Cars With Rear-Installed Antennas

Antennas were installed by dealers as part of the Pre-Delivery Inspection (PDI) process. One reason for this is that the mast couldn't be removed, and there was a good probability that the antenna would have been damaged in transit.

The 'exception' to the dealer-installed rule would be for company cars used for engineering, public relations, employees, 'pool' cars, etc. at Shelby American and/or Ford Motor Company.

The default location for installing the antenna was on the passenger front fender, as it was with the previously model years '65-'66.

However, when Shelby transitioned from the steel-framed hoods to the all-fiberglass hoods, a new problem was introduced... Electro-Magnetic Interference (EMI) was caused by the running engine.

One method of remediation was to adhere a metal foil or copper screen material to the underside of the hood as shielding.

The other method of solving the problem was to install (or relocate) the radio antenna to the rear of the car, as the fiberglass-bodied Corvettes did since 1953. Some might agree that a rear antenna offered better overall aesthetics, too.

There are documented cases of Shelby American issuing a warranty reimbursement claim to the dealer to relocate the car's antenna to the rear quarter panel to mitigate the EMI problem. We even know of one car with the antenna relocated by the dealer, horizontally, under the rear spoiler on the deck lid.
  

See Also

• Cars with Under-Hood EMI Shielding
• Cars that did not get an AM radio
• Company Cars (Vehicle Fixed Assets and Ford H.O.R.)