While waiting these 4 weeks for the arrival of my new front lip spoiler (almost halfway there?) I haven’t been standing still in the Miata Mod Department. Way back in February I pulled the power antenna and replaced it with a cheapo $6 thing from an auto parts store. I knew it was only a matter of time before I replaced that ugly rubber thing with something a lot nicer. That time has come.
When I ran through this scenario with the ’95, I went to my local BMW dealer and got one of the masts from the Z3. It was thin, flexible, about 1 foot tall and looked very sharp back there on the fender. $40. Now that style of antenna is every where, even the new Mazda 3 has the Fubu type antenna from the factory. Something different was required this time. Into the Honda parts bin for the little stubby S2000 antenna I went.
It came in the mail yesterday, but just like the BMW unit, this needs modification too. The threaded shaft that screws into the car is too short. It would probably be OK if the threading in the Mazda antenna mount started right at the top, but for whatever reason the screw doesn’t start to engage until about a 1/4 inch down. I don’t have the tools, nor the expertise to accomplish the antenna mod, but I do know who to call. Because I work in a manufacturing facility, I know several people who have access to several pieces of high dollar machinery and know how to use. This morning I asked one of them to remove the existing stud and tap the bottom so that a longer one can take it’s place. And not destroy my $20 investment. If he had the same sense of priorities I have, he’d have dropped any of that work stuff and got right on my antenna, but now I have to wait a day or so until he can get around to it. I say that half seriously, the last time I got Jim Mullan to do something for me it took about three days, but it was better than OEM looking when he got done with it. Well worth the wait.
Comet Gestation Counter: 28 days