Installing a Headliner

[sm3570]

Reposting this for all members.

 


I got this off of www.stangnet.com (user Platonic Solid). It's for a fastback but the steps should be similar to other models.

Headliner was like $39 or $49 for the kit, headliner, windlace and glue. Yes, the winshield and back glass HAS to be removed for this process. It took about 4 hours to do. This car was totally disassembled, so I am not counting the removal of the old headliner, glass, etc. We are in the process of putting it back together after a 9 month total uni-frame up restomod.

Trick One...lay the headliner spread out in the sun to make soft and stretchy, and take the folds out of it

Trick Two...DO NOT USE the spray on glue, 3M brand for the headliner. This stuff is great for glueing the foam up before the headliner, but don't use it for glueing the edges of the headliner. Go to an upholstry shop and buy (I don't know the brand name) headliner adhesive. They had it in 5 gallon cans, took a pint mason jar and they GAVE me a half pint! This STUFF WORKS. Brush on lightly to the metal, and to the headliner, let it tack off, and IT WILL STICK!!!

Trick Three...The bows go in a certain place!! They are color coded if you look real close. On the drivers side of the bows, the bare steel is first, RED is second, WHITE is third, and BLUE is last.

Trick Four...The two little wires that go from the back bow to the back winshield, about 4 inches long, MUST be reused. They hold the back bow in place so you can stretch out the headliner from the front.

Trick Five...Have lot's of patience and start glueing at the front center and work out the front left and front right, then go to the back and pull tight, starting at the center and back left and back right....keep it tight down the middle.

Trick Six...Then go back and pull out to the door openings and around the rear sail panel.....go slow and work six to eight inches at a time....DO NOT RUSH IT.

Trick Seven...Sunvisor and Mirror and coat hooks...install the screws before starting and install the headliner over them....makes them much easier to find later. Simply find the screws, make a small hole with an awl, and unscrew them. you have a perfect template to re-install the mirror, sunvisors and coathooks.

Trick Eight...Use new winshield and back glass gaskets. Install the gaskets on the glass first. Take a 3/8" nylon rope and press down in the gasket groove thats supposed to mount to the metal lip so that the rope comes together at the bottom center of the glass. Make sure to press the rope in the groove so that the rope has disappeared down in the groove. Spray, no WET the gaskets down with windex, silcon, etc, lay the glass in place, (THIS TAKES TWO PEOPLE), and get someone from the OUTSIDE to gently press down at the bottom center of the glass while you start pulling out the rope, making sure the person on the outside presses down following the rope as it comes out. Do center to left to the A pillar, the center to right to the A piller, in other words, do the bottom first, then work around each side. As you are pulling out the rope, it pulls the gasket edge over the metal lip, and when you pull the last bit of rope out, your winshield is in place. This whole process takes only about 15 minutes!!!

There are other tips and tricks, but I can't think of any more right now.

 

[rob73stang]

great article , me and sons next project is headliner ,,, question does roof drip rails need to be removed ???, i just did one side before i thought about headliner ,, gonna leave windshield in and have back glass out ,,,

 

[sm3570]

It'd make it easier to remove the drip rails but probably not 100% necessary. A lot of people don't even remove the front/rear windows (I know you're leaving the front in) so I imagine that leaving the drip rails on is probably o.k. Keep in mind that I pulled that article off of someone else's post from another site, and that will be one project I'm tackling when the Mustang is back from the body shop. But my whole car is dismantled so I don't ahve to worry about trim.

 

[sm3570]

Alright, since I just finished the headliner job, here's my $0.02:

1) It was MUCH easier with all windows removed.

2) The window trim needs to come out since the headliner gets glued underneath the trim.

3) I used spray headliner adhesive and it worked fine. I was just careful to minimize the overspray.

4) The rods on my car went from shortest in front to longest in rear. In that order.

5) Spray the adhesive in strips a couple feet long. Get it on both the metal and the fabric. Let it tack, pull it tight and press them together. Check for wrinkles; if there are wrinkles, pull the headliner off the metal, pull the fabric tighter, and lay it back down. Work your way from the middle of the windshield, around each side, toward the rear. WORK SLOW!! PULL OUT WRINKLES IF YOU SEE ANY!! It took me about 4 hours of total time.

6) As you are gluing it in, if you have to cut the rod sleeves to get the headliner tighter, do it.

If anyone has any questions, PM me. It wasn't too difficult of a job, just a little time consuming.

ETA: there are two retaining wires that hook from the rear window "frame" to the rearmost rod. Use those. Also, choose the rod mounting holes that get the rods close to the ceiling insulation but not too tight, otherwise the rods will flip over and it's a huge pain in the butt.