Electric aerial - Series 1

[Tintin]

Hi and I hope everyone is having a good Christmas out there.

According to the manual, the Series 1 optional electric aerial was a unit fixed to/under the front wing. These appear to be NLA.

SNGB offer an electric aerial for the series 2 - complete with mounting brackets - mounted on the rear wing/in the boot (AEU 1648 and C43511). Personally I think the rear wing aerial is an aesthetic improvement over the front wing or roof aerial.

My series 1 has a roof aerial and I would like to replace it. I am easy with running the wiring and co-axial cable for a boot mounted unit but my question is this - are there any serious obstacles to installation of the series 2 unit in a series 1 car or is fitting (with a little fettling if necessary) straightforward?

Then I need to try and source a good quality retro radio/tape/CD player.

Thanks in advance.

Robbie

[mike020150]

There's nothing to stop you fitting the series 2 style of kit. It would be straightforward. The original front wing mounted manual aerials were simple but suffered from the usual earthing failures as a result of their position exposed to water etc. Your roof mounted position was better in this respect and a lot cheaper than a series 2 kit but beauty is always in the eye of the beholder! Mike.

[oldtimer]

Hi Robbie,
Two holes will need to be cut to allow fitment of the Series Two Aerial. One for the mast to mount on the rear wing and one for the operating cable to pass from the fuel tank compartment into the boot area. The position of the motor is determined by the length of the operating cable.
In the case of the v12 with two boot mounted double SU fuel pumps the operating motor fits centrally between the pumps.

As a result of sheer neglect my Aerial decided to give up so while in the process of replacing all the boot fuel hoses which had hardened to like concrete it was time to look at the aerial as well. I discovered that dirt and muck had worked its way down the telescopic aerial , along the operating cable and all the way into the motor gearbox.

The aerial is operated by a boot mounted relay which in turn is operated when the radio is switched on. In my case the motor made some wering (spelling) noises when the radio was switched on which turned out to be the internal clutch slipping.

What a painful task to get it all apart as it was seized solid. I ended up removing the motor cover and physically rotating the armature by hand and slowly winding the motor off the operating cable. Taking into account the reduction gearbox one will understand the time taken to achieve this. Eventually the Aerial mast and operating cable were separated from the motor which allowed the two assemblies to be removed from the vehicle.

It should be noted that the mast operating push / pull cable is in fact a hard nylon cable that constantly wants to wind up in to a circle making it awkward to handle.

Once in the workshop the motor, gearbox and clutch cleaned up as new but what a performance clearing the mess in the mast and inner/ outer push /pull operating cable.

Notes of interest.
I inherited a discarded Series 3 Ariel which is was made in Japan - can't remember the make - A Radiomobile unit made on the North Orbital Road ( The road prior to the M25 ) is fitted to mine. When the two item are compared the rationalisation of the two are obvious.

Examination of the location of the Aerial comparing Series 2 with Series 3. The Series 3 Aerial is mounted on a flatter surface of the rear wing and could be considered an improvement.
Gaydon would be the ideal opportunity to compare.

Last but not least, the Part no's you quote are cause for concern - like they don't marry up with my Parts Book. One of the Part No's is a motor mounting bracket. I'll research further if you need

For The Joy of Jaguars !

P

[Tintin]

Thanks both for your helpful replies.

AEU1648 is a replacement for C43511 (the complete aerial assembly) and C43511 is the mounting bracket for C43510. It is not clear whether C43511 is required for the replacement unit AEU1648 - further research needed.

I would like very much to see/hear how the series 2 unit is fitted, OT. The car has not been out since the last Gaydon meeting, but if ready and the weather is fine I may bring it up to Kemble on Saturday. I still have to re-fit the carpets, finish re-trimming the console and restore the bonnet badge. I haven't got to grips with the petrol smell in the boot yet, but am resolved to take out the tanks for a thorough inspection - and I'm still waiting to run it with the latest AED adjustments! Keep getting distracted (Garage heating system, small woodworking workshop for wife, Christmas etc!). Now I find that the SS exhaust system (inherited with car) has been poorly fitted - the head of one of the drive shaft UJ cover clamps has worn away from contact with the over axle pipe and the rear silencer is banging on the boot bulkhead. I'll get there in the end!

Robbie