Radio Aerial Replacement

[Austin-Rover]

I have a snapped Radio Aerial on a ’84 Monty of the type which has no visible screws holding it in place at the top of the A-Post. Does anyone know how I can remove it, and will I be able to attach a later style aerial (with visible screws) in its place?

Kind regards.

:)

[Dean]

Gently prise the plasic cover off and this will reveal two screws, just like a later one, they are like this on early Maestro's too, if they are the same.

Regards

Dean.

[Austin-Rover]

Thanks Dean. I'll give it a try tomorrow...

[SimonR]

Retain the black cover from the mk. 1 antenna as these are very difficult to find and you may make a mk. 1-owning person very happy when they snap theirs and you have a replacement.

The other thing is that I have a spare Monty antenna that I took off a car, thinking it'd fit my Maestro. You can have it for the cost of p+p if you like!

Simon R.

[Fast Guy]

And if you've never changed one before, tie a long piece of string to the end of the old aerial when you pull it out as the new one going in seems to hide somewhere never to be seen again :banghead: , so at least you can drag it through with the string.

[Austin-Rover]

I managed to get the plastic cover off to find the screws that hold it in place. However. The screws seem to be in a rather odd place. They are spaced quite far apart, in fact, significantly further than the aerial on a Mk 1 early Maestro I used for comparison. Are the two parts different between Maestro's and Montego's, and did Austin Rover ever change the spacing on the screws between early Montego's and late Montego's. For example, will one from an L reg Montego fit my B reg?

:)

[SimonR]

The screws seem to be in a rather odd place. They are spaced quite far apart, in fact, significantly further than the aerial on a Mk 1 early Maestro I used for comparison.

:)

That's precisely why I have a spare Monty aerial! The screws are a good bit further apart than on the Maestro and accordingly the plastic bezel that you screw to the roof is longer as well.

Very good advice from Fast Guy: whenever I try this job (done it four times I think) I've found that the best way is to use a very sturdy bit of nylon cord and gaffer-tape it to the plug at the end of the aerial cable. That way it doesn't get snagged on its way through.

Make sure you tape it very securely, however, as you'll wish you'd never bothered if it comes apart somewhere in the A-post!

[Ricky]

It is exactly this reason that I ended up fitting a centrally mounted roof aerial to my MG, because trying to reroute that down the a pillar is not easy! Mind you, I did sort of manage to get the wire from the centrally mounted aerial to go down there, but it is a slight bit thinner than the original stuff!

Ricky.

[Maria]

Try fitting a new centrally-mounted van aerial when you've had windscreen pillar welding done in the past, and the old aerial is melted to the inside of the pillar :giveup: :rage:

[E_T_V]

The van aerial doesn't go down the pillar does it? Mine certainly doesn't, it sits behind the plastic facia on the A pillar on the passenger side.

[Maria]

Mine does, or did. It's lost in the pillar somewhere now...! I think I managed to get a new one halfway down there, but it became wedged, and now I have no idea where it's got to. Certainly we can't find anything poking out at floor level :(

[e692wtt]

Certainly on a Montego, the antenna wire passes down the A-post and then comes into the car and goes behind the dashboard, in the area where the wires for the door 'furniture' (speakers, etc) pass from the lower half of the A-post (by the interior light door switch location) to go to the door in their rubber gaiter. I found it helped to remove this gaiter and feel for the antenna lead 'arriving', although there is some foam just above this area and it's a horrible job even when replacing an existing aerial and you've got string/rope/cable in place to pull the new cable through!

I think the aperture for the antenna lead to pass into the car is just above the hole for the gaiter that carries the wires for the door, if that helps? It's obvious enough once you're in there feeling, I think the speaker cables go through the same aperture to go behind the dashboard? They seemed to do so on Monty (I am mid way through changing the dash and wiring in the electric mirrors and front windows).

[Simon]

I found the best method of coaxing the aerial wire down the pillar on a saloon was to use a longish piece of the inner solid strand of aerial cable from a TV or similar which is flexible yet stiff enough, and you can form a suitable hook on the end to take the new aerial plug and direct it down. It can be a hard job but is possible with patience.

For the van, can't you persuade the plug to exit via a hole in the screen header rail and surface mount the lead between pillar and plastic pillar trim?

[E_T_V]

Yes that is how it is done on mine, and you can't see it. It also runs down the passenger side of the car too to avoid routing it through the fuse box area which is already packed with wires. Thinking about it there is no reason you couldn't do it that way in a saloon if you didn't have the patience to thread it through the A pillar, I guess it all depends on how much space there is above the A pillar.

Also slightly off topic but not much, never insert the interior light in a van the wring way up as the live terminal shorts out on the aerial above it. My van almost caught fire because of that.

[Simon]

In my oppinion, safety is never off topic. Well said! :)

[Rich]

I dont think thats a problem I would get, the water leaking through the aerial in the van would put the fire out!!! That and the light does not stay in its hole, and falls out all the time.

Seriously, it leaks, I think the Ledbury aerial I got was supposed to have a seal of some sort with it which I havent got. Bathroom Sillicone here we come......! :worried:

Rich

[E_T_V]

Yep there is definatly a rubber seal on the bottom of the chrome (ish) bit.

Aftermarket ones fit quite well though if you need to resort to that.

[Austin-Rover]

Simon, Are you attending the AGM or the Christmas Dinner? I'd be interested in buying your Montego aerial, and it would save you trying to find something to put it in to post it or risking it being bent/lost/stolen by our fabulous postal service.

:)

[MaestroMatt]

The method is definitely attach a strong piece of string (or nylon cord) to the old aerial wire as you pull it out then attach it to the new aerial when you pull it back through. Don't be tempted to tie it round the neck of the plug though as you may damage the connection. I would recommend a constrictor knot and a couple of half hitches then bind the whole thing in gaffer tape so it has a smooth profile.

I have just had to do the same to get some hi-fi speaker wire into my Mk 1 Maestro's doors - the wire has to go in to the body, upwards for about a foot then out of a hole that is just too high up to be acessible. Was a horrid job, but I discovered a trick to it that makes it easy that I will impart if anyone is interested.