Hi Jim,

        Nice description.  My vans came with this style so I thought everyone did.

In my case, 85 and 84 vanagons, the grommet has a hole for the antenna.

Eric Caron

> On Jun 30, 2023, at 8:42 PM, Jim Felder <jim.felder@GMAIL.COM> wrote:
>
> I recently ordered a fully retractable antenna for my 1983 westy. The
> others I have had over the years did not retract fully. They tore my car
> cover and got bent doing this and that, and I decided to go retractable.
>
> For those who have never fooled with such, think of the difference as this:
> if you consider the mount through the front of the car, the sheet metalwith
> the hole that the antennainstalls through as "ground level," the standard
> antenna lives 100% above ground. Beneath the sheet metal, under the dash,
> there is nothing but the cable to the radio. Everything telescopes into the
> six or eight inches of aerial protruding above the mounting point.
>
> The fully retractable antenna, on the other hand, lives "below ground
> level." That is, everything telescopes into a tube that hangs down from the
> mounting point, all stored within the underdash area of the car. Almost
> nothing sticks out on top.
>
> The problem you will encounter making this switch is that there is not
> enough room to fit the underground part of the aerial between the big front
> stiffener (that runs behind the grill on the interior of the car) and the
> sheet metal it protrudes up through. But not to worry! VW, even on my old
> 1983, put a rectangular rubber grommet in place in a hole in the top of the
> big front stiffener, exactly below the hole in the front sheet metal. Ths
> hole allows the antenna to extend down through the rectangular hole, once
> the plug is removed, and give the "underground" part of the aerial a place
> to live.
>
> Probably everybody but me knew that the rubber grommet and the hole was
> there to allow the installation of a fully retractable antenna, but in case
> not, I'm letting you know how it is possible to install one.
>
> Jim