[Shawn]

Are the special tools for replacing the 69 head liner necessary or can it be done without? I need to replace mine one of these days and am just getting around to looking at some of the replacements. Anybody recommend a good supplier for them? I imagine they might be the same supplier at all of the restoration places?

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Shawn Peterson
1969 Z28, 406SB
http://www.geocities.com/corsican69

[kentucky joe]

im also needing to replace the headliner in my 67,just wondering if its a do it yourself job or better left to someone with experience in that area?

[RockyMtnRacer]

I replaced mine myself. No special tools but it's a pain in the rear. It's tough getting the material pulled smooth everywhere. I also think that it is one of those tasks (like restoring a Camaro!!) that you really need to do once for practice before you do the real thing. It's relatively cheap to get your local upholstery shop to do and then you can always go back if it loosens up or a wrinkle appears.

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Scott
'69 400SB, Richmond 5-speed; '99 HD Road King Classic
www.geocities.com/sdenning1

[elcamino72]

My uncle put a new headliner in his '72 El Camino. He had both the front and back windows out and it still came out with wrinkles. He did the best he could. I would have a shop do it if it was up to me.

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Bryan Shook
Favorite Quote - Some people have shrinks. Some people have their garage.
www.geocities.com/motorcity/speedway/6673

[68SS396]

Just keep it warm. Don't do it when its cold out and use a hair dryer or heat gun to keep it warm and you'll be fine. The warmer it is the easier it will be to put in and I guarantee you won't have wrinkles. Everybody pawns their work off. Do it yourself and have that feeling of great accomplishment when your done. Anybody can pay someone else to do something. Nothing is hard about a car, just time consuming. It will no doubt take longer than a professional but if you take your time and pay attention to what your doing it can come out just as good or better than the professional who is doing it as quick as possible for the money. One reason restored cars are so expensive is because of these collectors that pay outrageous prices to have every single little thing to their car done by a professional. I don't care if I was a millionaire I would still do the work myself. Pawn the work off on your new car and work on your classic yourself. Thank you for letting me vent. In reality though if you keep it warm it is a thousand times easier to work with. More than you can imagine

[CarlC]

I agree with Rocky and 68. It is not hard, just time consuming. I've done it twice on my car (18 years ago and last August) and with some patience it comes out well. Expect to spend the better part of a day to do the whole job if it's your first time. The worst that happens is you buy a new one and have it installed. I did not like the tools supplied by the restoration companies. I ended up using my fingers. If you purchase the headliner from a reputable supplier you should end up with a pretty good product.

[RockyMtnRacer]

I'm a very big proponent of doing as much as you can yourself (check my homepage and see the piece of crap I restored). But I also recognize that there are some things I'm better at than others and I only have so much time. I stripped every panel except the roof off my car and replaced them myself. Then I had the body shop do the dent removal and block sanding. I saved thousands of dollars, did much of the work myself, and stayed away from the tasks that I know I'm not good at.

Headliners falls into this category for me. I'd rather change a clutch or build a motor than put in a headliner. Since I always seem to have far more things to do on my car than time, I pick the tasks I want to do and can do well and get help for the rest.

I also think it's perfectly fair for us to advise others based upon our experiences. I had a tough time with my headliner and therefore recommend having it done. Others may not be good at building motors and so they recommend you buy crate motors.

The nice thing about this forum is that there is a wealth of experience and points of view. That's what makes in valuable, at least IMHO.

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Scott
'69 400SB, Richmond 5-speed; '99 HD Road King Classic
www.geocities.com/sdenning1

[white rs/ss]

68 and others, I'll be attempting a headliner replacement this summer. Would like opinions on: 1. whether or not to remove front and rear windows ? ( my current liner is tucked under a plastic welting, which is under the windshield goop-I'm not sure I can even remove the old liner without pulling the Windshield) 2. Has anyone found a good substitute for the sailpanels themselves? Mine are too wavy from moisture to recover.



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[BUD]

Since you guys know about headliners, I need a tip. My 69 came with the headliner bows and headliner out of the car. Is there anyway to tell which rod goes in which order? They all seem a little different, especially one. Then I'll need to figure which one of the three holes I should use. Any suggestions appreciated.

[68SS396]

white rs/ss-You shouldn't have to remove the windows to do this. Take off the plastic moldings around the front and back windows. When you go to take it out you can cut it out around the windows. The salvage that you say is stuck it the goop will come off much easier when your dealing with smaller pieces. It is glued around the edges so its probably not really stuck in the window goop but just glued. Once you start to do it its really not that bad to get apart but you shouldn't have to pull the windows. It will have to be glued back on around the edges so make sure you have everything you need before you start to install the new one. The place you buy the headliner from should sell the glue. If not you can use contact cement. 99percent of the Camaro vendors will also sell you new sail panels already covered
Hey BUD, Don't think I can help with that but someone here should be able to. They are color coded so someone with a parts car or one thats apart may be able to help. I have a 69 parts car behind my garage but the bows have all been cleaned up and painted and the car is under wraps. Call a vendor that specializes in used parts, they should be able to tell you which goes where. As far as the holes I have always read that you should put the bows back in the holes they came out of. I have done it that way but don't know how critical it is. Usually if you look at the holes you can tell which one the bow was in. Maybe in your case you can't. If not then you just have to use the ones that make it fit the best

[denverRS/SS]

Shawn - I tried this once and I was awful at it! I couldn't get the thing tight to get the wrinkles out and the glue was drying and the thing was hanging all over the place and then I trimmed it wrong so it didn't fit. So there are two things that I feel are beyond my limits on restoring a car, the body work/paint and the headliner. When either are done poorly, it is really noticeable and greatly detracts from the car's appearance. It's worth the sheckles to me to have this done by a pro!

[68SS396]

I'm glad Denver RS/SS jumped in. To make the job go 300 percent easier you need to use heat. A heat gun is perfect or a hair dryer will do. Its just like installing seat covers. The warmer they are the easier to install. Lay the headliner out in the sun for a while until it is nice and warm (hot). Just the difference between feeling it at room temperature and after being in the sun for a while you will understand how much easier it will be. Do it on a hot, sunny day and let the headliner sit in the sun until its hot and you won't have any wrinkle problems guaranteed.
Denver RS/SS, out of curiousity how warm was the headliner and weather? Maybe that was the problem. If you used heat and it was laid out in the sun for a while before you started then I don't know what to tell you. Thats awful that it turned out that way for you. Nothing is worse than attempting something yourself and not being happy with the end result. People's biggest problem with doing it themselves is wrinkles. You have to use heat, lay it out in the sun, and be in a warm atmosphere or don't bother. But if you do it that way its not that big deal of a job and the result is as good as any professional. Just think about what your doing and what has to be done, don't just go through the motions and there isn't any reason why this can't be done by the average person. Although, there are areas that people feel uncomfortable with and if interiors is one of them then you should obviously stay away

[CJ]

Just did mine last night. Its definitly a pain. I just resolved to the fact that its going to take time, but the end result looked great. All you need to arm yourself with is a heat gun, headliner glue, sharp utility knife, and tons of time.-Good Luck

[denverRS/SS]

I did mine on some pretty chilly nights in the winter so that probably led to a bunch of problems. I just remember wishing I was an octupus to have enough arms. The experience was so traumatic, I only buy convertibles now (chuckles).

[will stefan]

check out this site, this guy has several headliner projects http://www.aros.net/~rbuck/Welcome.html