Question About Antenna Placement

[Metallurgist]

I have heard that antenna placement was left up to the dealship. My question is where was the typical placement and how many and what size holes were required for the OEM antenna? I have a '66 bug in getting paint and body work and I'm having a lot of the "extra" holes filled in, but would like to keep holes for the OEM antenna open. Does anyone have a picture of the antenna holes on their '66 or have any info on the holes.

Also teaser for the car

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[drscope]

There was no "OEM" antenna. That too was left up to the dealer.
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Mother Nature is a Mean Evil Bitch!

[Hammarlund]

As the Doc implies, there were so many choices and varieties that it really is up to you.

One suggestion I would strongly urge on you: keep the antenna as perfectly vertical as possible! Dealers liked to mount the antennas at an angle, to make them look streamlined; but your radio will work better on both FM and distant AM stations in daytime if it is vertical. It is especially helpful for fighting ''picket fencing,'' the rapid, fluttery fading that is often encountered on FM.

(After dark, when you're listening to the truly distant stations on AM, polarization isn't as important, as the waves get scrambled when they bounce off the F-layer of the ionosphere.)
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Trying to diagnose electrical problems without paying attention to what the red light is telling you is like trying to play the piano without using your hands.

[61SNRF]

Since I'm not an audiophile, I like the look of them swept back, regardless of performance.
I got lucky with the one on my '66, it's perfect in my opinion.

[PSScoots]

My 66 was purchased with a Bendix Sapphire III. Like earlier posts say, radio was a dealer item, so the antenna set ups show slight variation (side of car, vertical or rake, etc.)

Mine was fitted with a Ward antenna with two mounting studs. The upper one is .5" Dia and carries the coax port, the lower is .25" dia, and they are separated 1.5" OC. My dealer installed it at a 10 degree rake.

Wolfsburg West makes a repro:

I've never seen it in person, so I can't vouch for the quality.

BTW, here's an ad from Ward, complete with T.V. 50's chick advertising for TV antennas straddling a badly vibrating rocket... talk about repressed.

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Rebuilt to drive not decorate. -VOLKSWAGNUT
"Service the car and it will give you good service."

[Hammarlund]

That's pretty much how the one on my '66 looks, 61SNRF.

By the way, the Ward flyer is not an ad per se, it is what we used to call a ''sales'' circular in the days of print media, probably intended to be distributed at electronics shows, conventions, etc., where only men would see it. Note how the copy is aimed at retailers and distributors, not consumers.

That art would have been considered way too risque for publication in mainstream magazines, newspapers, or any other place women or children might see it, as late as the early sixties.

And, it's from the fifties or very early sixties, alright: note the bikini and way the address is given. ''Cleveland 15'' is a postal zone, what big cities used before zip codes were instituted, which was around 1962-65 IIRC.
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Trying to diagnose electrical problems without paying attention to what the red light is telling you is like trying to play the piano without using your hands.

[61SNRF]

Yeah, those ads must've ran in men's magazines of the times. Argosy, Popular Mechcanics and such. Pretty racy for antenna's!
I can add some perspective in that being an import auto tech since '74, I know what it's like in a dealership when a car get's sold. "The customers waiting and the car's gottta go!" Whichever mechanic that car got dispatched to had his own set of rules and was an individual. The dealership in general might have had no thought of where it was placed. I don't recall ever seeing any litrature or guidelines for mounting myself. It also comes down to local parts availability and subcontractors. I know of early '67 Beetles with a factory hole in the left A-pillar blanked off and the 1/4 panel drilled for a bolt on Ward type antenna, surely for availability issues.
What the heck, it has one speaker to the left of the driver. I think the scratchy sound of AM is part of the charm of an old car!

[Hammarlund]

[RareAir]

[60ragtop]

[hitest]

The closer to the beltline- the more the antenna will lean inward- so the '66 hardtop above is likely the better position. Consider the head-on view of the antenna's straightness before drilling/filling.

Straight was the right way 50 years ago- but you can pull in any of today's FM stations with nothing more than a metal screw in the antenna port- no need to give your car the shaft (ask any fiberglass boat owner).
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[DIERNOSAJ]

Heres mine on my '63 for another reference. I need a longer antena cable though. It won't even reach the cd player in the glove box.

[Hammarlund]

[RareAir]

Here the dual-mount style mounted on my '54

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1947 Typ 11a
1954 Typ 117
1956 Typ 151
1959 Typ 117
1959 Typ 265
1961 356B
1966 Typ 151
1966 Typ 241

[VWOVAL55]

Hi there all,

Looking at purchasing a 1962 beetle, low miles 46K.

Question: I haven't seen a radio antenna mounted on the fender, always on the body.

Hesitant on the purchase, please help.

Thank you,
Rick

[panicman]

You're looking at a 1962 beetle, and its antenna is mounted to the fender.

Do you have a picture? What do you need "help" with?

[VWOVAL55]

I've never seen anything like this, wondering if anyone else has. See pic.

[Bobs67vwagen]

Well that looks like a nice bug. I can tell you that in 57 years of being around these cars I have never seen an antenna mounted there. It would not be too difficult to put one in a more " proper " location.

[far rider]

Here’s my 61. Decided to leave it in original location. Dual mount like Rare air but opposite side and considerably closer mounts.

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67 zenith blue sunroof

Contentment; when what you have is what you want.

[panicman]

That is pretty hilarious. I wouldn't put an antenna there.

It does look like a pretty nice bug. I don't know if that a deal breaker for you. You could pull the fender, weld the hole, and try to blend in matched paint.