Replacing Sagging Headliner

[Ronnie]

Since I'm asking questions in another thread, I though I'd contribute some of what I've learned so far...I replaced/reupholstered my headline and am pleased with the result..

Headliner removal involved popping out the two circular reading lights with a flat blade to access and remove a 14mm nut that attached the assemblies tot he roof. All other attachments are apparent. There are 4 wiring plugs connections that can be disconnected in the front once the headliner piece is lowered.

To to get the headliner piece out the car, it is best to remove the front seats to give room to manuver our one of the back doors. I would try not to bend it too much as it's made out of a very low density particle board material.

As to the upholstery fabric, after trying various automotive fabrics, I ended up at Hancock Fabrics and got a double-knit cotton fabric that looked good and felt soft but mostly it was stretchable and conformed easily to the contours of the molded board. I used 3M Spray adhesive and worked the fabric on about 1 foot at a time from front to back. Let the adhesive dry a little before letting it touch the fabric so that it won't soak through and be visible on the good side. For this reason a very thin material should be avoided.

While I had the switches out I lubed them with silicon spray...one of the window toggles was really sticking but was freed up by the lube. I had particular problems removing the spring clips that hold the two panels to the headliner.

All in all, I found it to be an easy project not requiring any special tools or skills Total cost of the material (2 yards) and adhesive was under $20.

Ronnie

[kredden]

Good job getting in there and getting some of the tricky stuff done so soon! I recently did this myself and took a bunch of pics during the process:

http://www.alfamilano.com/headliner_...er_replace.htm

Kevin

[superloaf]

post some pics so we can all see.

i have to do mine but considering there's no engine in the car yet, i'm dragging my feet.

it's good to know it's not so difficult (i just assumed it would be very tricky.)

anyone ever recover any seats? i just got a hold of some old recaros which despite their ripped fabric are insanely comfortable. just need to recover them but the first quote i got was $500-$800 each! jeez, i could buy new ones for that.

so i'm wondering if i could attempt it myself?