At the 4.6 Modular Shootout July 2000 JC showed up with his Cobra and a "Shortened" Antenna on it. It looked really cool so
Tom Crews and I asked him to do ours. He said "Sure" and a few minutes later they were all done.

The funny part was, that he had NO tools to help. No vise-grips, no Cutting tools but never-the-less JC prevailed to succeed at the job in hand.

He used the assistance of the Crystal INN bedroom door to pull off the ball on top, and used his weight and the curb to snap the antenna at the perfect location. I don't think anyone else could facilitate this modification so eloquently as JC.

The "NORMAL" method would be ....... Unscrew the antenna by first loosening up the nut at the base.

The Ball on the top is only held on by friction and will pull off with negotiation - Use vise grips. Clamp them down loosely around the antenna just before the ball. Then slide the vise grips back and bang the ball. It will come off, perhaps with a couple wacks (Just make sure you don't lose the ball because it IS small).

Decide how high you want the antenna to be - we all decided to line it up just under flush with the roof (instead of 12" higher).

Use a cutting tool (dremel if you have it) to cut it at the selected height.

Use a file to remove any burrs and to slightly taper this new tip so it will fit back inside the ball. Don't taper it TOO much - just enough to get the ball back over. Press the ball back down and tap it with something until it is firm. If you scratched the ball during any of the process, dip it into a can of paint or use touch-up paint to fix it!

Screw the antenna back into place and tighten the bolt back down! 

That's it! 

None of us have noticed ANY difference in the performance of the antenna as far as reception goes! 

Have fun! 

Here is a picture of all 3 cars done!