I was never very fond of the oem antenna so I decided to try a shark fin. I started off with this http://www.ebay.com/itm/260994486652...84.m1497.l2649. It's a GM oem antenna designed to fit a Chevy Cruze (5"L X 2 1/4"W X 2 3/4"H); however it required a lot of modification to fit the MINI. The mounting post is too far forward and must be moved rearward or the open hatch will hit the fin. The contours of the base also have to be modified to fit the curvature of the MINI's top. I filled in the voids inside the base with epoxy so it fits flush with the MINI roof and allows the use of a flat rubber gasket to seal it to the roof. Both leads were spliced together so I could attach them to the single MINI antenna lead inside the headliner. Then I painted it with leftover MINI matched aerosol that I already had on hand. The pics don't do the color match justice; it's actually very good. In use, the reception appears unchanged from my previous stubbly antenna (no nav or bluetooth). No modification were done to the MINI so it's completely reversible. The only tools required are a Dremel tool and LOTS of patience.

 

Looks good and I have thought about this myself. After reading how you made it work, I am concern about the shark antenna not fitting the contours of the roof. You said you had to add epoxy or something.

Question
1. what holds the fin to the roof, is it epoxy. From your pictures it looks like the rubber seal is an exact match to the roof line. Can you explain this for me.

Again looks good.

 

If you look at the eBay listing you can see that this antenna is designed to be attached to the roof with a 6mm bolt that extends up thru the mounting lug on the bottom of the antenna. When I bought it I expected I would be able to mount it to the MINI using that mounting lug. Unfortunately, that lug is too far forward and allowed the hatch to contact the antenna when opened. My first step was to remove the lug (Dremel abrasive disc) and move the lug about 1/2" aft creating clearance for the hatch when the antenna is mounted. The lug was reattached using JB Weld and a 6mm bolt coming from above (the antenna can be disassembled to separate the base from the plastic fairing). The MINI roof is slightly curved so I had to trim the fairing a little to match the roof contour. The void between the aluminum base was filled with epoxy just to provide a flat base for the gasket. The antenna is firmly attached to the roof with a 6mm nut and an adapter that goes over the square lug protruding from the bottom of the antenna. It is not glued to the roof and can be removed just like the oem antenna. It was a fun project but I probably wouldn't have started it had I known it was going to be so time consuming.

 

Why not just try the 1st gen shark fin?
http://new.minimania.com/part/NMX865...r--S-2002-2004
Or a faux one like this?
http://www.coopersport.ca/53/SHF/

 

I'm not sure either one of those will actually fit a 2nd generation. The first one is $205! It might be possible to partially disassemble the 2nd generation antenna (remove the black cover) and find a cheapo faux antenna cover that will fit over the 2nd generation electronics package but you'd still have a sealing problem. The sealing gasket is part of the black cover. I expected the one I bought to be an easy fit but it wasn't and things got a little complicated after that.

 

Hi, I have a 2009 JCW Clubman. Does anyone know where I can buy a shark fin antenna with XM/SIRIUS /GSM/GPS/AM/FM reception? Thanks guys!