My car is a 69 z that is mostly original. I was driving with the windows down and the thread on the seam of the headliner gave way. I now have a drooping and open headliner. Any recommendations? I have a credit with Heartbeat City. Is their headliner good quality and look original? Are headliners hard to put in? Do I need special tools or skills? I helped my dad doing one in a 53 ford 38 years ago but boy it is hard to draw on that experience from so long ago. I was only 15. I am very handy and capable but do not want to do a shoddy job on an otherwise phenomenal car. Advice please..........fire away.
Headliner advice
69zee
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My car is a 69 z that is mostly original. I was driving with the windows down and the thread on the seam of the headliner gave way. I now have a drooping and open headliner. Any recommendations? I have a credit with Heartbeat City. Is their headliner good quality and look original? Are headliners hard to put in? Do I need special tools or skills? I helped my dad doing one in a 53 ford 38 years ago but boy it is hard to draw on that experience from so long ago. I was only 15. I am very handy and capable but do not want to do a shoddy job on an otherwise phenomenal car. Advice please..........fire away.
I replaced mine over 10yrs ago...it has a slighly different pattern to the orginal, IF one looks real close and can compare side by side.
I do damn near everything, panel paint, elecrics, but do not do engine machining, diff setup, fit tyres,R&R front and rear windscreens or put in the headliner...yes I goffer for the guy, make the coffee, pass the tools..thats it.
I recon I can install and get right...thats the problem "I recon" not know... I know where to start, what to do and when but I dont have the experiance to have the 'feel' of the material...and a headliner with the slightest wrinkle stands out real bad on a good interior...its not worth the $50 or so cash for the guy to come in on a sat morning to do it.
VERY IMPORTANT:
If u pull the liner out.. mark what order the bows are....
I would head off to a good honest/ reputable uphoslter and ask about the possiblity or having that panel re sewn.. and the others checked.
It is possible to put the liner in with the front and rear glass in place....but it is a real bitch to do so...
I do damn near everything, panel paint, elecrics, but do not do engine machining, diff setup, fit tyres,R&R front and rear windscreens or put in the headliner...yes I goffer for the guy, make the coffee, pass the tools..thats it.
I recon I can install and get right...thats the problem "I recon" not know... I know where to start, what to do and when but I dont have the experiance to have the 'feel' of the material...and a headliner with the slightest wrinkle stands out real bad on a good interior...its not worth the $50 or so cash for the guy to come in on a sat morning to do it.
VERY IMPORTANT:
If u pull the liner out.. mark what order the bows are....
I would head off to a good honest/ reputable uphoslter and ask about the possiblity or having that panel re sewn.. and the others checked.
It is possible to put the liner in with the front and rear glass in place....but it is a real bitch to do so...
Re sewing would be a quick fix until another seam goes which will happen as soon as you fix one. The thread is old and time to replace it. Save yourself a days work and frustration and have it done by a professional. And by the way, plan on paying at least $250 and maybe more, $50 is laughable.
Oh boy. You have to pull the glass? Mine is original and never been out of the car. I was so pleased to see the date coded glass intact. I remember as a kid our neighbor 2 doors down was a glass man. He helped me pull a couple windshields and rear windows from old cars I worked on and/or parted out. I remember him saying that the glass can break very easily. This is going to be a fun project. Anyone have a reference for a good upholstery shop in northern California? I live in Santa Rosa and do not know anyone here I would trust.
No, but it is much easier if it is out.
I tried installing the headliner after watching this youtube video
I did mine quite a while ago, don't remember it being that big of a deal.
Figure if I can do it anybody can, came out real nice too. Gonna revisit
the process soon as I plan to install thinsulate to help with sound deadening.
Hope I'm remembering correctly.
Figure if I can do it anybody can, came out real nice too. Gonna revisit
the process soon as I plan to install thinsulate to help with sound deadening.
Hope I'm remembering correctly.
The hardest part of the job is the patience needed and the tenacity.
Like Steps, I did the headliner replacement in the previous Camaro I owned and I had sore thumbs to say the least and an empty frig in the garage that evening.
Tips:
Pre-1. Stock garage frig with your favorite adult beverage.
1. Label the crossbows and spray paint/mark the holes used on the sides.
2. Take pictures of all items screwed through the headliner and measure with a tape measure where they are at. Coat hooks, sun visors, shoulder belt clips, and dome light.
3. Use a straight pin/needle to find the holes for screws from Step 2 when assembling.
4. Scotchbrite the crossbows and paint them before sliding on the cloth.
5. Install the installed cloth on crossbows on the roof, let all for sides hang down.
6. Start in the middle of both windshields and work out to the corners - take Wrinkles with you, he will like you for it.
8. Soak interior molding when removed in very hot water in the bath tub to make it pliable for reinstall and carefully install molding.
7. Might as well do sail panels later as you had to remove them anyway. use a good contact cement and follow directions cement both items, let sit until tacky, then join together both items. Once stuck, you will not be able to move it to correct it, so, plan ahead. Install moldings.
9. Using pictures, tape, and needle, install roof items from Step 2. Use needle to find the holes.
10. Empty garage frig of adult beverage.
Like Steps, I did the headliner replacement in the previous Camaro I owned and I had sore thumbs to say the least and an empty frig in the garage that evening.
Tips:
Pre-1. Stock garage frig with your favorite adult beverage.
1. Label the crossbows and spray paint/mark the holes used on the sides.
2. Take pictures of all items screwed through the headliner and measure with a tape measure where they are at. Coat hooks, sun visors, shoulder belt clips, and dome light.
3. Use a straight pin/needle to find the holes for screws from Step 2 when assembling.
4. Scotchbrite the crossbows and paint them before sliding on the cloth.
5. Install the installed cloth on crossbows on the roof, let all for sides hang down.
6. Start in the middle of both windshields and work out to the corners - take Wrinkles with you, he will like you for it.
8. Soak interior molding when removed in very hot water in the bath tub to make it pliable for reinstall and carefully install molding.
7. Might as well do sail panels later as you had to remove them anyway. use a good contact cement and follow directions cement both items, let sit until tacky, then join together both items. Once stuck, you will not be able to move it to correct it, so, plan ahead. Install moldings.
9. Using pictures, tape, and needle, install roof items from Step 2. Use needle to find the holes.
10. Empty garage frig of adult beverage.
I have done 3 or 4 of them and one other thing that is helpful is using a heat gun to warm up the headliner before you pull it to stick. Then when it cools and shinks its tighter. One other thing to remember that even if you are a novice and you get wrinkles in it you can still pull that section down and fix it. So its definitely not a one and done thing like other things can be. Its not hard, but it can be time consuming.
Thanks everybody. I will give it a go. Not much scares me and I guess if I muck it up I can just have it done professionally. Now I am gathering there are not any special tools I need. What about quality of material? Is there a preference out there? It is so sad as I talked with a previous owner of my car from the 70's and he asked me if there was still a 4" slit in the headliner above the drivers seat. Yes there was! It's only original once as they say. So, if it won't be original any more where should I buy the closest copy of the original?
If u muck it up, and have streached the lining in wrong or over streached area, even a professional may not be able to get it right again...
over 40yrs in rodding and classic/ vintage cars one devalopes a lot of contacts...and in that time also helped out a lot of others....what goes around, comes around
So what is the problem?
but reality....belong to clubs, members own businesses.. diffs, upholstersy, machine shops etc....need something like that done, they send out a compentent apprentice to do a homer... and no glass in the car.... all old liner pre removed, all the bows marked and in order, linner already laid out in the sun....all trim removed, seats out, and he doesnt need to reinstall trim, ... just hang the liner... done in an hour... with the right tools and experiance.
over 40yrs in rodding and classic/ vintage cars one devalopes a lot of contacts...and in that time also helped out a lot of others....what goes around, comes around
So what is the problem?
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206 Posts
Hi,
What was really helpful and allowed me to get a professional result were paper clips. The ones that look like these :
http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/k...rzeniewskidaniel110200060/8804848-group-of-office-jumbo-paper-clip-isolated.jpg
I got a 100 of these (small ones), mocked the headliner in place and took the clips off few at a time to apply glue and then replaced the clips to make the glue do it's magic. Got the liner super sharp and totally wrinkle free!
Just a tip I learned from here years ago...
What was really helpful and allowed me to get a professional result were paper clips. The ones that look like these :
http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/k...rzeniewskidaniel110200060/8804848-group-of-office-jumbo-paper-clip-isolated.jpg
I got a 100 of these (small ones), mocked the headliner in place and took the clips off few at a time to apply glue and then replaced the clips to make the glue do it's magic. Got the liner super sharp and totally wrinkle free!
Just a tip I learned from here years ago...
Joined
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5,918 Posts
I have not done one in a camaro, but did the one in my old 67 Chevy 2. Same process. I used the parer clips as well. They realy help the novist like me. My back glass was out and it went pretty well. I also used the headliner glue from Clasic Industries , and it can be moved if needed . The headliner tool was not much help I just used a screwdriver and a puddy knife. If you are worried about the pattern not matching, now might be the time to cover the sun visors and sail pannels too. Best advice I can give you is to just rember that can only cut once , and cant put it back on so just take your time I'm sure you can do it . After all I did mine and I cant even spell most of the words in my post.
Good tip ! I completely forgot to add to unfold and lay in the sun, at least.
Glue? You're suppose to use glue?
And who really cares about the pattern for a cruiser? The only time you see it is when you actually look at it, and why are you looking at it when driving, and at night, it really doesn't matter, it's dark.......LOL. JMT's
I bought mine from JC Whitney and came with the headliner and two areas for the sail panels, but then, my last Camaro was a quarter miler with a working dome light, side panles, and carpet with heater, a working heater. Needed defrost for colder night racing events and to keep warm.
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7,595 Posts
I am assuming it's not recommended to skip to step #10 before attempting this procedure? lol!!!! Great tips here! Thanks!
I would suggest Step 10 AFTER the job is finished, the headliner will be straight, er, kindda straight.
Lord knows what it will look like if Step 10 is done first, if done at all.
Lord knows what it will look like if Step 10 is done first, if done at all.
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306 Posts
I just had a new headliner installed by a Professional Upholstery Shop here in Las Vegas, NV, came out very nice, I payed $250 labor, plus the new headliner cost, I myself would not even attempt it, plus I purchased a new set of headliner bows from a national distributor of 1st Gen Camaro Parts, they did not fit at all, ordered another set and the same thing, Ended up, happy to say, found a donor 68 Camaro Coupe that had the factory bows still intact, marked each as the position to be reinstalled, and that solved the bow problem.....................Point being, the Distributors all say exact match to factory orginal's, Not so in many of their parts, try to return them, and the people working in Customer Service, always say's the same thing, "We sell hundreds of these, and you are the only one to complain, I say B.S.
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10,721 Posts
The rods only go in one order. Try to put them in the wrong location and they'll look like a corkscrew, if you can even get them in the holes at all.
Installation, like any other task, depends on knowing one's capabilities.
I've replaced headliners without the alcohol suggested.
According to Steps the quality of the headliner is a non issue as it will not be compared side by side. Any other input or advice on the best looking/closest to original material to buy? Maybe one fits better than the other? As said before I have a credit at Heartbeat City and was considering buying it from them. Any disagreements?
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5,918 Posts
Yes glue or " contact cement " on the front and the rear.
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