71 -73 Coupe Headliner Questions

Looking for Coupe Headliner instructions, but coming up blank. Starting to aquire all necessary parts for the install.

One question I do have however. Does the front and rear glass need to be removed to install the headliner. I've seen some site that say yes, and some that say know.

Just need to totally undertand the correct approach. My wife and I have done all interior work ourselves thus far and I be doggone if I farm this work out.

Thanks


sorry for misspelling, meant to say "No."

Yes - the glass needs to be removed for a proper installation. The reasoning, there are no grabber strips at the windshield or backlight as there are on the window/quarter window openings - they wrap around the same lip the glass affixes to both front and rear.

You could probably get away with not pulling the glass, but you'd need some kind of manner to secure the leading and trailing edges while the headliner glue dries/cures. If it's something you add (like some kind of a tack strip), you'd need to be able to reinstall the trim pieces without interference.

It can be done, I'm sure, since I don't know if upholstery shops actually pull the glass when they do headliners or not. I'll bet they have their own techniques for doing it without removing the glass.

There are a couple of informative articles from Mustang Monthly and Mustangs & Fast Fords that give a pretty good idea of how it goes, with pictures even. This one's for a '73 fastback, but I'm guessing it's not all that different, except for the sail panels, tha is: http://www.mustangandfords.com/how-to/interior-electrical/headliner-install/

Hope that helps.

Thank you for the information!

Yes as Mister 4x4 said the glass needs to be pulled to do it correctly.

it is possible to tuck the headliner into the seal between the glass and the body, however it will not look right and you could start a water leak into the roof. the material has to be wrapped around the window ledge about 1/4-1/2", headliner tack glue is used to seal it to the ledge, then the window seal overlaps the headliner and the window ledge, you then have to force sealant between the glass and seal, and the seal and the ledge. I would recommend a glass company does the removal and install.

I did the glass removal and install on my car myself and i WOULD NOT DO IT AGAIN, was a nightmare.

the problem is when you pull the glass you open up a can of worms. usually the ledge is rotted bad and when you pull the glass out, even more of the original metal comes out, you find your water leak but then you have to deal with repair before the window can go back in.

when you pull the chrome trim you also find most of the clips are rotted out and need to be replaced, sometimes the studs for the clips are gone as well.

now if you go to an upholstery shop and pay them to do the install they know some tricks to make it go smoother and usually it looks pretty good.

I replaced my headliner without taking out the windows. You might as well try it. The worst that can happen is you don't have any luck doing it and maybe have to buy a new headliner. They are not that expensive. Once you start taking the windows out there is no turning back. My headliner came out as good as I expected. If I had taken it to a shop and they had done the job as good as I did I would be satisfied.