Stang2WRX - OEM Shorty Antenna Mod

[Stang2WRX]

Hey guys,
For those of you too cheap to buy a shorty antenna, or think that $30 is ridiculous... Here's an easy solution.

I know it's been done before, but this how-to may help.

Step 1:
Make sure you have all the necessary supplies.
-Antenna
-Dremel w/ cutting wheel and 3/32" drill bit (can vary).
-JB weld or strong epoxy.
-couple of washers.

Step 2:

Cut the antenna at your desired length. As you can see I chose to cut mine at about the halfway point. If you dont have a small cutting wheel or dremel, do it carefully with some heavy duty wire cutters or a lock cutter.

Step 3:

To get the ball off without putting nasty teeth marks in it from pliers, I slid a few washers down the remaining piece of the antenna and used them to pull. The ball came off with ease.

Step 4:

Determine which drill bit is a match to the diameter of the new cut. In my case, this was the 3/32" bit. Use your dremel or power drill to bore out the hole in the ball. I used soft wood and a vice to clamp it down while I drilled. Be careful not to go all the way through the ball.

Step 5:

Test the fitment of the ball on the lower half of the antenna, if it fits onto the antenna you're ready to attach it. Try using a SPOT of JB weld, or another handy epoxyMine happened to be such a tight fit that it didn;t require adhesive).

Step 6:

Mount your new OEM shorty antenna and admire how much better it looks.

factory:
(watch out for overpasses and garage doors)

modded:

 

[BlackMachWon]

I like it! :beer:

Is your radio reception uneffected, or worse?

 

[Quadcammer]

i cut mine and glued the ball back on.

the ball fell off at some point and the radio reception has been the same.

 

[CobraBob]

It's easier just to file down the tip of your cut antenna. Then you don't have to mess with drilling out the ball. I did it and it was very effective. You would never know it was filed because I was careful not to file beyond the edge of the ball. Just a tip.

And no, your radio reception should not be affected unless you cut the antenna too short. Mine was around 17". The true shorty antennas are around 9". There have been reports of affected reception when you cut to that length.

 

[Stang2WRX]

I didn't want to file the antenna down because it wsa such a small area, I didn;t want to file too far down.

But yea, CobraBob's way will work pretty nicely too.

 

[PDubs]

Originally posted by CobraBob
It's easier just to file down the tip of your cut antenna.

That's what I did. MUCH easier to glue the ball back on.

 

[CobraBob]

The only thing, though, with filing the tip is the further down the antenna you go (depending on how short you want it) the more material you have to file down.

Edit: My antenna was cut down to 18". So filing the tip wasn't too bad. Some go down to 8-10" where more metal would have to be filed off.

 

[o3SnakeBite]

Nice write up... I bought the UPR shorty cause i wanted a polished one

 

[CobraBob]

What length is it? And do they say you'll maintain the same radio reception?

 

[04gambitcobra]

i got my 12 inch off ebay ill post pics tommorrow

 

[03DOHC]

The ball is there so the end wont poke anything and has nothing to do with reception.

 

[quad]

Hey Bro,

Good post! Btw, where did you get this little makeshift tent? And how much was it? I might have to get one for the winter ...

 

[Stang2WRX]

it was on sale at BJ's wholesale haha.

I got the 10' x 20' The website for them is www.coverit.com

 

[03cobra76]

Where do they charge $30? I bought my 12" shorty at Autozone for 10 bucks.

 

[jackers]

did you have any reception problems with the one form autozone?

 

[03cobra76]

no problems at all, couldnt tell I had switched antennas.