rear twin antennas on the 1960 Buick

I just bought a pair of 1960 Impala twin antennas (or s that antennae?) for my 60 Electra but unlike Impalas and such cars like 55 Buick, there is not level place on the rear deck on which to install them because of the angle of the fins.. Should I go ahead and install them at an angle, or should I modify or level them with a thick rubber gasket? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated (except for those that are against twin Impala antennas on a 60 Buick).. Thanks a lot..

 

They would look WRONG if they were not mounted level and angled back.

 

You could have a wedge plate machined to any angle you need. Aluminum would be good.

 

How about fabbing a couple of tear drop shaped tubes just a whisker bigger than the base gasket and sinking them just enough to attain a position that allows the antennas to stand properly? (don't forget to add drain tubes!) A subtle but yet tasteful solution that I applied many years ago to a 61 bibbletop Chebby. Sadly, no pics... We seldom stopped back in those days to do***ent what we were doing because most of the time by the time we got the photos developed we were a couple cars down the road. We'd then look at the pics, then tip them this way, then that, look at each other and say "What is that?" and toss them! Ah, gotta love todays digital cameras!

Of course, if the car is painted already, and you can't be seen with two primer spots (*gasp*) the nicely milled aluminum, polished or painted, pads idea kinda trips my trigger.

I remember the day when those little primer spots were worn with pride, saying "Hey, look at what I did! This car is a work in progress!" My uncle had a 49 Merc in around 1957 or so that wore a fresh baby blue suit when he bought it. Next month came the 51 skirts painted rattlecan grey to semi-hide the original red paint. Then one weekend, off came the stainless on the one side- yup, you guess it. The paint job (Earl Scheib?) didn't extend under it so here was this gorgeous shiny black stripe! No matter because one hole at a time got beveled and filled, then primed with the same grey. A couple months later, the hood was on the agenda. He and I spent Saturdays for the better part of a year ( I was about 5!) transforming his baby blue baby into a spotted, but definitely KOOL ride. One weekend, he and dad installed 'blocks and new chrome pencils to the recent addition of 'twice pipes' with Smittys! All in all, 'our' work took about a year, cost virtually nothing, allowing Unk to save up for a new coat of the same color. It was pretty, but I was never as proud riding in it when it was all one color again, because then people didn't look and realize "Hey, those guys are KUSTOMIZERS!" Our final contributions were chrome full moon caps (no screws, spun aluminum, or valve stems showing!) and the Mr Horsepower wild woodpecker decals behind each front wheel well. Shortly thereafter the car was totalled.

The moral? Primed spots are KOOL! Ya know, I oughta build a model of Unk's Merc, complete with 'spots'! Just because.......Thanks Unk for letting me help!

 

thanks a lot, this guy seems to have succeeded in doing it right, wish I had better pictures..

http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=1612762888277&set=o.32505710764&type=1&theater

 

Around this area those were usually a sign of the "the more shiny stuff bolted on the more custom it is" theory of customizing back when those cars were new.

It shouldn't be too hard to make some mounting pads that will get the angle right though either out of aluminum or maybe hard black plastic if you don't want to mess with the paint.