I would like to french the antenna on my '52 Chevy. I really like the way they look on Mcphails car. What size hole is most common? Is the weld the only thing holding in the pipe or is there a bracket welded to the underside of the car somewhere? Help!!!
Mmmm... I hope! My friend frenched the antenna on his '64 Galaxie, but unfortunatly he didn't take any photos and I don't know how he did it exactly. All I know is he used conduct pipe and did some tack welding with some filler over it. Different applications might apply for slanted or flat fenders.
alright here ya go. most the time frenched antenas dont realy do anything but look cool--- they might be hooked up but they done extendlike a power antena. basicly you cut a hole in the metal were you want them, insert the right size tube and grind the top to match the profile then take the tube out and kut it to the correct length, might want to mock this up a few times. i would recomend that on the bottom were you cut it to length you give it a slight angle. after all this and your sure of your length weld in a plate over the bottom end and then drill a hole for the antena to stick threw-- put it at the high end of the slanted bottom. then drill another small hole at the very bottom of the slanted bottom , this will be your drain hole,you can leave it open if its possition will alow it. or you can run a small rubber hose to were it can drain weld in around the top and adjust accordingly to your needs ill add a pic real quick tim sorry for the crappy pic and description, its getting late. but it is preety simple and straight forward
Coolness- strangely, I've been mulling over having a new antenna frenched into the cab of my '57. Now I just gotta pick a spot. Cool tech post.
i know a guy around here who basically did the same thing,cept instead of using a plate and then cutting a hole he just welded a washer on the bottom of the pipe.might save ya some time. ~creepy
That's how I did the antenna on my '48. Used a piece of 1 1/2" exhaust tubing with a washer welded on the bottom. I drilled two small holes on the edges of the washer for drainage.
I've used old shocks. Cut the eye off the top & then pull the top rod cover off - size the hole for your antenna mast & weld it in where ya want it. It's closer in gauge to most automotive sheet metal than any pipe or conduit. You gotta have a drain hole. Cut off about a 3/4" piece of large diameter brake hose & weld it on the bottom (after you drill a hole, of course!) then use some rubber hose to route the water somewhere harmless... Sorry, no pics.
When I do them, I leave the tube a little long on the top surface, weld the tube in from the bottom first, then grind the tube flush to the fender(on the outside), bevel the opening and weld the outside. This leaves room to grind the weld smooth without removing too much material where the tube meets the fender. If the tube is more than an inch or two long, I like to build a bracket to support the bottom of the tube. If it moves around, it will eventually crack.
I like to add a little raised line for a teardrop effect, with a hammer and dolly before welding in the tube.
I'm with tinbender on doing something to the opening other than just having a hole with right angles piercing the fender. Some decoration, a raised lip, or hammering/stretching the tube into an elipse or tear drop adds interest. Also, if you cut the hole slightly undersize you can hammer form the edge into a radius going smoothly down into the tube (like a bullet hole does, only bigger) making for a softer visual effect, and getting rid of an edge that's hard to keep paint on, at the same time. It nees that drain hole but if the antenna is going to be open to the trunk you want to solder of weld a tube, steel brake or fuel line will do, to the hole and a hose going from there to the ground. If you don't put in a drain, rust will do it for you in no time... If the tube is deep you might want to rust proof/paint it down inside before welding it in. A large body washer works for an end sometimes, and if you have two, the "dummy" one could be made to double as a power door switch with a bit of modification. Be critical of where yuochoose to put them. Theycan look like hell just drilled in any old place...And if there's two next to each other make sure they line up with each other from every angle you could possibly look at them.
I always thought they were some body trick that showed a guy had got bored Doesn't seem to look very clean, having a hole in your body lines BUT, if you put a little shape into the hole, as has been mentioned, it takes on a whole new dimension! Nice one Tinbender.
Thanks Morrisman, BTW if you do two, build the tubes first, and weld them together, then install in the fender(or wherever). Makes it much easier to get them aligned. Nothing worse than two antennas at different angles. FWIW, I did the Stude as a demo for my night class. 3 hours start to finish. Easy, and fun mod. to do.
Thanks for all the tips. I never would have thought of putting the two pipes together before installing. I'll let you know how it turns out as soon as it gets above 30 degrees outside. Yea, I'm a whimp!
This was my first french and I used some of the tips from above. I used a washer on the bottom of a tube and then drilled another hole and welded a small tube for drainage.
I put mine on the corner of the rear quarter so it would have a teardrop effect. If I did it again I would weld a small raised lip to give it a little more flair. I also did as Tinbender said and let the tube stick up a little and then after its welded, grind it down.
I also welded a brace inside and after mounting the antenna braced it also. I had to put a toggle switch on the antenna to keep it from extendeing all the way up because it stuck up about 2 feet over the car. I hooked a rubber hose on the drain tube and ran through the bottom of the floor. The finished product. If you want to go cheap just use a regular antenna. The only time I make mine go up and down is when I'm showing it to someone. It does look cool though when it come out of the hole. One more tip which is where I made my mistake. If your pipe has a seem in it, turn it towards the outside of the car so it is not visible. I wasn't paying attention and my seem is right down the side of the tube and can be seen when you walk up and look at it. Oh well, I won't make that mistake again.
One more tip, leave a little of the tubing sticking up out of the panel you are putting the antenna in before welding. tack it in one spot, then put in a piece of pvc pipe or a tube of any kind that will stick up at least a foot above the antenna. take a level or eyeball it to make sure it is in the correct position to all the panels it needs to be aligned with. front, back, side. Look at it from all angles then weld. Nothing looks better than a correctly installed frenched antenna and nothing looks worse than a crocked one.
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