We ran out of oatmeal today. The wife was tired, the 10-month old going--what better than to go buy oatmeal in the middle of the night? After some spirited driving, I bought oatmeal, plus a few other necessities, i.e: beer. After dropping it all in the trunk, I slammed down the lid, and snapped the @#$$& radio antenna right off. I almost never listen to it, but for once it was up and had drifted off to the side into the swing of the trunk lid. So here's the question: Is the antenna actually a Ferrari part, or were they aftermarket? Note, this car is an '87 Mondial. I don't see an antenna on the exploded views on Ricambi America's website, and I know that at some point stereos were not supplied with the cars. If that were the case, perhaps antennas weren't either. Does anyone know if this is the case? If not, has anyone tried either a generic antenna mast, or know what car might take a similar one? The antenna on the car appears to be a Bosch, although the emblem is hard to make out. I'm sort of guessing that BMW might be a good place to start looking. Any thoughts or experiences would be greatly appreciated. Regards, Peter
I replaced defunct antenna with a $25 generic. Rewired it to the radio as the new antennas have three wires...ground, power, and radio. When the radio is used, it sends a signal to the antenna to raise. At ignition off, the radio is powered down and the antenna goes down on it's own accord. Or if playing a CD in the radio, the antenna isn't needed and gets a 'down' signal without operator intervention. The now spare 'aerial' switch can now be used for fog lights or whatever your heart desires. You now longer need worry about putting the antenna down before getting oatmeal...or cheerios for that matter. As far as your original question re Ferrari authenticity...I believe radios were aftermarket and installed by distribution or dealer, not factory. But then I was wrong before...in 1967 IIRC. ps...just noticed your mention of car's birthyear as 1987...you may already be setup for the automatic sensing antenna as they came into vogue about that time. Way to tell is the existence of separate 'aerial' switch which denotes the old fashioned aerials wherein the motors operate on command like windows do. Guess 'old fashioned' really means raising the antenna entirely by hand but depending on your age, you surely know what I mean.
I replaced the antenna on our Mondial t with a generic I found on ebay for $5.0. I bought a semi-automatic. It came with a toggle switch but I just hooked it up the the existing wires and it works great. I mostly listen to the CD player so I prefer the manual antenna. Also I like switches in the car to work the way they are supposed to. From the looks of the hole and the bracket on the inside, I would say that ours was dealer or owner installed. Dave
Ebay is your best bet....just remember, you want semi-automatic, not fully automatic. http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-UNIVERSAL-SEMI-AUTOMATIC-AM-FM-POWER-ANTENNA_W0QQitemZ330226181199QQihZ014QQcategoryZ50553QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting
Here's what I've found so far.. The Bosch antenna is original from the factory, and yes, it is semi-automatic. They were available from Ferrari until about 2 years ago for a mere $900. Looking at other threads, the Harada MQ-1 may be a close fit, and they are available online and inexpensive. That might be the best option. The Bosh antenna cannot have only the mast replaced, and also is a smaller diameter hole than most replacements, so drilling out the body may be needed. I'm tempted to try to take it apart and see if I can replace the mast, as there is nothing to lose at this point. Thanks for the feedback so far--more is always appreciated. I'll try to take it apart this weekend, perhaps there will be some great discovery.
Near as I can tell, the stock power antenna in my Mondial has a blue body. This might be the same antenna that was used in some of the same-era BMWs. Try looking in a wrecking yard (or online used parts place) for the same antenna. If people want to make their semi-automatic antenna fully automatic (enabled by the power antenna lead on their head unit) there's a way to use a relay to accomplish this. But I removed this from my Mondial. (Previous owner had it installed.) It worked 90% of the time, but the times it didn't, it was frustrating as I prefer not to have the antenna up when the car is parked or I'm not listening to the radio.
{sheepish look} I did the same thing. I tried to fix it, but it never extended or retracted smoothly again. Maybe if I had some metric ball bearings I could have forced them through the tubing to get the kink out like Musical instrument repair shops do, but I couldn't find any that small. So instead of paying $900, I bought just the mast at Pep boys (match the orginal's length. Size does matter). I took the mast apart (unscrew the tip, take apart the motorized section), tossed the replacement "Smooth" white plastic chord that raised/lowered it & used the original Ferrari 'toothed' chord. Works fine. The white chord is only attached at the very tip. I tried to find a Harada MQ-1, but only found one source & they charged me but never shipped it and never answered any e-mails or letters. ============= Order Details: HARADA MQ-1 POWER ANTENNA SEMI AUTOMATIC Product Code: 1143 Qty: 1 @ $9.95 = $9.95 Order Totals: $9.95 Sub Total $0.00 Califonia Sales Tax $8.95 Shipping $18.90 Order Total Internet Sound Solutions http://www.cmttrading.com
Regarding CMTTrading, AKA American Thunder, San Carlos, CA... I ordered and paid for the Harada from them a year ago (May '07) and it has never arrived. It is nearly impossible to reach them by phone and if you do you may will get some fellow who barely speaks English and he will tell you that they are out of stock and he does not know when they will be available. After several calls I was told that I would be refunded the $18.90 but this has not occurred. Now, obviously this purchase will not break the bank but it is disappointing. In the mean time I continue to call and email and I still, though perhaps in vain, hope a package will arrive someday. At least this has been my experience, perhaps others have been more fortunate. However, unless things have changed; my advise, stay away.
Well, I wish I'd waited. I did order the part from that company, as they are the only source that comes up with Google. I thought it was a bit odd, but again $20 isn't too big a gamble. I'll give it 3 weeks then see what my recourse is to stop payment. My next step is either the Frankenstein routine like ClydeM, or figuring out what else used a similar unit. Bosch had to have sold these to someone else. Now I'm goin to be poking around every car I see that looks the right age and nationality. Can anyone think of another car that used a semi-automatic antenna? My '83 BMW's was fully automatic and you could replace the mast, so perhaps they're not the place to look. Thanks for the information so far, I'll let you know if I actually get it, now.
I tried to order the same thing from them also. Never got it. I've had one credit card all my life and do not use it often. After using it to try and buy the antenna I found that my credit card number was fraudulently used. First time ever in my life. Found charges from "Shell24" in Kuwait. Never been to Kuwait, never heard of Shell24. There is no doubt in my mind that this loss was directly or indirectly related to the order of the Harada antenna.
Not sure if he filling is the same but on my 82 QV there is a drain tube. Whoever replaced mine a while ago didn't connect this up and the moisture has rotted out the rear trunk floor, if you have a look under the floor you find a perfect medium for absorbing water, right over the exhaust.
Wow, nothing like finding your own post. The first place I ordered from never delivered, but refunded me after pressure from PayPal. I did take screen shots of all emails to them, thanks to suggestions from Fchat people who'd had, uh, challenges before. Do not order from them. I got another Harada antenna on eBay within the week, for about the same $18 total cost. It came from eWholesalers, Rancho Cucamonga, Ca. It came in a few days, and yes, it really drops in, except the drain line took some massaging: shortening the existing line.The only problem is the "universal" mounting kit with the Harada antenna is horridly ugly and not "factory" looking. There were a few usable bits from the old antenna I had, and I painted out the collar nut in black, so it looks all right as long as you're not a concourse judge. And I've been driving to work about 2X per week, and do listen to the radio now.... There are all sorts of Bosch antennas on eBay Europe, but that has a different bunch of challenges. If you have the Bosch Aerojet antenna and only the mast is bad, I am about 90% confident (that means no money back) that a mast for a 2000 SAAB 93 will fit it. (These are available from Autohaus AZ, etc..) I have that car as well, and while I haven't tried swapping the masts, they are really close, if not identical. I recently replaced the SAAB mast, and had to really hack the motor to get it to suck the toothed cord in. My old BMW you could just drop it in, not so on the SAAB, despite such lines on the SAAB owners site. Anyway, good luck. I did find the Harada on eBay. User feedback counts for a lot, so that is some help, as is PayPal or your credit card. Peter
Thought I'd post a picture of my radio antenna (which is not working, but I'm not sure why yet as I have not diagnosed the problem) as I believe it is the factory original antenna: Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
In all the 308 I've poked around, I've never seen a Bosch antennae before... not saying it isn't stock, I've just never seen one. All the cars I've been around have one of about 3 different models of Hirschmann antennas. Rick
The post I've quoted above yours led me to believe Bosch was the factory antenna. My car is an 84 QV purchased from the original owner. I can ask him when I see him this week if it's original or not, worth a shot. Anyway, if it's original I'll probably try and repair it, or at least hang onto it if I replace it with an aftermarket piece.
Early 308's had Autovox antenna's installed at the factory. I have 2 brand new NOS, in the box, PM me if interested (see pic.) And the 328 had Bosch Autojet. Ferrari UK were selling these until a few years ago, in the region of $275. I have 2 Bosch Autojet antenna's, NOS new in the box (see pic). PM me if there is any interest. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Thats not a bad deal Mick, the bosch was stock in most of the 308's + 328's and mondials as hirschman's were usually used to replace the bosch antennas when they broke as parts were not availiable in the US... I use a metra antenna that is fully automatic and with a couple of diodes I make semi automatic to work with the stock switch as I have masts in stock to service them when needed... If anyone needs them I have them availiable. Scott
One important thing which isn't obvious...antennas of the day and brand new replacements have a relief tube at the bottom for installation of a rubber drip tube. This is critical on cars which have electronics beneath the antenna, cars with lambda injection, 1984 and above US cars. Regardless of antenna up or down, the drip tube takes the tiniest amount of rain which seeps into the antenna shafts, and exits it into the hole in the floor beneath those precious electronics. If you figure you don't drive in the rain and skip this step, you flirt with the expense even a single drop can cause. _______________________ http://www.FerrariWiring.com
I removed mine and put in a manual antenna. I don't listen to the radio often enough to care. I do listen to CD's once in a while. BTW, the Paganini Caprices are wonderful with the engine sound!!!
