Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

Has anyone rebuilt a front fender mounted power antenna? The antenna motor on my 55 Clipper whirs, but mast doesn't move. Guessing that the tape inside is broken. Any sources for it? Any pictures of it disassembled?

I have some info if it helps. I saw Tucson Packard (Sandy) had a rebuilt electric antenna for sale about 2 months ago. It said that a core was needed so I'm thinking that Tucson Packard might be rebuilding them too.https://www.tucsonpackard.com/
maybe parts are for sale 2.

Agreed. Tucson Packards is about the only one I can think of that seems to do any antenna rebuilding but no idea if they sell parts. Since Antenna Masters stopped making the repro masts many years ago I haven't heard of anyone else doing them but from prior posts on the subject it was rumored someone had purchased the Antenna Masters stock and that might have been Tucson.

For what it is worth, here are a couple of photos of a 6v antenna. I cannot say for 100% certainty the 12v 55-6 mechanism is identical but from looking at external photos of the two antennas I would almost say they work the same. The 55-6 motor and housing shape is the same as earlier with only the size of the tubing storage loop that holds the excess nylon cable when the antenna is down appearing to be different. A long oval shape on 6v and a smaller coiled form for 55-6. The 55-6 rear antennas are quite different in shape and have a different drive so no confusing the two.

The nylon cable on the 6v antenna is kind of a cross between an oval and a rectangle shape. Almost square sides but with a bulge in the center of the width. Overall dimension is .165 wide x .100 thick. Length is the amount the mast raises plus about 1 foot. The nylon is placed between two split rollers that provide a tight friction drive to the edges of the rectangle shape. Tension appears to be provided by a nut which compresses a washer like spring against one side of the split roller.

The old nylon can get brittle and break which is one possibility for your problem and the other is if the mast binds and motor cannot move it, the still turning rollers will wear a crescent shaped defect in the nylon strip. From then on anytime the crescent defect moves into the rollers they lose traction and the mast stops moving. To see if that is the problem generally you can grab the mast when it stops and pull or push it as the motor is turning and the mast will start moving as soon as a solid section of nylon hits the rollers again. Either problem requires a new strip of nylon and I have not found anything commercially available at retail that even resembles the shape or size. The nylon would also need to be somewhat flexible to slide around the curve in the storage tube.

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i thought weedeater string would work at one time.....nope...

Yes, it sure was a loss when Antenna Masters packed it in, their workmanship was superb and their reproduction masts were indistinguishable from the originals, right down to the smallest detail.

Howard, you say without qualification that the cord is nylon; I'm curious if that's been verified or if it's an assumption? Not that one of the nylons wouldn't seem to be a good choice but I suspect there are other materials that might be suitable.

I kind of assume it is nylon since Packard refers to it as a nylon strip in Service Counselor 25#8. However, like Masonite has become a generic for hardboard products, nylon could have been a convenient catch all name they assumed mechanics would be familiar with for the strip. No idea if some of todays resin products such as Delrin or Garolite etc were available back then but it could be made of something else and am sure there are a number of substances today that might be better. I have looked at several modern materials but nothing off the shelf at retail I have found so far has a size or shape or is flexible that seems like it would work.

Thanks for the pics and How it works info. The rebuilt unit @ Tucson Packard is too pricey for me. Found a company online, Antennamastsrus.com that says they have a replacement tape that might work. If it doesn't, I'll continue to use the digital method (my fingers) to raise/lower the antenna.

Hi this is Mike Chirco with Tucson Packard. If your having issues with your antenna, you dont necessarily need to purchase one of our rebuilt antennas. You can always send yours to us and have it repaired. It's quite a bit cheaper than a new unit. And you know it will be done correctly.

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Whatever the plastic material is chemically, the industry usually called it "nylon" in service materials. The plastic reel itself grew several names in the industry and I don't presently have access to my SAE terminologies book so I'll just go from memory. Some names were "tape"..."rack"... "rack rope" and others.

Remember, however on V8 Packards, front fender-mounted power antenna used flat plastic. Rear mounted V8 power antennae used round plastic. Also rear-mounted antennae had a single ring pressed on the lower mast tube... front antenna had two rings on lower mast sections. Top of rears was ball. Fronts were faceted.

And there we have it! A reply from Mike Chirco at Tucson Packard reminding us that they DO rebuild the Packard power antenna. Now I can stop worrying and start using my power antenna without the angst and anxiety of breaking it or having a failure and no viable source of a fix/repair/replace it. Today's a good day.