Fixed Antenna Conversion
When I purchased the car, the power antenna was not working. I disassembled it and attempted to repair it, but the outer tube that connects the motor to the body was broken and this caused an issue where it would not align properly. I read about the power antennas, and it seemed that they were an item that very commonly failed and they were fairly expensive to replace, so I decided to convert to a fixed antenna style, like that found on the Camaro. The only parts that are necessary for the conversion are a Camaro antenna bracket (part number XXX, which I purchased used) and an antenna mast. I have not decided on what antenna mast I will install yet. I am debating on using a shortened stock antenna, a BitViper S2000 antenna, or a universal one from an auto parts store or eBay.
I used BitViper's Power to Fixed Antenna Conversion Guide as a reference. I followed the guide except that when I was bolting the antenna bracket to the body, I noticed that the top of the antenna did not line up squarely with the rubber bezel. I tried to rotate and adjust it several times, but I still could not achieve a good straight fit. Therefore, I decided to line it up squarely and drill another hole in the antenna bracket and in the body bracket. The larger upper hole is where I tried to follow BitViper's suggestion. The smaller hole in the middle is what I ended up using. The lower hole is the factory hole for the Camaro.


The assembled unit looks like this:


And here's the antenna stub that is sticking before attaching the antenna mast.

And finally, here's the antenna mast



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