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My 53 Clipper deluxe club sedan has a power operated antenna that does work, great. Unfortunately the radio does not! Since I do all my listening thru bluetooth, this isn't an issue. I have pulled the radio and am currently waiting for a radio delete panel to arrive. My question is, was there ever an antenna blanking plug for the fender ever produced, or has anyone come up with a solution to close the hole?

rubber plug (basically a grommet with no hole) from hardware store.

No such plug existed since radios were not typically removed. The radio delete plate was for vehicles not ordered with a radio which meant that they never had an antenna installed.

I agree - it's a solution less extreme than filling the fender hole. It's what's done more recently when the antenna hole is stamped in the fender so they all have them

Electric antenna install instructions call for a 1 1/4 diameter hole in the fender. That may be asking a lot for a typical thin hardware store type unsupported grommet to span and stay in place on a curved fender. If you cannot find something in the hardware store Steele has some universal plugs that might work including one called an antenna hole plug. The OD on that plug which would be on top of the fender is slightly larger than the hole but the question would be if the groove would fit the hole and curve to keep it in place.steelerubber.com/steele-rubber-home-universal-parts-plugs

Alternately you could keep or buy another antenna grommet and use the original or get a repro antenna mountclassiccarreproductions.com/product-category/antenna/ and use something like a painted rounded top carriage bolt or flat elevator bolt to close the opening in the top of the mount. Sandwich a support bar under the fender and if needed, a spacer like affair over the bolt that is the needed diameter to keep things centered in the hole. By tightening the nut on the bolt the assy should stay in place.

Look in the plumbing section of a hardware store, they have chrome or stainless snap-in plugs to fill holes in kitchen sink rims for soap dispensers, sprayers, etc. they may have one that fits.

Good Luck, John

You could leave the antenna in place which would look ok and not have the bother of finding a suitable plug.

If you search you'll find all kinds of these listed, some for the cable hole through the fire wall and some for the fender but to find one specific to a Packard or Packard model is probably not in the cards. You can check the parts list for your year to see if one existed.

The best thing to do, if you want to remove the antenna, (I'd just leave on which makes this question moot), is take the fender mount off the antenna and plug that antenna hole, then put it back on the fender. I considered this approach for the Cad, but found good used parts to get my power antenna fixed. I wired it on a switch, since the modern radio doesn't have the amp rating contacts for the old antenna and I use a hide away antenna for the classic stereo.
This wouldn't bother me, as I'd just make a patch, weld up the fender hole, and fix the paint. Lead could be used in lieu of welding.

The hole is actually oval so only something flexible would work. Otherwise, just weld it shut.

Thanks everyone for your input! There is no "Packard" antenna delete plug available,So I made one out of 1/4 inch aluminum flat bar. Curved it to follow the lines of the fender, rounded the edge, made an 1/8 inch gasket and welded a stud to the backside. Oh and polished it. Necessity is the mother of invention!