garrettb

I've got a working OEM antenna (minus the snapped cable). I don't know how to get the old nylon cord out of the inside of the mast. I have tried unscrewing the top of the antenna, but it seems firm on there. The aftermarket rebuild kits look like they all have a different shaped "end" on the antenna. For those who have rebuilt these, what's the trick?!

KapsSA

Take the finial tip off the end.
That bottom pic.....that's where you got to get the mast out through
See if you can see the broken end of the nylon cable. try turning the small mast section to see if it comes into view.
If you see it, take a small jewelers screwdriver and try to get contact with the nylon cable and push it out guiding it with the screwdriver by pushing on the end of the mast.

I'm not sure cause I never bother with your type of antenna, considered a "service replacement", but I THINK the center part of that bottom plastic part that the cable goes through unscrews.
Stick a screwdriver in the hole and try, but don't force it.

vbgod1

Know they are different, but when I worked for Olds/Cad/GMC (83-95), we took the black housing apart to replace the mast. There was a metal hook on the end, that had to come out for the new cable to go in.

garrettb

You were right, the little plastic piece did unscrew, and now I have just the antenna. I still don't know how I am supposed to further disassemble this thing. I can't find any high resolution photos of what is included with the mast rebuild kit for these units, so I don't know what to look for. Hopefully these photos help.

vbgod1

On your first post, second pic, that end piece had a plastic cable at the end, which went down to the gear attached to the motor. The other chrome pieces, such as your last pics, just slid on each other to extend or retract. When we replaced it, we got a mast, that had all of that together, popped the clips on the black body, drilled off the heads of the rivets, removed the old cable, inserted the new, pit the cover back on with the clips, and quarter inch bolts and nuts in the drilled out holes. If you look on fleabay, ours were the ones with the metal hook on the end.

KapsSA

http://www.antennamastsrus.com/GM/Ch...01979-1982.htm

Just PMed this to another guy.....

Pretty straight forward repair.
Remove the clips and the rivets holding the plastic housing to the mast and center of the motor housing. Some drill them out, I usually use a small chisel and hammer to bend them over. They like to spin if you drill them.
Separate the halves, remove the broken cable by removing the finial tip and pulling the nylon cable with small mast section through the mast bottom. Sometimes it's broke inside the mast tube and hard to get at the broken nylon. You just gotta try and get to it with a tiny screwdriver while spinning the mast to get a view of it. Install the new cable hooking the hook into the pulley, stick the mast up through the mast tube and replace the finial.
Reassemble the housing with the mast using the clips and bolts or pop rivits and use a bolt through the middle , I like to tap the middle hole out and use a small 1/4-20 bolt.
Use a little silicon sealant on the motor halves if you want.
Bench run it.
Will be extended when you reassemble it(don't try to wind it up, not necessary)
Run it down.....
White wire +
Green wire -

Up.....
Green wire +
Grey wire -

Run it up and down a few times and should be good.

KapsSA

Is that a "new" antenna you bought for your Vette?
That "service replacement" style isn't usually meant for Corvettes.
You probably need to do something with the end that the bezel goes into. Are there threads inside?

If so, make sure your bezel screws into it.
Then you might want to find a washer a bit larger than the antenna end with a hole large enough for the bezel to fit through(even if you need to drill the washer hole bigger)
Then silicone the washer to the mast end.

This is similar(I say similar cause this is one I make myself) to a correct Corvette end piece as installed on a correct Corvette "slimline" model antenna......

mark79,80

There is a U tube video which shows how to replace the cable:


I thought it was very helpful.

garrettb

Thank you for sharing that video. It looks like he has the same antenna I do, and his tip just unscrews. I'm going to place an order with that website and tackle this project.

KapsSA

Are you having trouble getting the finial tip off?
Looks like you got the nylon/small mast removed in your latest pics.
Just clamp the SMALL mast section in a vise and use a 5/16" socket on the tip.
Some 78-Early79 style antennas have a pressed on tip, but shouldn't be like that with yours.

garrettb

I was, but only because I was concerned with damaging the shaft. Now that I know the kit contains a new shaft with a threaded end, I'll just clamp it in a vise and remove the nut. For those that have done this job, is it absolutely necessary to replace those rivets with bolts if I plan to re-silicon the body?

raydog9379

Nobody wants a damaged shaft, end or nut.


I'm going to be embarking on this journey soon though with my 78. My cable is likely shot and my shaft has a very slight bend that I need to straighten out.

garrettb

My repair kit is here! I haven't opened it yet, but it looks great. Here's the question though. Which finial do I use? The one I had originally or the stubbier chrome one they provide in the kit? Which one came factory with a 1982 car? I'd like to get this put back together this weekend!

KapsSA

Use your original finial if it screws on OK.
Sometimes the mast threads are different.