Modifying a 1952 Chevy Truck. Original bodywork - modern upgrades.
www.1952ChevyTruck.com


Dec. 2016 - Jan. 2017. Fitting an electric aerial without drilling holes in the body work.

Fitting an electric aerial

Why an electric aerial?

Electric aerials seem to have lost favour recently which is a pity as they have a high gain.

The modern "through the glass" options do not come close to having the gain of an electric aerial.
The disadvantages are two fold, expensive and usually needs a location which impacts the
vehicle with a large hole in the body work. Eventually this hole produces rust.
The aim here is no find a low impact attractive solution.

Hirschmann electric aerial.

Built in Germany and used as standard (OEM) equipment in many cars, although less so these days.
Long 1.0m mast. Quiet. Reliable. Cost £50.00 (about $70.00). Other cheaper makes are available.
I am told Hirschmann are discontinuing electric aerials soon so don't wait if you want this make.

Where to fit it with (almost) "zero impact" on a classic truck?

Drilling the fenders / wings, is (for me) not an option. In fact drilling anywhere (that can be seen) not an option.
The location chosen is between the cab and the bed and the whole process is explained in a series of pictures below.

Fitting an electric aerial Fitting an electric aerial

Fitting an electric aerial Fitting an electric aerial

Fitting an electric aerial Fitting an electric aerial

Fitting an electric aerial Fitting an electric aerial

The process-

Make the stainless steel bracket.
Remove the left hand filler between bed and running boards.
Attach the new stainless steel (SS) bracket using the existing bolt hole which holds the (black) support.
Drill an extra hole in the filler piece. This hole can't be seen.
Alternatively use double sided tape if you don't want to drill a hole.
Something is needed to stop rotation of the bracket. A hole or tape.
Mount the aerial.
Fit the filler piece back on the truck. Note - to fit the filler piece back on the truck from below,
the SS bracket must only have the one existing hole / bolt fitted so it rotates out of the way
otherwise it whole assembly will not feed from below between the running board supports. The last bolt
to hold the SS bracket correctly can be fitted after the filler has been bolted back into place.

Stabilising the aerial.

The aerial needed an additional support to go between the two fixing holes in the bottom of
the aerial and the running boards. The bolt at the other end of the (black) filler support
bracket to was used to connect the new lower stabilising bracket to the bottom of the aerial.
Once again stainless steel was used and slots enabled easy adjustment of the exact position of
the aerial as it rose between the cab and the bed. I normally do the drawings on a computer
but I started sketching with a pen and thought I might as well finish it that way.

Aerial bottom bracket

Aerial bottom bracket Aerial bottom bracket

Aerial bottom bracket Aerial bottom bracket

Wiring, testing, connecting.

Apart from the signal cable, there are 3 wires connect to the aerial. Black (earth), Red (+) and green.
The black (-) and red (+) need to be connected to the battery. An inline fuse in the red wire is provided.
The green is the control wire. If connect to + the aerial goes up and if connected to nothing the aerial
goes down. This can either be connected to the radio / aerial output wire for automatic use.
Or to a fuse and a switch for manual use.
(You might want to leave the aerial up at a show without turning on the radio?)
The wires can run along the bed, along a frame rail and into an appropriate place under the cab to the
radio. The cables will need to be lengthened. A good extension lead can be purchased to
extend the signal cable.
It will be necessary to set up the angle of the aerial / aerial mast and to do this the aerial needs to
be in the up position. Get a 12V battery and connect the black to (-) and the red and green to (+).
The aerial can then be adjusted to the correct angle between the bed and the cab and then tightened up.

Testing the electric aerial

Notes on positioning.

The reason the SS Bracket stands 120mm high is because if it was any lower, the aerial would hang down too low
(below the running boards). It can't be any higher than 120mm or the bracket will hit the bottom of the bed.

The position chosen for the aerial protects it from wind while driving.

In the down position the location is very discrete and the polished stainless steel looks good anyway.
Polished stainless steel matches other chrome and stainless parts on the truck and does not look out of place.

English and US spelling.

English - favour / US - favor.
English - stabilise / US stabilize.

Electric aerial



Click on the banner below to see our new web site.

It is about a new hard tonneau cover (bed lid) for the 1947-53 Chevy truck.
Model - "Zero Impact Ultimate 3100" Tonneau cover. Fit without drill holes in your truck.
You can read about it and you can order it. It is available now.


Hard tonneau cover for the 1947-53 Chevy truck. Hard tonneau cover for the 1947-53 Chevy truck.

www.classictonneaucover.com

Click on the banner above.

• A hard tonneau cover. Completely rigid, solid and strong. Folding.
• Zero impact. It can be fitted without drilling any holes in the truck. All paint work protected.
• Does not detract from the appearance of the truck. Enhances the appearance of the truck.
• With the cover removed and just the hardware kit showing it still looks "show quality".
• When the cover is fitted but open it still looks excellent and does not detract in any way from the appearance of the truck.
• The cover can be removed in under five minutes.
• All materials and finishes are of the highest quality.
• There is a choice of hardware support finishes to suit painted or patina trucks.
• A water drainage system is included to prevent water from leaking into the bed.
• Better than original factory quality. Just look at the pictures above.
• The model shown is supported by a mirror polished stainless steel installation kit.
• This tonneau cover is for the - 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953 Chevy truck. Advanced design stepside 3100.



Link to our own museum site

Rewind Museum. A Museum of vintage consumer electronics.
See

www.rewindmuseum.com/vintagesatellite.htm

Satcom 7700 satellite receiver.

For old Satellite receivers with knobs on!
(and other historic items) - and
Vintage reel to reel video recorders. Vintage VHS
and Betamax VCRs. Vintage video cameras. Vintage
Laser Disc. Vintage Computers. Old telephones,
Old brick mobile phones. Vintage Hi Fi, Old reel
to reel audio and early audio cassette decks.
Including, the history time line of vintage
consumer electronics ... and much more .....
So see,


www.rewindmuseum.com/home.htm

Sony 2400 portable reel to reel video

It is well worth a visit.
Only The Satellite Superstore brings you
great products, advice and it's own museum


Rewind Museum



A Useful Search Engine.

large dish

Google.
An excellent very comprehensive search engine. Find everything.
Probably the biggest search engine in the world.
www.google.com



Link to our main site. Satellite TV.

Sponsored by Vision International.
Note. One of our businesses, Vision International (established 1991) sponsors the
1952 Chevy truck site including financial support for this web site.
Vision International is one of a group of businesses that we have in the field of
Satellite TV. This is a link to our sponsor.

85cm transparent dish 7.3m dishes

Tune in an extra 10,000 channels? No you don't need a large dish but we do sell
big dishes as well. Watch the world? Links to some of the pages are below,

Satellite dishes Transparent Dishes Motorised dishes LNBs Satellite Receivers
Mobile / caravan satellite Multiswitches Satellite finder meters All satellite products.

This 1952 Chevy truck web site is maintained on a non-profit
making voluntary basis. Our main business website is at
www.satellitesuperstore.com/cat.htm
Our main business is satellite TV and we are a specialist
satellite company. We supply satellite goods in the UK
and worldwide including fixed and motorised satellite
systems, accessories, and installation equipment.




Web site copyright © 2021 Vision International. All rights reserved.
For all questions & comments about this site's content, contact - Dave
using our email address - (We only accept questions in English.)