antenna replacement difficulties

I was replacing my '71 911 T radio antenna last night and found that there was absoultely no way to get the old antenna out of the fender. The old antena is a power one and has a large box on it and a long tube for the antenna to retract into. Once I losened the antenna from the fender, I could not slip this antenna out between the door and fender (when the door was open) nor could I pull it out by any other means. Basically, it's trapped in the area between the door and fender. Looks like the only way to get it out is to remove the door or fender (yikes !) I'll probably opt to remove the door if I have to choose. My question is, Is there any other way to get this damn antenna out without removing the door. Is it better to remove the door by sliding the pins out (they seem frozen) or removing the hing bolts (they have a weird socket head . .not a typical hex). Any advice, experiences, opinions ?

I've never done this so take what I say with a grain of salt, but if it was me I would cut the old antenna before removing a fender or door. The hassles of realigning a fender or door far outway the value of an old antenna that you are replacing anyway. Another alternative is to look at your new antenna to see how it comes apart. Your old antenna may be so covered in fender gunk that some of the connections may be obscured. Or, you could look around at a junkyard for old antennas, to see how they come apart. If you do cut the old one out (with aviation snips or a hacksaw), do it from underneath to avoid damaging your paint.

I read in the repair book for my 72 911 that the proper way to remove the door is to remove the pins and not the hinges. It appears to me that this would maintain your door alignment (wich would save a lot of work). However, I have never done this so I can't verify the results.

Looking at the factory manual its a big job to remove the door you need to remove the handles,door panels,window frame, and it takes a special puller to remove the hinge pins
To remove/Install elec antenna you remove the right front interior panel and the floorboard .

[This message has been edited by jryerson (edited 06-12-99).]

So, I can remove the iterior panel and floorboard instead of the door ? . . . from the inside of the car ? Incidently, the antenna I'm trying to remove is on the drivers (left) side. How does one access and remove the interior panel and floorboard ? Any ideas ?