For the past few weeks I’ve been working on finishing the installation of the headliner and assembling the doors and ¼ windows.
Original insulation was applied over Dynamat before I started gluing the vinyl panels into place.
The vinyl is glued into place with special glue that takes forever to dry, it has to be held tight while the glue sets up. The glue holds well even when it is soft, to give you time to re-tighten and reposition the vinyl.
I’ve never installed a headliner before, so I supposed I shouldn’t be surprised that I completely FUBARed the first one and had to order another one. The side panels went in OK, but the roof panel seemed to be an inch too short. I ripped seams on the first one trying to stretch it cold. After that learning experience, I ordered a new roof panel and a heat gun. The heat gun is fantastic. With Vicki using it to gently heat the vinyl and me pulling with all my might we stretched the center panel into place and it doesn’t look too bad.
Next came assembling the doors. I had already assembled the vent window assemblies and they were ready to go. All I had to do was the “easy part.” My first attempt at the easy part ended in $125 worth of trashed trim and seals. I’m a quick study though and while the new parts were on their way, I figured out that you have to install the subassemblies in a specific sequence. Once I got the sequence right and everything was installed, the glass wouldn’t slide up or down. The inner and outer rubber glass wipers held the glass in death grip. I tried silicone and dry Teflon lubricant without any luck. Someone suggested baby powder. Baby powder these days is just corn starch with perfume int it. I didn’t want my car smelling like a baby’s ass so I went with straight corn starch and windows began working like magic.
My first attempt at assembling the door resulted in $125 worth of trashed parts.
The quarter windows came next. Again, more pushing rubber seals into the grooves in the windows. The old window latches were rusted beyond use and I went with some reproduction parts. I only use repro parts if originals aren’t available. I tried buying some decent latches, but the seller and I couldn’t agree on how I was going to pay for them. I gave up and bought the rather sketchy repros. I had to do some work on them to get them installed and they will be adequate for my use.
After the engine seals, hood seals, and vent window seals, the quarter windows presented me with yet more rubber seals that had to be pushed into slots. I haven't pushed so much rubber into tight places since I was a teenager.
