Riviera63 Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 Hi, This Sunday my brother-in-law and I are going to attempt to replace the fixed antenna mast on my 63 with a power antenna. I have all the necessary components including the power antenna mast unit which Barney Eaton did his magic on. Barney is great. If you have a power antenna issue, give Barney a shout. I am just looking for some tips or advice from anyone that has done this that may make our installation go a bit smoother. I have already gotten the access panel loosened so that will be no problem. We are assuming that the installation will be easier if we remove the dash pad. Is this assumption true? This is my first concern. I have read all of the threads which talk about how to remove the dash pad. I understand the concept. A couple of weeks ago I tried to get it off. It would not budge. Yes, I had all of the screws out. I am hesitant to use brute force as it is pristine and do not want to damage. Does anyone have any little tricks or advice they may have that they used to loosen a stubborn dash pad? Any advice on any part of this process would be appreciated. Thanks. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 The mast is easy to pull from the access panel. There's a spring clip that holds the mast to the escutcheon. Once the clip is removed, the antennae comes out of the access cover hole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1965rivgs Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 (edited) Bill, There are 2 stirrup shaped, spring loaded clips which secure the forward edge of the dash pad. They index into brackets on the dash pad and as the dash pad is installed and pushed forward the spring loaded stirrup clips engage the brackets and rotate as the pad is pushed forward to pull the forward edge of the dash pad down and tight. Often, the forward edge of the dash pad is stuck by overlap of windshield sealer so watch out for that. Otherwise, if a good yank of the pad rearward does not do the trick, you can disassemble the dash fascia and once you have access to the stirrup clips, encourage the release of the clips thru direct manipulation...hard to describe in text but when you are "there" my description will make sense. Hope this helps, Tom P.S. When you install the dashpad, resist the temptation to push hard on the forward edge....unless you relish the experience of triple Benjamin's evaporating before your eyes.....ask me how I know!! Edited June 17, 2017 by 1965rivgs (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riviera63 Posted June 17, 2017 Author Share Posted June 17, 2017 13 hours ago, 1965rivgs said: Bill, There are 2 stirrup shaped, spring loaded clips which secure the forward edge of the dash pad. They index into brackets on the dash pad and as the dash pad is installed and pushed forward the spring loaded stirrup clips engage the brackets and rotate as the pad is pushed forward to pull the forward edge of the dash pad down and tight. Often, the forward edge of the dash pad is stuck by overlap of windshield sealer so watch out for that. Otherwise, if a good yank of the pad rearward does not do the trick, you can disassemble the dash fascia and once you have access to the stirrup clips, encourage the release of the clips thru direct manipulation...hard to describe in text but when you are "there" my description will make sense. Hope this helps, Tom P.S. When you install the dashpad, resist the temptation to push hard on the forward edge....unless you relish the experience of triple Benjamin's evaporating before your eyes.....ask me how I know!! Tom, Thanks for that. I'm sure your post will be of help and we will get it figured out somehow. I will report back with the results of our adventure and try to take some pictures of the process, clips, etc. to help along anyone else that may try the power antenna install and /or dash pad removal. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riviera63 Posted June 18, 2017 Author Share Posted June 18, 2017 On 6/16/2017 at 9:38 PM, 1965rivgs said: Bill, There are 2 stirrup shaped, spring loaded clips which secure the forward edge of the dash pad. They index into brackets on the dash pad and as the dash pad is installed and pushed forward the spring loaded stirrup clips engage the brackets and rotate as the pad is pushed forward to pull the forward edge of the dash pad down and tight. Often, the forward edge of the dash pad is stuck by overlap of windshield sealer so watch out for that. Otherwise, if a good yank of the pad rearward does not do the trick, you can disassemble the dash fascia and once you have access to the stirrup clips, encourage the release of the clips thru direct manipulation...hard to describe in text but when you are "there" my description will make sense. Hope this helps, Tom P.S. When you install the dashpad, resist the temptation to push hard on the forward edge....unless you relish the experience of triple Benjamin's evaporating before your eyes.....ask me how I know!! Tom, You were correct about the dash pad clips. Your description made absolutely no sense before we tackled the antenna install. Once we got the dash pad off and saw the clips it all fell into place. We got the dash pad back in with no damage. Thanks. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitewatersky Posted June 20, 2017 Share Posted June 20, 2017 thanks for all this.... upcoming job over the next few months ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riviera63 Posted June 20, 2017 Author Share Posted June 20, 2017 10 hours ago, whitewatersky said: thanks for all this.... upcoming job over the next few months ! You are welcome. I have a few more pictures of the power antenna install in a separate thread " Operation Power Antenna Successful" if you are interested. Thanks. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barney Eaton Posted June 20, 2017 Share Posted June 20, 2017 Thanks for the recommendation........ I need 1963-65 mast parts for a Riviera owner in Missouri.....his mast was broken off and so far we have not found a replacement in any condition. He is not looking for NOS just usable parts. If anyone has mast sections send me a PM.......thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loren@65GS.com Posted June 20, 2017 Share Posted June 20, 2017 On 6/16/2017 at 7:37 PM, RivNut said: The mast is easy to pull from the access panel. There's a spring clip that holds the mast to the escutcheon. Once the clip is removed, the antennae comes out of the access cover hole. Now I understand why the escutcheon plate on ours is above the top of the fender. I guess I will be looking for another part. Imagine that. lol Loren@65GS.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted June 20, 2017 Share Posted June 20, 2017 I'm rethinking this. The clip holds the escutcheon in place on the fender. The motor/ mast is bolted to the access panel on the inner fender. The plastic sleeve that fits in the escutcheson keeps the antenna from grounding to the body. After rethinking, I'm pretty sure that you do NOT need to remove the escutcheon clip to remove the antenna. The antenna should slide out of the sleeve as soon as the access panel is removed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1965rivgs Posted June 20, 2017 Share Posted June 20, 2017 3 hours ago, Barney Eaton said: Thanks for the recommendation........ I need 1963-65 mast parts for a Riviera owner in Missouri.....his mast was broken off and so far we have not found a replacement in any condition. He is not looking for NOS just usable parts. If anyone has mast sections send me a PM.......thanks Complete power antennas are all over Ebay frequently Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barney Eaton Posted June 20, 2017 Share Posted June 20, 2017 I just spent some time on Ebay looking at Riviera antenna........the lowest price one was $200 and the ad said it did not go up and down, the top mount is missing and the black plastic insulator is missing. What I am finding is Riviera antenna in poor condition and premium prices Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now