DIT Headliners?

Headliners.

OK, I pulled the Saab headliner as, like most cars of its age the material had disintegrated and fallen or been torn away. The foam backing was disintegrating and it was generally a mess. Here’s a pic of what it looked like still in the car. As you can see it’s a mess, it even has holes in it. As I said in my build thread I pulled it out the other weekend. Normaly once out they look like this: The actual pics of mine are still in the camera, I’ll upload them tonight.

But mine is in such bad shape it fell into four peces as I was taking it down. The breaks were in the corners of the sunroof apature. My original intention was to use some fiberglass and glue it back together, but now I’m not so sure. First off I’m alergic to this thing. Every time I even go close to it I start sneezing, my eye’s get runny and itchy, big time alergic reaction. I think over the years with the leaking sunroof it’s got wet and moldy, I didn’t notice it before removal, but since it’s out it’s a bio hazard! Also, it’s in really really bad shape. Not only is it in four parts, but all round it’s delaminating and the front and back surfaces are peeling. So what to do?

I’ve considered getting rid of it, but even as a rallycross/TSD/Autocrss/track day toy I want some interior. I hate loud noisy harsh cars, and the fact that Josh is adding sound deadening back into his E30 suprts this. I can’t imagine spending 12 hours in a car on a TSD without any interior. Also If I gut the car I would move a bone stock car into MF which seems futile.

So what else can I do?
1. I could head to the junk yard and find another, but
a. Classic 900’s aren’t falling out of trees in SE Mi,
b. Shipping would be difficult and expensive getting one from out of state
c. I’m cheap, this car is making a challenge build look like conspicuouse consumption.

1. I could repair the one I have, but
   a. I’m worried about my alergic reaction
   b. It still has cut out s for the now removed rat trap belts

2. I could make something else….
   a. HHhmhmmmm

So any ideas on making something? I was thinking just get some thin foam cut it into shapes then stick it to the roof, the cross ribs, the sunroof casset, the side structure. Then get some cheap material from Joanfabris and do the same, sticking it to foam backing? This might also open up a bit more headroom over the stock material.

Thoughts? Links to people who have done something similar? Help??

Crap, I hit T not Y in the title and you can't edit them. It's DIY Headliner not DIT headliner

Double crap, the formatting on my list is screwed up as well. The normal double space isn't working and I've now got 1, 1, 2 not 1, 2, 3!

I'm in the same headliner boat, fabric fell, took out, and now wtf to do with it.

My original plan was to recover with the plain fabric store headliner material. Then I got a wild hair to shade it with some super dark grey velour to match the interior color better.

So far, I am stationary with a completely sanded down headliner board that is falling apart at the visor holes. I'm still tempted and posted a thread here earlier about and just make a buck out of the original and make a CF one.

Ranger50 wrote: I'm in the same headliner boat, fabric fell, took out, and now wtf to do with it. My original plan was to recover with the plain fabric store headliner material. Then I got a wild hair to shade it with some super dark grey velour to match the interior color better. So far, I am stationary with a completely sanded down headliner board that is falling apart at the visor holes. I'm still tempted and posted a thread here earlier about and just make a buck out of the original and make a CF one.

I was hoping to do away with the backing board and go straight to the outer skin?

Roller something thick right onto the metal of the roof?

I saw this on a tv build, they covered the outside of the car in plastic and used the outside of the top as a mold for fabricating a fiberglass headliner. Looked like a good way to get a smooth liner - although they didn't show how they attached it - edit, and dealing with a sunroof looks like it could complicate things.

foxtrapper wrote: Roller something thick right onto the metal of the roof?

That's not a bad Idea, any idea's what? I wish you could flock upside down.

I was wondering about anything from undercoating to truckbed liner to plastidip to even latex house paint.

You could get really trick and silly, and do a two-tone with a fancy textured sponge from Home Depot.

It's tough to repair the nasty cardboard headliners. I've done it before, but it's tough. I'm in Fenton, and I'd be glad to help you. You can keep enough if a distance so your allergies don't go too crazy. It'd be a few weekends from now though.

DrBoost wrote: It's tough to repair the nasty cardboard headliners. I've done it before, but it's tough. I'm in Fenton, and I'd be glad to help you. You can keep enough if a distance so your allergies don't go too crazy. It'd be a few weekends from now though.

Cool thanks, I'll have another go this weekend outside, with facemask and see what I can salvage. How have you repaired them, fiberglass?

The guy who owned my first car before me had stapled a giant mural on a flag-like material of a wizard. That was pretty cool.

I tried gluing on a real headliner on the factory cardboard and it fell down like twice.

If I were you I would think creatively instead. I haven't done any, but making a fiberglass mold and flocking it before installation sounds like a good idea to me.

I would suggest Dynamat if you could figure out a way to get it to stay attached. Whatever you use, I would imagine that would be the biggest challenge. I don't need that stuff falling in my face during hour 6 of a TSD rally with you!

Lizard Skin?

Adrian_Thompson wrote:

DrBoost wrote: It's tough to repair the nasty cardboard headliners. I've done it before, but it's tough. I'm in Fenton, and I'd be glad to help you. You can keep enough if a distance so your allergies don't go too crazy. It'd be a few weekends from now though.

Cool thanks, I'll have another go this weekend outside, with facemask and see what I can salvage. How have you repaired them, fiberglass?

I used to train shops to install sunroofs, so running into this wasn't terribly uncommon. As far as how to repair them, it depends on how far gone it is. I've used fiberglass, thin, semi rigid (that's what she...nevermind) plastic, and even cardboard. The hard part is stripping all that foam off. Not really hard, but messy and a PITA.
If you don't get it by mid week next week, shoot me a PM and I'll see what we can do.

RealMiniDriver wrote: Lizard Skin?

DIY lizardskin?

http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/alternative-lizard-skin-103610-17.html

I will be watching this... Headliners and I do not get along...

Is there like a cheapo version of Dynamat available at Home Depot that has a adhesive backing? That sounds like a start to me.

wish you were closer.. I still have the one out of my old 91.. and it's in decent shape

I'm thinking uber cheap (so don't crucify me) but what about corrugated plastic as a base and crumpled newspaper as sound deadening?

A second alternative could be carpet underpading. It's fairly thick, absorbs sound and worst case you could get it from anyone doing a reno nearby.

I have used sheets of plastic and molded it with a heat gun. If the shape is simple I like to use the thinner coroplast like is used for the small political signs. Use the old pressboard as a template, lay out the fabric then fold up 1/3, roll on a 1/3 of the glue, put down your fabric and press. Then continue on doing the next 1/3 and so on. Some guys like to put down a half at a time, but I'm not that good so I do a little at a time.

of course.. here is a thought. Got a friend without allergies who can clean all the crap off it and do some glass repair? Chances are the glassfibre is not the problem, but the remains of the glue and foam that are setting off your allergies.

mad_machine wrote: of course.. here is a thought. Got a friend without allergies who can clean all the crap off it and do some glass repair? Chances are the glassfibre is not the problem, but the remains of the glue and foam that are setting off your allergies.

Or that.

I used this before but never as a head liner material. Its sticky as hell so i don't see why it wouldn't work: Aluminum faced adhesive repair tape

I have seen a couple cars where the guy used spray adhesive to glue a Dynamat type material to the roof and then glued fabric over that. He said the hardest part was getting the insulation stuff on smooth so that you didn't see the seams, etc.

It looked pretty good, but you could see some ripples in it.

Don't know if the spray adhesive would be a good idea if you have allergy problems with what you took out.