Need a headliner

Thats cool,Just put in all the screws you intend to use beforehand.Did one the hard way years ago.THEN!! after its done my dad tells me about the screwsI love my dad.

 

We just installed a headliner in the Grabber we are restoring. Most of the paint had worn or rusted off the bows, so I wrapped a piece of tape around the ends of the bows and color coded them with 3 different colored magic markers. Then I placed a piece of tape with the same color as the bow next to the hole it was to go back into. Takes all the guess work out of it. When you start glueing the headliner in around the front and rear windshields, make sure you have plenty of clamps to ' pin ' it down. You may have to pull the headliner loose a few times to get the wrinkles out and the clamps will hold the edges in place once you get the headliner where you want it. The clamps are also good to have for the sides too. It can take a long time to get the headliner installed, so it does help if you have an extra set of hands. One more thing. Make sure you have something to cover the dashpad, rear shelf, and basicly the whole interior with. That spray glue tends to go everywhere and it can be a royal pain to remove.

 

I hate to pry, but is this a common thing that happens to the mavericks or cars in general? because my husband needs a new headliner too.

 

maverick widow,
The headliner rots away. At least that is the case of mine. I figure it's 32 years old and it's time.
Thanks for all the great tips. I looked on JC Whitney, man they want between ~80.00 to 230.00.
I plan to buy the one from Autokanters, 70.00.
I plan to paint the bows and the holes prior to removal.
Where can I get the bedding strips?
Thanks,
Ken

 

Bedding strips? Do you mean the insulation that is glued to the roof?

 

Yes, it is fairly common for a headliner to give out after a while. The age of the car has much to do with it. After 20 or 30 or more years of summertime heat plus wintertime cold, the threads that hold the headliner panels together become dry-rotted and break apart. The panels themselves will then seperate and the headliner will hang down. I believe another cause of headliner failure is mice. Mice love to nest up in the headliners. They will pack the sides with nesting material which then gets wet from thier waste. That stuff is very acidic and can eat away out just about anything, including the headliner threads. The old headliner we just replaced was jam packed with mouse nest, and everywhere the nest where, the headliner panels just fell out. All the threads had been rotted away.

 

thank you all for explaining these things. i know alot about cars but what i dont know i seem like an airhead. thanks again!

 

Here's a great article from Mustang Monthly with photos:
http://www.mustangmonthly.com/proje...stang_hardtop_headliner_install/photo_01.html

 

I went to a local guy here to see what he would charge to replace my headliner. He said $300 plus whatever the glass guy charged to pull and replace the glass.

 

You can get the headliner cheaper through your RPS parts dealer(Chip Crenshaw) for your area.

 

I see headliners on eBay all the time for something like $59, your choice of color, but don't know who the manufacter is....

 

Does the windshield and rear window need to be removed? I may have the headliner installed.
Ken

 

It's been said that it can be done without removing the glass, but I did mine with the glass out, it was no big deal. You just have to take your time, measure twice and cut once. I ended up getting mine from SMS, after a trial and error headliner from my local interior guy. He tried to make one out of dried up NOS material, it just didn't work out. Plus mine is Light Green, and no one makes a light green replacement, so it had to be custom made.

 

The right way to do it is to remove the windshield and backlight.Any other method is the wrong way.What ever you do go slow,and be deliberate.Good luck.

 

I agree 100% I have put in several headliners and would not even attempt to do it any other way.