Another headliner install!! But no window removal!!

[x2nervisx]

I've been working on my 87 carrera since I bought it in October. The car was originally used strictly on the track out in Arizona. I bought with the intention of restoring it back to street use with light track use. The interior of the car was completely stripped for weight savings which included all carpets and headliner. I ended up using the Appbiz plush carpet set with rear seat delete all all went well for a first timer. I had removed the roll bar that was installed and had that powdercoated red but I couldn't reinstall it until the headliner was put in. So that's what I did these past few weeks.

I read all the thread regarding the headliner install and read how much of a pain it was. I was quoted from $350-1200 to install the headliner on my car and that's without the cost of having the windows removed which was about another $300-400 on top. I figured I'd try it myself after reading this thread on another headliner installation with out window removal. Perlon headliner install

That link got me thinking that I could probably do this as well even though the car in the link had no sunroof (I do). I called up Bob at Appbiz and ordered a roll of their black perlon felt material. I ordered about 2 yards x 2 yards which was more than enough to do this job. The felt material ended up costing me $105 shipped. I also used 3M 74 spray adhesive which is the same adhesive I used for the carpet installation. This stuff is really strong. I also ordered a few sheets of Dynamat Xtreme to stick onto the roof to dampen any sounds or vibrations.

Pics below are what I started off with..







Here's the start of my Dynamat Installation which I only used 3 sheets of 12x12".


I even placed some on the sunroof headliner frame.



Once the Dynamat was up, I then took a large piece of the perlon felt and screwed one side up using the screws that cover the sunroof motor panel. Once that was screwed in, I then applied the 3M 74 spray adhesive section by section. I also screwed in the sunvisors to help hold up the headliner.


Once most of it was glued in, I trimmed the excess material and then I cut out the hole for the sunroof leaving enough material to fold over. I had to remove the sunroof and the tracks to clean them out to make sure that there was a clean surface for the adhesive to stick to. I actually used Dap contact cement for the edges and then used paper clips to clip the folded edges in place.

[x2nervisx]

Here some more pictures of the install.


While I had the sunroof out, I also replace all 3 seals using this thread as a guide Sunroof cable repair and new seals 87 911.





Once I had the front section of the headliner in place, I carefully trimmed the excess material by the door frames and used contact cement to keep them in place.


Now that the front portion of the headliner was done, I had figure out a way to cover the rear section where the sunroof motor is located and the C-pillars. I cut out an outlining of the C pillars with a large piece of paper and made sure I made the cutout of the perlon material larger than what I needed. I glued them in place with the 3M spray and let it dry. I then carefully trimmed the excess material and then tucked the felt behind the rubber seal of the rear windshield.

[x2nervisx]

Here are more pictures of the C-Pillars... Once I tucked the carpet behind the rubber seal, I cleaned up the overspray of glue with Desolve adhesive remover and it came off easily.





Now I had to worry about the uncovered space where the sunroof motor sits. I couldn't just clue the perlon on there since it wasn't a flat surface. I had some hard fiber board laying around and after some measurements, I glue the perlon felt onto the board.


I then used the 4 screws I first started off with to hold the headliner in place to mount the board. Here's pics of the test fit and then the finished result. It's not professional and wouldn't pass a concours event, but it's better than looking at the bare roof and the seams of the home made board are hidden by the roll cage. Overall it took me a couple of weeks to complete this. This includes letting the glue dry, having work most of the week, breaks, other projects around the car and having to take a break to hang out with the wife so she doesn't get mad at me for spending more time with the car.









That's all I got so far. Overall I'm happy with the outcome considering I did this entire project all by myself with no help whatsoever!

[Tom Elder]

Nice idea ................ I am going to have to consider this for my project ........... dam, I already bought a new white headliner but have not installed .............. really nice idea. I like the looks.

[rtorres]

Thanks for sharing. I think that solution has a lot of potential and while it may not be for everyone, I like it a lot.

[jittsl]

Very nice job and very nice write-up.

Just a couple of thoughts that might help those who do not have a Rollbar (and I realize that this doesn't apply to the original poster):

- if at the start a flap was left rearward of the 4 starting screws it may have been possible to tuck it into the rear window and eliminate the seam across the roof - if that was your desire. This may also (if you are really clever) have the same effect as the zipper in the sunroof car's headlining and allowed simpler access to the sunroof motor and cables when required. Just a thought.

- even if you wanted the seam, any reason not to do the rear section first and then lap the front over it? Hopefully it would make the appearance of the seam less critical by facing the actual edge backwards. Just another thought.

[x2nervisx]

Originally Posted by jittsl

Very nice job and very nice write-up.

Just a couple of thoughts that might help those who do not have a Rollbar (and I realize that this doesn't apply to the original poster):

- if at the start a flap was left rearward of the 4 starting screws it may have been possible to tuck it into the rear window and eliminate the seam across the roof - if that was your desire. This may also (if you are really clever) have the same effect as the zipper in the sunroof car's headlining and allowed simpler access to the sunroof motor and cables when required. Just a thought.

- even if you wanted the seam, any reason not to do the rear section first and then lap the front over it? Hopefully it would make the appearance of the seam less critical by facing the actual edge backwards. Just another thought.

You bring up good points. I kinda wish I had thought about having the seam facing towards the rear as I probably would have done that instead. I just hope I never have to access that seam since it's a pain to get that roll bar in and out.

[NY65912]

Very nicely done.