Aerial Position

[veeeight]

Was the original position for a radio aerial on the right hand front wing for a Sprint?
Could somebody give me the exact original position, as there does not seem a lot
of room under the wing, near the rear of the wing, to fix a normal retractable aerial.
Any measurements would be very useful.
Thanks and cheers

[Carledo]

76 and later cars (all models, not just Sprints) had the arial pre fitted from the factory and it was indeed in the O/S/F wing and partially wrapped around the shoulder making a "High Angle"arial a necessity. This pre-made hole also appeared on replacement OE wings after 76.

But before that the arial was fitted usually by the selling dealer and it could literally be ANYWHERE. The decision for it's location was usually made by the customer, "advised" by the dealer. Which frequently followed then-current thinking about electrical noise suppression, which was to site the arial as far from the distributor/generator as possible. So it was often in the N/S/R wing at the very back.

Steve

[tangocharlie1]

Difficult to say certainly as Steve says later cars seem to be on the driver side front wing where earlier cars were on the same side but rear wing, however the press sprints were all front drivers wing and i am assuming they left the factory like that prior to travelling to Geneva for the launch. I suppose it depends on the year of your car and whether originality is key to your decision i.e. what year is your car.

[veeeight]

It’s a 78 but if it did have a hole for the aerial in the r/h
Front wing then it’s been filled in at some earlier date.
Drilling a new hole in the front wing looks a bit tricky
As it’s on the angle of the wing. Has anyone got a template for the exact position?
Even the rear wing for the aerial is not as straight forward as I would like as most of the wing is at an angle as well.
Might get a small top aerial on there.
Phil

[Carledo]

This was the classy solution offered in the early years (before the factory made hole!) The roof arial!



To be fair, it's a PITA to fit, best done after the vinyl roof is fitted but before the headliner (or at least the screen) but the things are still available on ebay. I think it looks cool, which is what matters to me!

This car had the factory wing mount hole, being a 78, but obviously I filled it in so thoroughly that I can't tell where it was! And don't have another car here with the factory hole since last week. You're just a few days too late! It's not even a round hole, more of an oval or even ellipsoid. But i'm sure SOMEONE will come along with measurements, it's not a rare thing to have!

Steve

[veeeight]

You’re full of good info Steve which is so useful for all of us.
You are right about the front wing hole. Its not round
But a shape to take an angled fitting. I spent my early years
Being a specialist supplier of in car entertainment products including all the different types of aerials. It’s a long long time since I have needed to fit an angle aerial of which there are several types of different angles made especially for different
Car models.
What is your job? Sounds as if you are working on a lot of Dollys.

Cheers Phil

[rvfrc45]

Hi, My wing aerial was filled years ago but I can just see the outline.
I have just measured it to the centre of the hole and yes Steve is correct it's oval.
So my measurements to the centre are 1 1/4 " down from top wing curve and 9" from door edge.
hope this helps. Cheers gary.

[veeeight]

Cheers Gary
I will have a good look at my wing and see if I can see any outline of the original hole

Phil

[Carledo]

What is your job? Sounds as if you are working on a lot of Dollys.

Cheers Phil

Well check my signature below! I started a Motor Vehicle Technicians 4 years apprenticeship on Austin and Triumph in 1970 and have been on the spanners ever since. I had my own place for the last 20 years and though i'd work on anything (beggars can't be choosers) I did a lot of Triumphs with customers bringing their cars to me from all over the country.

Technically i'm retired since 2020, but what that means is I told all my customers that if their car wasn't at least 30 years old I was no longer interested! I have 3 assorted Dolomites of my own, have just delivered a Sprint to Limoges, France for a customer and finished rebuilding a 1300 Spit engine for another. Still on site is a 1500 Spit for recommission, a Rover V8 powered Stag undergoing a carb to EFi conversion (not as easy as it sounds) and i'm in the middle of building up a Trackerjack brake conversion for someone on the forum.

So yeah, not much time for vegging out! SWMBO reckons she sees less of me now, than when I was technically "working"!

There's a fair chance I have a high angle arial lying around here somewhere, I bought about 3 in for the French Sprint. There WAS a genuine OE arial for the Dolomite with that broad flat chromed monkey metal bezel shown in Tangocharlies picture. Unfortunately they are now about as easy to find as hens teeth!

Steve

[veeeight]

Yes, hen's teeth they are. Can't find anything yet that I can be sure has the correct angle for the Dolly wing.
What part of the country are you living?

I bought my sprint about 4 months ago, so still learning the ins and outs of the car. On saying that, I have owned a lot of classics over the past 15 years and have worked in the motor parts industry for most of my working life. Retired now though. Just love working on these old British cars.

[Carledo]

What part of the country are you living?

I'm in Highley, south Shropshire in the (very) west Midlands

Steve

[veeeight]

After a lot of searching, I have bought this one from EBay. Looks very like the original ones.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/196581478058 ... Sw--5mj5Kq
Here is the link if anybody else needs one.

Cheers Phil

[Carledo]

After a lot of searching, I have bought this one from EBay. Looks very like the original ones.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/196581478058 ... Sw--5mj5Kq
Here is the link if anybody else needs one.

Cheers Phil

Yes that does look very like the OE one, even down to the vertical swage on the bezel. Just a shame it's black plastic instead of bright/chrome. Though if you are that fussed, I have a couple of aerosols of "chrome" spray paint here that my son bought for something or other and never used!

I've put that arial on my ebay watch list, you never know when it might be handy, thanks for the research!

Steve

[veeeight]

The aerial is now fitted and working well.
Measured 10 times cut once.

[Carledo]

Steve