Ally gets a new headliner

[dansam]

Well Im in deep on this one. If anything is being learned its that the fumes for the glue are strong and my skills in interior building is weak... Oh well. It will still look better than the rotting old stuff. This is turning out kinda like my paint job. Good enough for now but will have to be redone right at some later date. I really only have one C pillar left then the big piece and Im done.


taking out the old liner LOTS of sand from when I sand blasted parts of ally for the paint.


It was totally white car when new. Maybe Ill make a herbie out of it one day...


look what I found under the right rear quarter panel. Not the name of the last owner...


the old nasty stuff







See all the cool insulation? That was the real reason for doing this. As you can see in the last pic I allready started covering.



getting there.

[vw1s]

Looks nice, I can't wait to do mine!

[TaylorMutts]

I did mine last summer. At the time, it was the hardest task I have had to do on the car. I have the sunroof as well--are you taking it out before you cover the front area? I waited until it was time to cover the sunroof panel. Wish i took it out in the beginning.

[bren]

Looks good Dan. It is a big job. Insulation will make a huge difference.

[dansam]

I took the interior sunroof panel out before the job. did not need to take the whole sunroof out. I just reinstalled the one inner panel and that part was no prob. The big "main" piece is not going in well. I can see Ill have wrinkles all over ""sigh"" oh well. No intieror show wins for me. Anyway I just want it done allready!! I got one more day to go and I have work late Mon so Ill probably be done tuesday...

[bren]

A hairdryer is your friend with those wrinkles, assuming you are doing a vinyl headliner. Just go real easy with it. Wave it over the wrinkle and get the heat off it and see what it does. A little heat goes a long ways.

[TaylorMutts]

The reason I mention removing the sunroof panel (the metal/exterior section) is that it makes it easier to tuck the headliner material under the track and around the back edge of the sunroof opening. I did not do this, and regret it to this day. I ended up using black plastic door edge guard around key areas of the sunroof opening to help keep the material in place.

I am sure you can make it work either way. I will tell you that I took many breaks when installing my headliner, as I got frustrated with the progress. It helps if you have a partner--if nothing else, they can run to get snacks and drinks for you!

Good luck...take your time.

[dansam]

Well unlike the good advice of bill I did not take my time (its done) And I agree with him on the sunroof removal for the reasons he stated. I think I may have to do the same with the molding..... Oh well. I did not try the heat yet to try to get out the creases but I may try it tuesday. Overall Id say it looks.... well not so great.... Eh,,, Im not really all worried about it..... though it is a shame it did not turn out better. I got the pop out windows on and they work well though I dont think they seal as well as I hoped considering I installed new seals. We'll have to see how noisey and leaky they are (I of course kept the old windows/seals just in case!).

Not one of my better projects. But frankly it had to get done and I have never been an interior man. shoulda farmed it out but could not justify the cost at this time. Maybe next time around...
My biggest challenge and question is regarding the rear window cal look seal. what is the trick to getting the glass to fit in the dinky rubber channel in the seal. It seems to be a tight fit and I gave up on it in disgust as I think I hit my patience level working on the car all weekend and all.

Basically decided I needed some away time till I tackel the rear glass then Im done!!

[bren]

Are you sure you are putting the glass in the right channel? I know it sounds funny but it is easy to get the wrong one, especially the ones with the channel for the chrome strip. I used mineral oil as a lube to put seals on. Also soap and water is good. They say to not use wd40 as it is hard on the rubber.

[TaylorMutts]

Dan:

I am in the same boat as you--my headliner job was not my best effort, but it is far better than the original, decaying headliner that was in the car. I am going to go back and see if I can stretch mine a bit more. Luckily, mine is OK front to rear--it is the side to side that needs help. With pop-outs and the sunroof, I think it is possible to fix it. I suspect you can do the same.

I wish we lived closer--I would be willing to help you out.

[dansam]

Yea I am going into the right slot as this is the cal look style (no chrome) and there is deffinatly a top and a bottom. I was even able to get the glas in the slot in one small area but then I called it a night. Looks like this will be a major challenge to do. Maybe vegi oil?

[dave]

I too have to put in a head liner,just makes me nervous especially when I called Wolfsburg West to order one and the guy tells me that it would be best to have someone thats installed one before to do it.

So I have not ordered one yet.

[TaylorMutts]

This would make a good club "tech sesion." Once you do one, you learn the tricks. I would definitely do it differently the next time.

[bren]

I did the one in my beige car. I opted for the one piece style, trying to keep it simpler. I read on the samba lots before I did this. Almost talked myself out of it. (seems lots of stuff is made out to be harder than it really is on the samba)
I called some local shops and decided for the price of the headliner I could ruin 1 or 2 and still be cheaper than hiring it out.
Get good glue, use ton's of clips (I used the black office binder clips, a gross of them), and a hair dryer.
I'm not going to claim mine is perfect but it is good enough for who it is for. ;D

[TaylorMutts]

That's funny, Bren. That is exactly what happened with me. Must be a common experience.