what color headlinner??

[heyhar]

Do you make someone stand on the shell so it doesn't blow away? Seriously-can you handle a wagon size shell alone, or do you need help? I find the long ones, like an XJ, to be too much for one person.

 

[old_man]

Dont stand on the shell. It will leave imprints that will show through. Don't bother asking how I know. :gag:

 

[spat70]

If you remove the trim from the back to the front and dont try and pull it down. Then remove the lower back seat, lay the back down then recline the front seats. Now you pop the shell off of the little ledge on one side. Go to the hatch and slowly pull it out.
Once its all the way out, you can grab it like a sheet of plywood. If your arms are too short, you will need a friend. Then SLOWLY cary it to your work area, dont spin too fast, the air is enough resistance to fold it.

So a long winded anwser to the question is. If your short ya need help! When you use the blower just just hold the blower high and the shell wont move.

 

[kastein]

You obviously haven't seen my wife dragging me through! Last time, I chose to sit in the car. That's how I found the blown speaker. The new speakers needed a new radio. One to work with her Ipod. A radio with sub-outs needs a sub. If you ever hear an Outback thumping in front of Jo-Ann Fabrics, just be kind!

Ken, as a side note- Have you had any luck with re-covering anything in a car? After a while, especially in hot, humid weather, it all just wrinkles up like an old prune. Last trip to Harry's, my son just ripped the headliner fabric out of a donor. Good, cheap source. And, we won't cut up a good one. I just put a '98 headliner in the '92. Twenty bucks, because it still had the speakers in it. Works great. Just make sure to properly phase the speakers, as the later ones have reversed factory clips on them.

I haven't done a headliner itself yet (gotta do the one for the MJ soon though) but OHCs are a walk in the park... the recovering bit anyways. Once you've fully disassembled them (all sorts of little plastic clips and tabs, be careful) just rip the fabric off. The screw hole at the front end (on the 96 down ones) has a little plastic ferrule inside it; you need to pull that out because the fabric is trapped under it. Once you've got it down to bare plastic, take a brass wire brush to the sucker since you'll never actually see it, it cleans off the foam gunk very nicely and will make the glue stick better too. Put your favorite adhesive on it, follow instructions on waiting, apply the fabric from the inside out to avoid wrinkles as usual. DO NOT press too hard on the fabric or you'll get small indentations where the glue soaked into the foam backing on the fabric and kept it from expanding back to normal! Once you've waited the right amount of time, cut the holes for the clip-in sections for the lights/computer/glasses tray (leave a 1/2" to 3/4" extra ring of fabric around each, cut a diagonal line most of the way to each corner so the fabric won't get stretched when it folds down behind the inserts.)

Go into Joe's all the time. Lady there that does the cutting always asks me what i fixing on my car this time.

only done 3 headliners so far. figured im the only guy buying the mat so she knows me

also, check the paper. joans usually has a 40% off coupon, can get new material for $20. (btw, you need 3 yards, and will end up with a bit left over)

Good to know.

What do you guys do to get the remnants of the foam padding off of the shell? I fought this battle for years with my '78 Firebird. I'd do as good a job as I could, but the crumbs and dust of the old foam seemed to absorb the adhesive, and soon it was rubbing your melon again. The headliner in my '92 failed recently, and I replaced it with one from a '98. What I noticed was that the shell, although thin, was more robust than the old one. Seemed as though it was fiberglass, as opposed to the pressed paperboard of the old one. Next time I see the fabric fallin, I'll definitely head for a later one. Hope it's no time soon, though.

Stiff brush and my hands, then a vacuum cleaner. As for the headliner backing board, the early ones (at least up to a 96) are fiberglass, just not very strong fiberglass. It's like heavily compacted fiberglass insulation... no real glue to speak of, and when you cut through it, man does it ever itch. The ones from 98/99-up and probably 97 also seem to be a "real" fiberglass composite with batting and other stuff attached.

The OHC in my '96 is starting to wrinkle, especially on hot, humid days. Smooth it out, sometimes it looks OK. Sometimes it sags right away. We're about to do the soundbar in the '95, so I'll scrub it real good, and maybe the material will stick. I gotta talk Junior into that wicked camo.....

I haven't messed with the soundbar in mine yet but the OHCs aren't bad (see above) so I would expect about the same.