head liner/ 101 projects book

[H20911]

So I am looking at my 101 projects book (if you don't have one ask for it for christmas) and Looking at the Head liner project. has anyone done this and had good results ( 77 Coupe no sunroof). I have an old off white/ smoke stained liner from the previous owner. I would like to change it over to black. I know that the windows will have to be pulled. I think that it might just be a bit tedious.
thanks for any help

[RoninLB]

Originally posted by H20911
I think that it might just be a bit tedious.

yeah.. you gotta have patience.. tons of info in "search"......Ron

[Bob's Flat-Six]

If your's is in good shape dye or spray it black.
I sprayed mine with great results but dying sounds like it might be the way to go as you can apply with a brush and don't have to deal with the overspray.

[Wayne 962]

Replacing the headliner is more difficult than rebuilding your engine, in my opinion. All the glass needs to come out of the car, and is *very* difficult to get back in. In addition, it's very easy to mess up the headliner installation and spill glue on your seats and carpet. In addition, if you make one mistake on the headliner, and cut one piece slightly wrong, you have to trash the whole thing and start over.

In my opinion, the most difficult job to perform on the 911.

-Wayne

[Formerly Steve Wilkinson]

Particularly those gahdamn interior lights.

Stephan

[Zeke]

Second the dye, but not black. It's not that I don't like black, it's that a drastic color change is tougher. Let an upohlstery shop do it if you go black. Only my thoughts. BTW, I personally can't see brushing it on. You'd need as much masking as for spray. Unless you could turn the car upside down

[RoninLB]

Originally posted by Formerly Steve Wilkinson
Particularly those gahdamn interior lights.

yeah.. I installed a taunt roof liner.. I went a bit too tight..
and when installing the lights I saw that I had a tear waiting to happen. I tried stretching them slowly over a period of days. Now I gotta experimint with those vinyl repair kits to learn the technique and maybe go after the 1/2in tear at the light opening.

[Chuck Moreland]

Someone needs to go against the grain, so here it is:

Replacing the headliner is a lot of work, since you need to R&R the glass. However, it is isn't really *that* hard. You just need to have patience.

If you are pulling the glass anyway (say for a paint job), then it is a no-brainer to replace the headliner.

A fresh headliner can really bring up the interior appearance.

[Wayne 962]

Chuck - I think it is easier on the early cars with the pop-out windows, and the non-defroster rear windows. Also the sunroof was difficult to measure and cut.

Apples to apples...

-Wayne

[jpnovak]

I just put a new headliner in my 71 non-SR project last weekend. Took about 2 hours, most of which was waiting for contact cement to dry. The car is completely stripped so that made things easier.

I used the tension bows and some binder clips to stretch the headliner for a week. This took out all the wrinkles. Pull it a bit tighter each night. Then start in the center of each door with gluing. Next center of front and rear with glue. Work your way to each corner. I have two slight wrinkles where the liner transitions to the C pillars. Haven't even tried the heat yet. I was surprised how easy it was.

btw, Thanks to Pelican and their cust. service. I ordered my headliner which came markes as a non-sunroof but contained a SR headliner. Yes they are much different. Tom, sent the correct one out 3day and sent a call tag for the mismarked one. yet another reason I buy from our host.

Jamie

[HK911]

Hey H20911

I did the headliner on my 911 with sunroof a few years back and it was quite simple....and i am a newbie.

I did take my time i think the whole think took me a few nights work, about 2-3 hours per night. Just make sure you go slow and take your time.

I had all the windows and door frames out at that time also had had it anodised in black.

While i was at it i replaced all the carpet inside and recovered inside door panelling.

It was my first project on 911 and i was very happy with the outcome and thought it was pretty easy.

The good part with the above projects is you dont really have to be very technically minded, just require some patience.

mine is a 77 also.

Next project....sporto to manual 915 conversion....have to learn how to drop the engine first !

[Jim Sims]

My son and I turned the job for his '73 T with a sunroof over to "Mom". She used the old liner as a guide and made this task look easy on the first try. One key is using a cardboard form in the sunroof cutout to keep the headliner tensioned while the perimeter of the head liner is glued. She also replaced the interior black vinyl and adapted the new "custom" carpet kit so it would really fit and then installed it. She is a skilled seamstress though; Porsche interiors are no big deal compared to elaborate "Nutcracker Suite" costumes and other similar constructions. Jim

[k9handler]

hmmm...what would my car look like with the damn thing simply removed? Sunroof is the big question...with the tracks and motor, is this much work to take out?

[CHILI]

Originally posted by Bob's Flat-Six
If your's is in good shape dye or spray it black.
I sprayed mine with great results but dying sounds like it might be the way to go as you can apply with a brush and don't have to deal with the overspray.

Sprayed mine. Came out great. I had most of the interior removed, but I still used a drop-cloth (plastic) to line the whole inside of the car. Basically I made a adult size fort inside! But wear a re-breather or something! Man, I was high as a kite in about 1 minute. After that, I just held my breath and sprayed, then got out when I needed to breath again. I went from ivory(yea, right, it's 30 years old) to black. Of course, this would only work if there's no rips or sagging. Mine was perfect, just stained badly.

[timz]

I have a '77 coupe as well. What products did you use to either spray or dye the liner?

[beamonk]

If you do it yourself, be sure to let the new one sit in the sun for a long time to get the creases out. We should have waited on mine.....

[CHILI]

Originally posted by timz
I have a '77 coupe as well. What products did you use to either spray or dye the liner?

I used SEM vinyl spray. But, I ran out and later decided to do the rear quarter panels and tray, so I used a brand from the local Pep Girls and it was just as good. Cheaper, too. Both have looked great for two years and don't seem to wear off at all. The only mistake I made was I didn't prep the headliner as well as I should have, so on the first very hot day when I used the sun visor, it "pulled" some of the paint off of the headliner. Looks like little specles. I touched it up, but it happened again. No biggie. Can't see it when the visors are up and no passengers have ever noticed even with them down.
I just used 409 on a rag. I later heard somebody say to use paint thinner on steelwool. Not sure, though. Maybe there's vinyll prep out there.

[Chuck Moreland]

Letting the creases hang out before installation is a good idea.

But if you have some creases / wrinkles after installing a heat gun can work wonders. Of course you should try and work any wrinkles out while gluing, but for the inevitable small wrinkles that remain, give it a try.

The heat doesn't shrink the fabric, but rather allows it to relax. I've found it works best to apply heat directly on a crease. But for wrinkles it is often most effective to heat the area around the wrinkle. That lets the surrounding material relax a bit and the wrinkle goes away.

[timz]

Thanks Chili

[cicsprog]

Scary to think that replacing your headliner is more difficult than dropping the engine to fix a major mechanical problem. But that is why I love this board - you learn so very much about these cars and their issues.

Jason
88 911 CAB (no headliner to replace – thank god)