installing headliner

[koollay]

Ok where are the headliner experts? I am looking for the ole headliner installation 101. I need to install a head liner on 81 SC with sunroof. I have read bits and pieces of what you need (clips, glue, patience and beer) yet am hoping someone can bring me step by step as to where to start with this beastly project! My car is painted and ready to get headliner in so I can get my glass installed and get this year long project rolling again.
Koo

[jmz]

on that one, I just threw money at it and had a local upholstery/trim shop do it. It didn't take them long and I was happy with the results. I can't remember but it wasn't too much money as I recall.

[andrew15]

Wayne has this covered in the 101 projects book.

http://www.101projects.com/Porsche-101/index.htm


Regards,
Andrew M

[Tim Polzin]

What JMZ said based on personal experience.

THE ABSOLUTE WORST JOB TO DO ON THE 911

[schubee]

I think the "patience" part is most important. I just finished mine last month. It took me about 5 days, 3-4 hours a day. However, mine is no longer a sunroof coupe. I removed EVERYTHING and welded it shut! The non-sunroof coupes come with four metal rods that form the headliner to the roof. The headliner has four sleeves for the rods which makes this installation pretty easy. When I removed my old one, similar to yours, it didn't have the rods. I'll try my best to answer any questions but here's what I did (long).

1. Remove all glass - this was time consuming because I had to remove all existing gasket $hit that didn't come off with the seal. I wanted to make sure I had a clean surface to adhere the headliner to let alone the new seals for the glass. You also have to remove part of the upper door seal for the sides.

2. Slide rods (4) into headliner sleeves. (Non-sunroof) I purchased the factory rods but I didn't like the fit so I fabricated my own. The factory part cost me $20 each...ouch! I went to H.D. and purchased similar rods and cost me under $10 for all four. At the end of each rod I also purchased tubing for the ends. I cut about 2” of tubing for each end. I think the purpose of this is to hold the rods in place since the hole is larger than the rod.

3. Test fit the headliner. I used the black binder clips that you would find at your local office supply store. The tensions on these are great and they hold the headliner in place. You should lay your headliner in the sun to stretch it and get the wrinkles out. I tried something different and I’ll get to that later on. Make sure everything is taught and snug when test fitting. I didn’t cut anything until after I glued. I placed the clips about 1-2 inches apart when test fitting.

4. Next is to start gluing. I left all the clips in place on all sides and removed them only on the side when I was ready to glue. The glue I used was from a fabric store. It’s waterproof and holds like cement. It doesn’t dry instantly and allows you to adjust if necessary. This is the order of how I glued each side:

a. rear glass
b. front windscreen
c. passenger side
d. drivers’ side

I know other people used a different sequence but I did it this way because I thought it would be easier. When I was ready to glue a side, I used a heat gun to remove any creases and to soften the headliner. Be careful, don’t get it too hot. This made it very easy to get it nice and tight (that’s what she said!!). I spread the glue on the outside lip of the window frame about 10” (I’ll say it again…that’s what she said!!!) at a time. Okay, I’ll stop the humor now. After I spread the glue, I stretched the headliner over the lip and placed the binder clips to hold it in place. The clips were placed side by side to avoid the headliner from moving. I’ll continue this until the entire side is glued. After 30 minutes, I removed a few binder clips and installed the small factory clips that came with the headliner. I would then proceed to the next section as I noted above.

5. Once the glue was dry (30 minutes) I removed the binder clips. I then installed all the glass back in. That would be another story. Especially the rear window with the defrost wires.

On a scale of 1-10, the difficulty of this project would be rated at 6. This is based only on my experience. Here are some pictures:

[schubee]

After I loaded the pictures, I forgot to mention to remove the sun visors...duh. I don't think I'll re-install them because I like the clean look and I think the cage is in the way.

[rickeolis]

Wayne,
John's instructions need to be morphed into the list of user's projects on your Parts Site!

Impressive John.

[schubee]

Wow, I'm glad I didn't read the link above on Wayne's article. That would have scared me to even think of doing this myself.

The glass on a '90 isn't difficult to remove and install because it doesn't have the metal trim. It does have trim on the rear side windows but those were easy due to the size of the glass. So that saved me a few hours of frustration.

[plain fan]

Patience and Wayne's book.

[Chuck Moreland]

I just did this on my '73.

John's comments are good. Except I started installing at the front and worked my way back.

It is smart to let the new headliner hang in the sun for awhile to let all the wrinkles from shipment relax out. It may take awhile for this to happen.

When you first glue it in you will try and minimize wrinkles, but I couldn't get them 100% out. This consumed a lot of time as I kept chasing wrinkles out.

After you're done gluing use a heat gun on a medium setting. Heat the wrinkles and the area immediately around the wrinkles. If they are minor, they will relax out.

Seems the heat does not shrink the headliner, rather it allows the areas under tension to stretch. But the little stretching allows the wrinkles to relax.

Mine is wrinkle free.

[dotorg]

Ooo man, bling bling. I like the cage. Chromed?

[dotorg]

Oh, has anyone ever tried dying the headliner with vinyl dye? Mine is in fine shape, just stained... and white, I'd rather have black.

[schubee]

dotorg,

Negative on the chrome. It's powder coated black. I guess it's the lighting or reflection.

[dotorg]

Oh weird... Looked chrome. Oh well

[RoninLB]

it's a simple tideous job.. 100 binder clips, black shoe polish, and working small sections at a time.

I did some Dynamat Extreme on the "sunroof open" thin/tin can compartment sheetmetal that's right above the headliner.. the sunroof pop out liner has to have a slight convex.. and the interior lites need the tub ground.. I used the intact old roof liner a few times for prospective. so removing it in one piece may be important ...............Ron

[schubee]

Here's one picture during the process:

[limble]

Heat guns can be dangerous. I used a hair dryer and had great results.
I installed mine in about 2 hours.
Don't trim it until you have all of the clips on.
I might also add find or sharpen something like an ice pick. This helps locate the holes for the mounting hardware for the coat hooks and the sunvisor without poking big holes in the wrong places.
If you have time let it sit unfolded for a few days. The wrinkles will be almost gone.
Get the windows in asap otherwise the head liner will creep even though it's glued.
You will be really proud of yourself when you're finished.
Then go out and buy yourself something nice.

[koollay]

Too damn kind!!!! Thanks guys for all your input. I will post pics of the entire car when completed!!!! Much appreciated.
Koo

[RoninLB]

Originally posted by limble

. I used a hair dryer and had great results.

Don't trim it until you have all of the clips on.

an ice pick. This helps locate the holes for the mounting hardware

Get the windows in asap

I shouda/coulda/did that.. so I had such a trampoline tightness, because I was concerned about "latter on" sag, that I stretched the lite housing area tooo much.. I'm gonna try some repair kits, and experminent till I get it right.. I little heat may have prevented the boo boo..

yeah.. the new glue is soft for awhile.. I'm gonna do some Por-15 at the trim edge where the very sharp/thin/razor blade cut thru to bare steel..

The ice pick is a good idea.. Moses posted on a similar thread to leave the screws in the tub female.. that's what I did

I didn't realize getting the windows in ASAP..