cable with the screw on retainer that connects the antenna cable to the unit.

I've done some preliminary digging and found mention of Bob Vidan as a possible source, but figured I'd post here in the mean time. Any suggestions?

Thanks Guys!

Kevin

[Ziggy]

I just had my 63 rebuilt by a local person who did a great job. You can PM me.

Also,
(1) not sure that PY has the mast you will need.
(2) That 13 foot antenna cable is difficult to find
(3) The Power cable can be fabricated and often found on EBay. The connectors are getting harder to find.

[mviker]

Thanks Ziggy,

I was goofing around on Ebay and found a guy selling rebuilt power antennas. His ad said he had many antennas for different models, so I contacted him. Lo & behold, he came back saying he can help me out. We're in a game of phone tag right now. Hopefully, I'll catch him soon. If not, I'll follow up with you. Thanks for the heads up. Also...The PY catalog says they have the chrome bezel nut, but to inquire on the antenna mast, so they may or may not have that. Once I hear from the Ebay guy, I may not need anything as he may have all the parts I need.

Takem easy,

Kevin

[Engine-Ear]

Just don't send any parts to anyone you don't have spares of!!

[mviker]

Well...As it turns out, the Ebay guy has tons of stuff, but according to him, there are Pontiac specific pieces he says are pretty tough to find. The threaded part that's broken has a part number inside it. We compared numbers to the part he had and they were different. His threaded piece also was the same height as my broken piece, so we figured out pretty quickly that it wasn't going to work. He gave a me a good luck and we were done. The search is still on. No plastic sleeve either, but he only did a quick search. Might find it once he does a thorough dig.

Anyhoo...I'm still in the market for these parts. His suggestion was to take it to a machine shop and see how much they'd want to machine one. There are a couple other things I can try, but I may just end up going the machine shop route.

I learned from talking to him that these power antennas are pretty hard to come by, so yeah, Matt. No sending off anything unless they're absolutely credible.

On a positive note, I hooked it up to my car and everything works great. The antenna goes up and down without problem. Just need these parts to install it. Time to play the waiting game!

[BOB VIDAN]

I have lots of threaded top pieces, what's the part number on yours? Also pretty sure I can help on the plastic sleeve if you have any dimensions on it. From memory all the sleeves I have seen are the same, but the memory thing might be messed up.

[Engine-Ear]

To me, this is a situation where if someone wanted to really help a totally ignored segment of the hobby would be to get into the power antenna parts reproduction gig.

[mviker]

Matt, You're absolutely right. I think there IS a market for this stuff, plus there are folks out there rebuilding them and they surely need parts to do their rebuilds. The Ebay guy said he hits the junkyards regularly for his stuff and it's getting toughter every time coming up with what he needs.

Bob, I'm at work now. Will PM the part number to you as soon as I get home. Off the tip of my head, I think it was OM-5160, but I'll let you know for sure a little later. I also know the threaded section unbroken, has about an inch of thread on it, maybe a little more. I'll also give you some measurements on the sleeve. Thanks for replying!

Kevin

[BOB VIDAN]

Engine Ear, Kevin. I have bought, removed and repaired many power antennas and I'll tell you one thing. Almost every year, every make GM antenna is different, has different parts and almost nothing is interchangeable. Chances of anybody taking on repopping anything are slim to zero. The one most common problem is the mast, impossible to find and if you don't know what you are looking at, good luck. The motor, tubes and fittings are not that hard to work with.

[grnwng]

http://www.impalas.com/audio/antenna...-0-page-2.html

Might try these guys.

Soon as I get to it, gonna do a twin slant setup for my bonnie. Impala is so close they should fit. Then I will need a couple more coon tails for em also.

[Ziggy]

Bob: I can use one of those black plastic sleeves if you have an extra as well as one of the mounts which match up to the underside of the fender. Let me know if you have them. I can get you the part number that I need when I get back home from my travels at the end of the week.

[Ziggy]

Kevin: Was Frank the e-bay guy's first name?

[mviker]

Hey Ziggy,

Yep, He's the one. He's a pretty good guy from what I could tell. Very helpful & friendly.

[Pontiac62]

Here is a page from the MPC that shows the parts. It's a little generic, but you will need the item referred to as adapter above the fender.
There are about 4-1/2 pages of part numbers for various years and models, so let me know if you need a specific part number.

[mviker]

Broke out the magnifying glass and checked that broken top piece with the threads. In case anyone else wants to know, the part number is OM-6158. This is for a big car 1962 antenna. Pretty small print, but with a magnifying glass, it's readable.

Thanks for the diagram Pontiac 62. I was just looking in the parts book and chassis manual. Ziggy mentioned he has the part number for the plastic sleeve.

There's good info in the parts book, but it didn't clearly describe the plastic sleeve in a way I could identify it.

[mviker]

Hi GrnWng,

I like the look of those Impala antennas on Impalas, but they're really not close to what came on our Pontiacs. You'll also find on those swept back antennas, that you'll need to drill another hole to mount them. There's one small pilot hole that seats them. They're cool, but I think I'm going to stick with the setup I've got. I may go for the antenna cable they sell since it has the lockdown nut that attaches it to the mast, but that's about it. Thanks for pointing out that site.

Kevin

[Engine-Ear]

Originally Posted by mviker

Broke out the magnifying glass and checked that broken top piece with the threads. In case anyone else wants to know, the part number is OM-6158. This is for a big car 1962 antenna. Pretty small print, but with a magnifying glass, it's readable.

...not sure (well, can't visualize) specifically which piece you're talking about but keep in mind (esp. for people who might research this thread in the future) that the Safari had a different power antenna than the non-Safari, and the part you're referring to may be different for the long roof set.

[mviker]

Matt, good point. I wouldn't know if this one particular part is different, but in my readings, I HAVE come to know wagons had a fender mount power antenna that went straight up. There are actually two parts to the top, the threaded piece I'm having an aneurism over, then another part that holds the gasket that pushes up against the inside of the fender/quarterpanel to seal the opening. On rear mount antennas, that part is sloped to give the swept back look. I would imagine on Safari's that part would be flat to accomodate the vertical run of the antenna. In the diagram Pontiac 62 supplied, that part is number 6. It MAY be possible my broken part is the same on both though since it's main function is simply to screw the chrome retaining nut down to secure the antenna from outside.

[Ziggy]

Kevin:

I have been to Frank's house. He can talk your ears off and takes "exagerated pride" in telling you what he can do to your antenna. He does not live far from me. He has quite a few buick and caddy antennas laying around but very few pontiac antennas and their associated parts. He disassembles, cleans and relubes and re-assemblesthe motors so they run smoothly when done. But, you have to have complete and usable parts to begin with. Currently, he does not have the plastic sleeve nor the proper fender mount (underside and topside) parts nor replacement masts that you are looking for for your rebuild.

[mviker]

Zig...,

Yep, We both agreed he didn't have what I was looking for. Close though. He had a very similar part that was close to my broken one, but the threaded area was about 1/4" shorter than mine would have been. You're right. He'll talk your head off, but he's friendly and very willing to help if he can. He implied he's into any antenna he can get his hands on, no matter the make or model, but he did say that Pontiacs were very specific antennas and hard to get ahold of. He had a 62 antenna when we spoke, but it belonged to someone else, or I would have bought it from him on the spot!

I think I'm good now though. Will know in a week or two.

Thanks for the heads up!