Atlanta - Who in town can install a headliner?

[Sunroof]

Atlanta Pelicanheads.

Please let me know if you can identify any individual or shop who can install a headliner is a 911 sunroof coupe. If you have prior experience and want to make a few bucks on the side I would gladly assist you in geting this accomplished. I need to tear out my old (original) headliner and install a new one. No urgency on this project.

Thanks

Bob
73.5T

[tirwin]

Bob,

I have heard good things about Marietta Auto Trim. You could also call John Holt at Hot Wheels in Marietta and ask him who he recommends. rattlsnak might know someone. I talked to Marietta Auto Trim a couple of years ago when I was getting ready to do my interior. They seemed very knowledgeable -- I just decided to do it myself. Glad I did but I don't look forward to doing that job again for many years!

You need time, patience, glue and a massive amount of binder clips.

The hard part is really dealing with the glass. Chances are the trim place is going to sub out the glass work anyway.

[grizzfan]

Yep both front and back windows need to come out and if there is a chip or crack in either of them, plan on replacing them. Our sponsor sells OEM headliners and window seals and you should probably replace all seals while doing it. The rear window seal is a real ***** if it has defroster wires in it. It's a good time to replace the door seals too. Farmed out to an installer plan on a minimum of $1,500 including the windshield.

I just can't imagine doing this myself. Hats off to tirwin!

Tom

[tirwin]

Bob,

Here is something to think about. In my opinion, the hard part of the job is not really the headliner. Everybody complains about it, but I would encourage you to think about doing this yourself. I'll be glad to lend a hand.

What grizzfan says on the windows seals is very true. I don't know if the window seals are the same as my '83. If they are, then the hard part of the whole job is the windows. Getting the metal trim out of the old seals and in the new ones without boogering them up too much is the hard job. I used this guy named Mark -- his website is Official Website of Glass by Mark.

Once you get the windows and the old headliner out you are likely to find some rust lurking. That's when you really want to clean things, use a grinder to get rid of any rust and then treat the window frame area with POR-15. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm not sure any shop is going to take the time to do all that.

At that point you just replace the headliner. What I did was to install it using the binder clips method using no glue. That way I was sure everything was lined up correctly. The vinyl stretches so what I did was every day for about a week I snugged things up before I started gluing. I found some specialty glue on line and a local home fabric store carried it. It dried clear and was very strong. Also it was heat resistant. I can't remember the name, but I can find it. I may still have part of a tube left in the garage. When I started gluing it in I just removed a small section of binder clips at a time, glued that area and then put the clips back on. Then I let it sit for a day, touched up any loose places and it was done.

So, yes the headliner is tedious, but it really isn't that bad. Most of the work is the prep and the windows. Your costs in parts will be the same either way, but your labor cost will be less -- maybe 1/3 of the price grizzfan mentioned. And you will have the satisfaction of knowing everything was done right.

[Elombard]

I have done a non sunroof coupe and I am about to remove the headline from my sunroof coupe. I would not mind helping you but you are too far away :-) I would plan on two weekends for it that way you will be patient with the windows. When I did the liner several years ago I had a friend help and the rest of the interior was out of the car. Installing the back winddow with the interior in will make it more difficult. I think I used 3M trim adhesive and it seemed to work well. With new seals and lots of lube the windows are not that bad, you just have to figure on going in and out 2 or 3 times before you get the hand of the string method.

[Sunroof]

Thanks all. Let me give it some thought about tackling this myself.

Bob

[ParkerFE]

John Dutton at The Mad Stitcher in Chamblee has done some great work for me.

[mthomas58]

Originally Posted by ParkerFE

John Dutton at The Mad Stitcher in Chamblee has done some great work for me.

Does great work but he is pricey. Be prepared to spend top dollar if you go this route. These folks were recommended to me by Jim Ellis.