Hello, I have to replace the headliner of a '68 Riviera. I still have a new custom headliner, ready to install. Questions: Who did replace a headliner before? Is it a tough job? Who can give my good and useful advises and tips? Is it realistic to do such a job by myself or do I need a few hands to help me? Thank you very much for your help. :beers2: Rivdriver (from Germany)
I know this is an old post but I did my headliner yesterday and wanna post my experience before I forget. I read everything I could find online about installing these bow-type liners before I started. It seemed really hard. It really wasnt. All you need is a phillips head screwdriver, scissors, contact cement, 24 binder clips, a razor blade, clean hands and alot of patience. Day 1: I ironed as many of the box wrinkles as I could out of the new liner and laid it out flat. Then I removed all the trim, mirror, visors, and shoulder belts. I left the sail panels in, but probably shouldnt have. It made the install a little harder. I put the screws for the mirror, visors, trim, and belts back in the holes so Id be able to find them behind the new liner. Then I carefully removed the old liner from where it was stapled to the tack strips. If you arent careful, youll pull the tack strip from the roof, and have to glue it back in. Try to keep the tack strip in place, cuz youll need it to install the new liner. Also, a ton of old insulation fell on me and my interior. Not much I could do about it. Try not to inhale or swallow any. Okay, then I took out the screws that hold the ends of the bows to the roof. I put the screws back in the holes they came out of, to remember which holes to use and not lose the screws. The middle bow is held in with metal tangs and has to be removed differently. I took the headliner out with the bows in it, so that I could put the bows in the new liner just as they were in the old one (I read that if you get the bows mixed up, youre screwed). Then I put the new headliner in starting with the middle bow. Screwed in the other bows, and my new liner was hanging like a curtain. That was the first night, 3-4 hours total. Day 2: I waited for a warm day to finish the install, since I read that heat helps the headliner stretch out. Then I got a hairdryer, heated up the liner, and stapled it to the tack strip. I worked my way out from the middle of the strips. First I did the back, then the front. Then I fastened the liner to the sides using 2 dozen tiny binder clips, blow-drying as I went. I had to cut away at the ends of the fabric bow guides that hold the bows to the liner to get it as tight as possible. I also had to kind of bust-out the tops of the sail panels to tuck and staple the liner in behind them. When I finished, it was still saggy. I used the hairdryer on the wrinkles (mostly in the corners), pulled them tight and re-stapled them to the tack strips, then re-did the sides again, blow-drying, pulling, and re-binder clipping. After this, it looked pretty darned good. In the front and back, theres of roof between the tack strips and glass. Thats where I put my contact cement. I used a very thin coat on both the roof and the inside liner. You better believe I was careful not to spill a drop on my dash or package tray! Also, dont glue your liner to the glass. Waited for the cement to get tacky and pressed the liner against the roof. With the staples holding the liner in, the contact cement held the edges in no problem. I washed my hands after this to keep from putting gluey fingerprints on my brand new liner. While the cement set, I cleaned up my trim pieces, mirror, and visors. Having the screws in the original roof holes helped in putting them back in. Then I used a razor blade to trim the excess liner from between the trim and the glass. All that took about 3-4 hours. I wanted to finish the sides, but we had steak for dinner last night, and Im never late for steak. Apart from a few very tiny wrinkles, the liner looks factory-installed. I understand that the small wrinkles work their way out over a year or so. My old visors and sail panels dont perfectly match my new liner, but my cars a driver, so whatever. i hope this helps. :beer
supplements: http://www.iola.com/71nova/headliner.html http://www.autorestorer.com/articles/art121.html http://www.upholster.com/auto/headliners-installation.html http://reviews.ebay.com/Installing-Classic-Headliner-Installation-Instructions_W0QQugidZ10000000000075557 http://www.hotrod.com/howto/76318_headliner_installation/index.html
Yesterday I spent 2 hrs doing the sides. Put my contact cement (very carefully) along the metal rim, heated the liner up with the blow-dryer, pulled and tugged and binder clipped the liner to the rim as tight as I could. Let it sit while I cleaned the trim piece, then pulled off the clips and pushed on the big chrome piece. Then did the same on the other side. The hardest part was getting the trim piece to bite on the metal rim correctly. Ran my razor blade through the groove there and trimmed the excess. Drank a beer. :beer There are a few itsy-bitsy wrinkles I want to get out, possibly with a spray bottle of water and heat gun. I heard that works. Also Im glad I didnt do the sail panels because they wouldve been noticeably darker than the seats, and they also look pretty difficult to get right without a sewing machine.
I need a source for a 66Riv headliner to maintain the stock look. Not looking for anything custom - just stock replacement. Are there NOS suppliers? thx!
bought mine from GOLINERS on ebay. it looks 100% OEM, but obviously not as faded as my sail panels and visors. :beers2: hope this helps.
