Where have the aerials gone!!!

[Forkie]

Another one for you John So a few weeks ago i thought i would see if my telescopic aerial would still pull up after a decade and a half - i was amazed that it did!! That then got me thinking.... went back through the last Six Appeal, with many cars in, and hardly any aerials to be seen, across the whole range - i think maybe 2 i could make out. Were they not fitted as standard when new, or certainly with the many restored cars are they being done away with ? I love the look of mine, when it is up it looks oh so retro, and almost like a remote controlled toy
Incidently mine is fitted on the N/S wing ( i have noticed they can vary side to side) and the car still retains it's original working 8 track stereo, to which a few have asked ' what on earth is that'

[iani]

Funnily enough, I am looking at options to replace mine as the top button has gone AWOL. External aerials aren't any good on their own for DAB, I suppose that has killed demand to an extent, that an the opportunity to seal up a potential water ingress point when restoring a car means that some holes will have been welded up. My aerial in in the O/S/F wing, which is a pain as I'd prefer an electric aerial but there just isn't the access to fit one there.

[johnnydog]

Another one for you John So a few weeks ago i thought i would see if my telescopic aerial would still pull up after a decade and a half - i was amazed that it did!! That then got me thinking.... went back through the last Six Appeal, with many cars in, and hardly any aerials to be seen, across the whole range - i think maybe 2 i could make out. Were they not fitted as standard when new, or certainly with the many restored cars are they being done away with ? I love the look of mine, when it is up it looks oh so retro, and almost like a remote controlled toy
Incidently mine is fitted on the N/S wing ( i have noticed they can vary side to side) and the car still retains it's original working 8 track stereo, to which a few have asked ' what on earth is that'

Aerials weren't fitted as standard - it usually was a dealer fitted accessory along with the radio when specified by the purchaser. Somewhere in my collection of Triumph literature, there are the fitting instructions relative to the positioning of the aerial base, but judging off my Triumphs, I don't think dealerships paid much attention to this and fitted them where they saw fit!
The Motorola with AM and LW was a common dealer fitted radio from new.
My Gunmetal Mk1 has no radio....
My Royal Blue Mk1 has a Motorola AM LW radio with a manual aerial on the f/o/s wing
My White Mk2 PI has a roof aerial with a Sharp AM LW FM radio cassette
My Sienna Mk2 PI has a Motorola AM LW radio with the aerial on the f/o/s wing
My Valencia Mk2 2000 has a Radiomobile MW LW radio with a windscreen aerial combined with a tax disc holder (pretty poor!)
And finally, my 2500S has a Sharp radio cassette with the aerial on the r/o/s wing (which I think is the best place for access, but it's better with a smaller aerial base imho to ensure a watertight seal due to the curvature of the wing).
I think the Sharp radio cassettes were great radios of their time - and still are. These were generally an aftermarket fitment I believe.
Modern radios are too big and require a deep faceplate to fit in Mk2's.
There was a Unipart dealer fitted options brochure for Triumphs which shows the accessories available - anything from radios (?) to mudflaps, wing mirrors to Square 8 spot / fog lights etc etc.

[johnnydog]

Here you go Nige...

[Forkie]

Bit of an interesting reply !!! I did wonder if they were dealer options, interesting reading all the differences in your own cars too. My unit is a Radiomobile Stereo 8 - one not listed above !!! I do now wonder if it was fitted by the dealer as it was a demonstrator, or if the 1 previous owner asked for it as part of the deal, and the same 2 questions may apply to the other 'luxury' fitted to mine - rear mudflaps - i assume fitting fronts as well was going a bit far

[Forkie]