How-to Shave Your Antenna

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This will deal with shaving your stock radio antenna and replacing it with an aftermarket hidden antenna kit. There are many kits that you can buy but this is just a general overview..Here we go!


Heres a kit that I picked up from www.autoloc.com. It comes with everything you need to relocate your antenna and has a built in amplifier.

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I was working on getting my truck lower at the same time, so I was prepared to pull out the wheel wells. This will also uncover the hole in the firewall where the antenna wire runs through. Start by taking off the 3 10mm bolts that hold the ECM down.

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Next, remove the nuts that hold the coolant resevoir to the wheelwell. Disconnect the hose going to the radiator and move the resevoir out of your way.

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There is quite a few bolts holding the wheel well in place. Get inside there and pull them all out. There will be one more that serves as the battery hold down, that one needs to go too. Try to find something to support the battery tray while you remove the wheel well, since it could fall backward.

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Remove the antenna off its base with a pair of pliers of a wrench (the end near the mount is a hex shape). Next Get a big pair of channel locks and remove the base by turning counter clockwise. There is a removal tool used for this so it doesnt get damaged, but since that doesn't matter in this situation, pliers work fine.

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Theres two phillips head screws on the inner fender supporting the antenna mount.

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Unplug the wire from the mount so you can pull it through the firewall. Move to the inside now.

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We'll start by removing the dash surround since we need to get behind the radio. This is a 95-97 truck, so there are 2 phillips head screws above the guages, and the rest of the surround is held on by clips. After its free, youll need to disconnect the headlight and interior light switches with a flat head screwdriver.

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Next removed the 7 mm screws that hold the A/C control panel down, as well as the screws holding your radio in the dash.

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Pull the radio out towards you, and disconnect the antenna from the back.

NOTE: If you are using an aftermarket radio with the GM antenna, you most likely have the adaptor pictured. Since the antenna is an aftermarket unit, you will no longer be needing this adaptor.
Note: If you are using the stock radio, you will need an adaptor from the larger aftermarket antenna to the smaller GM receptacle on the radio.

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Get under the passenger side dash and pull back the carpet just next to the transmission hump. You will find the antenna wire running through a grommet in the firwewall. Pull it right through into the cab. Remove the grommet from the antenna wire and put it back into the hole in the firewall. I later filled the hole in the grommt with clear silicone to keep the elements out.

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Theres a number of clips that secure the wire inside the dash. You can reach a couple from the bottom..

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Theres one near the top of the dash that you most likely won't be able to get to. Pull the wire out towards you sharply to release it. Do NOT remove the wire at this time.

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Start running the wire for the new antenna. Its basically a window mounted unit, so it will need to run across the bottom of the pass side dash and behind the trim near the door jam. The reason you do it now is because unit is too big to fit through the tight spaces inside the dash, and you basically have to work backwards, from your mounting location to the radio.

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Now we're going to save ourselves a lot of headaches and 'fish' the new wire up through the dash. Your stock antenna cable should still be hanging out of the bottom, so tape the new cable to the end of that wire, then pull up through the radio opening. The new cable will come up with it, and it'll be running in the exact same place as the stock wire. That way you know it won't get damaged or interfere with anything.

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The new aftermarket antenna is amplified, so it requires a +12vdc supply. The lead is built into the antenna plug, so we're going to use the switch for the radio. Locate the ignition-on source (red wire on an aftermarket harness) and splice the antenna lead into that wire. Here I used a T type splice which makes things very simple. Just lay both wires in the casing and close it with a pair of pliers.

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The ideal place to mount the unit would be on the window, since thats what its designed for. But I didn't want to see it all the time, so I stuck it to the A-pillar. This will compromise its effectiveness tho, since antennas dont work as well when they are close to a ground (body of the vehicle in this case). The unit will require a -12vdc so this is accomplished by adding a crimp on terminal to the grounding strap and securing it with a self tapping screw to the A-pillar.

Reassemble everything you took apart in the dash and move back outside.

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We have to fill up this hole left by the antenna mount, so start by taping off the area and grind the paint down to prepare for welding. Tack the filler into place.

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Since this is sheetmetal, we can't run a bead around the filler. You have to tack the piece back and forth, and let it cool between welds so it doesn't overheat.

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Grind the welds down when you're finished, spread a thin coat of filler over the area, then hit it with the dual action sander. Once its smooth you can primer it and prepare it for paint.

Note: Althought welding is always the best option, you can use fiberglass and fill the hole with a backing and smooth it down like that..