I've been struggling through the process of replacing my headliner. This is my first time ever. Here is a link that provided the nost info. I also used at least three other forum threads as reference to help me out too. Thank gawd I had this info or I would of been lost. Thanks guys.

http://www.netcolony.com/autos/fierofiend/Headliner.htm

Here is a before pic. As you can see my old headliner was totally trashed.

Basically, I found out there are four steps. 1) removal, 2) backboard cleanup and restoration, 3) gluing the headliner material onto the backboard then trimming, and 4) installation.

I have the first 3 steps done now. My backboard was a flimsy piece of "toast" to quote one of the forum members. Also, another member said to use a wire brush to clean up the old foam and glue off the board, but that just gouged the brittle board and plain didn't work for me. I used an old small nylon scrub brush instead which worked like a charm.

The narrow parts of the backboard were cracking and most of the edges were flaking off. I bought some fberglass cloth and a quart of fiberglass resin. I found out the hard way that you had to mix the resin and hardner up in small quantities and then work fast. After a lot of time applying this goo on one side, then letting it dry, and doing the other side, I was quite please with the result. The backboard is now stronger and better than new.

I spent a lot of time fitting and fussing and spraying 3M adhesive and cutting and tacking the headliner material down. But, my patience and all the time spent finally paid off. Here is an after pic.

I spent $15 on material (got extra for the sun visors), $7 for the super 77 spray adhesive, $7 for the fiberglass resin, and $4 for the fiberglass cloth and a couple cheapie paint brushes. Just about $35 total including tax. The shop quoted me $125 to do the job and I bet they would not of restored the backboard either.

Just one question now. The instructions say there are two rear clips by the back window that help hold up the headliner. I can't find these. Can someone describe them better? Maybe mine are missing? If they are gone, what should I do? Thanks.

i just did mine today and here's some advise i can give you...

--> those clips are only on 84 modles that didn't have the clothes hanger hooks in the rear

--> make sure that the fibre board is clean and solid... use a nail brush to get rid of all the foam and a cloth to rub off the exess glue you want to make sure the glue has new/clean material to stick to

--> rotten or flimsy parts of the board can be fixed with fibreglass resin and glass cloth. the area where the visors were was gone around the bolt triangle so i cut out some cardboard plugs and added two layers of "glass" to reinforce on the back side or the board, then simply cut the holes out for the visors

-->spray the glue on half the headliner at a time let it dry on both the fabric and the board and then work that half of fabric onto the boars working from the middle out, then repeat on the other side.

i'm kinda tired right now and high on glue fumes so if that was inclear then please ask again and i'll try my best to help out

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1986 GT 4spd> Suspension Techniques Springs, Poly Bushings, Bosal Brospeed 4.5" Exhaust Tips, Cross Drilled Rotors

[This message has been edited by The Aura (edited 08-12-2002).]

[This message has been edited by The Aura (edited 08-12-2002).]

Thanks, you answered my question about the clips. My Fiero is a 85, so it has the clothes hanger hooks. I'm trying to put it all back together right now. I can see where having a helper would work nicely at this point. By the way, I had already did everything else you mentioned (cleaning the foam off with a brush and repairing the backboard with fiberglass cloth and resin). As you can see from the "after" pic, the material is already glued on too.

quote Originally posted by batboy: I've been struggling through the process of replacing my headliner. This is my first time ever. Here is a link that provided the nost info. I also used at least three other forum threads as reference to help me out too. Thank gawd I had this info or I would of been lost. Thanks guys. http://www.netcolony.com/autos/fierofiend/Headliner.htm Here is a before pic. As you can see my old headliner was totally trashed. Basically, I found out there are four steps. 1) removal, 2) backboard cleanup and restoration, 3) gluing the headliner material onto the backboard then trimming, and 4) installation. I have the first 3 steps done now. My backboard was a flimsy piece of "toast" to quote one of the forum members. Also, another member said to use a wire brush to clean up the old foam and glue off the board, but that just gouged the brittle board and plain didn't work for me. I used an old small nylon scrub brush instead which worked like a charm. The narrow parts of the backboard were cracking and most of the edges were flaking off. I bought some fberglass cloth and a quart of fiberglass resin. I found out the hard way that you had to mix the resin and hardner up in small quantities and then work fast. After a lot of time applying this goo on one side, then letting it dry, and doing the other side, I was quite please with the result. The backboard is now stronger and better than new. I spent a lot of time fitting and fussing and spraying 3M adhesive and cutting and tacking the headliner material down. But, my patience and all the time spent finally paid off. Here is an after pic. I spent $15 on material (got extra for the sun visors), $7 for the super 77 spray adhesive, $7 for the fiberglass resin, and $4 for the fiberglass cloth and a couple cheapie paint brushes. Just about $35 total including tax. The shop quoted me $125 to do the job and I bet they would not of restored the backboard either. Just one question now. The instructions say there are two rear clips by the back window that help hold up the headliner. I can't find these. Can someone describe them better? Maybe mine are missing? If they are gone, what should I do? Thanks.

Nice Job! I plan to do mine sometime this fall. I've saved your instructions for when it's my turn! I just don't have the patience -- but I guess there's a first time for everything.

Well, I have the headliner back into place. The clothes hooks, dome light console, and sunroof are all reinstalled. But, two clips for the windshied piller trim are too mangled to hold, so looks like I'm on a mission tomorrow after work looking for a couple more plastic clips. Need to drop off my sun visors at the upholstery shop too. I have seat covers on the way along with a few other misc. interior replacement parts. This beast will never be a show car, but I hope at least the interior won't look quite so raggity. I'm thinking about maybe investing in some sort of cool steering wheel too.

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BATBOY
1985 SE auto with a 350 Chevy V8 engine (Batmobile)
lowered, suspension mods, Grand Am brakes and wheels,
Trans Am hood louvers, side air scoop, DGP front spoiler,
front mounted battery, custom gauges, stereo mods, etc.

my only comment is that I use contact cement instead of spray can glue. Its only $2 and will hold up far better when its hot out. Cars with sunroof may get by with spray can better, not too much weight or area just hanging on the glue. Ive seen spray can headliners fall down again within days, and you cant even pull it down with the contact glue if your trying.

I also heard that formica countertop adhesive works great too. I used 3M Super 77 spray adhesive and liberally saturated both the back of the fabric and the backboard. I've used this 3M stuff before at work for various projects and it seems to hold pretty good if applied right and allowed enougn time to cure. It's certainly easy to use. I guess time will tell. The new headliner sure looks so much better than the old crappy one. I hope it holds up for a few years.

Looks great!! About how long did it take you?

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Nick
AIM: Naskie182010
www.naskie18.com

I used the PERMATEX stuff. It comes in an orange spray can. I used the stuff that 4ever fieros sent me and it started coming unglued. Cant remember what brand it was. The Permatex stuff worked excellent. You'll know if the 3M sticks after about a week in the hot sun if its good or not.
Good Luck-


OUT>

[This message has been edited by G-Nasty (edited 08-13-2002).]

quote Originally posted by G-Nasty: OUT>

I have seen that sunroof cover in several show cars and am wondering where i might find one...my car doesnt have one at all and it can getquite irratating sitting in the sun all day

Fieroman

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I'm not sure how many hours I spent working on it. I took the necessary trim pieces off and pulled the headliner out on Friday evening. I spent most of Saturday (off and on between other chores) cleaning the backboard and restoring it with the fiberglass cloth and resin (most of the time was waiting for the stuff to dry). Part of Sunday was spent gluing and trimming the headliner material, then I let it cure over night. Monday evening I installed everything but the windshield piller trim (I had a couple mangled clips). I have to admit I worked slow and took lots of breaks. I found if I rush a job like this, I screw it up. Besides, it was hot out. Most folks could easily do it in a weekend, if you had all your materials bought in advance and were serious about doing it.

I've seen those sunroof inserts for sale occasionally, but they are getting quite rare. Maybe put the word out in the Mall and watch eBay.

Take some left over material and glue it on the back side of the corners where you cut it too much. If you let it setup it should hold up till you have more time to redo it. Just a thought, I did the GT but didn’t have to reinforce the board. Sure make a difference. Nice job.

[This message has been edited by Jake_Dragon (edited 08-13-2002).]

I saw a suede headliner on a new M5 the other day, thought it was the coolest thing since sliced bread! (maybe second-coolest, but it was cool!)

I'll have to do one on a Fiero now.

Best!
Ben.

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Ben Cannon
88 Formula, T-top, Metalic Red. (2:13.138 at Sears Point) "Every Man Dies, not every man really Lives"
88 Formula, Northstar, Silver, In-Progreess. -Mel Gibson, "Braveheart"

batboy,

Good luck with the 3M #77 glue. I used it (wet it down very well on both surfaces) and the next Summer, the material let loose. Since I had a sunroof, there was very little sag, so unless I pressed it, it looked OK.

If you still have it out of the car, you might want to re-do it with stronger glue.

-L
http://www.webelectricproducts.com/products.htm - Sequential Turn Signals, Daytime Running Lights, Rapid Flashing Brake Light

make sure that there aren't any leaks in the windshield or rear window and that all the roof bolts are tight to ensure no leaks ruining the new liner....

tip i forgot to mention

quote Originally posted by lawrence: batboy, Good luck with the 3M #77 glue. I used it (wet it down very well on both surfaces) and the next Summer, the material let loose. Since I had a sunroof, there was very little sag, so unless I pressed it, it looked OK. If you still have it out of the car, you might want to re-do it with stronger glue. -L

I concur. I went to the fabric store to get headliner material and some material for a "secret project" and almost bought the 3m 77 glue because of this thread. Luckily, the can at the fabric store had more packaging than usual, and on this packaging it clearly stated that it was not for use on headliner material and that it would lose its adhesive properties after exposure to high heat levels.

quote Originally posted by batboy: I can't believe it, after all the time and effort, I screwed it up. Bah!

Don't feel too bad about it, happens to the best of us

(I just wouldn't point it out until you had a chance to fix it, if it's really bothering you that is)

Tina
BTW Looks pretty darn good from the pic's

FWIW, I used contact cement when I redid my gold car's headliner, and it is still holding. Also, I used a thick gold "feltlike" cloth from Wal*Mart, since I didn't care that it should look like the OE headliner material. The felt stuff matched the look of the carpet on the firewall behind the seats, so I thought it fit right it.

My big boo-boo: got a daub of that black sealant from the back window area on the new headliner. Oh, well - it's not too noticeable from the inside, and it looks a lot better than the old saggy headliner!

I did mine in Black Vinyl to match the interior which I just painted black and it looks awesome. I used contact cement and for some reason the vinyl wouldn't hold the board with the contact cement. So I went out and bought 3M super 90 for formica counter tops and it worked great. So now I have a contact cement/ 3M counter top glue bond. We shall see how well it holds. I bet it'll never come off with all that glue. Check out the pics https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum1/HTML/020749.html...

This headliner job appears simple and lulls one into a false sense of confidence. It's been agravating and led me to suspect supernatural forces were conspiring against me.

Episode one: Used Pep boys headliner kit and their spray adhesive. A summer day about a year later I had that strange feeling on my head again.
Episode two: Peeled back the headliner at the back and brushed in some contact cement thinking I could save the material. The can of cement had instructions which couldn't be followed under the circumstances. It looked good......for awhile till it drooped again.
Episode three: Bought some 3M Hi-Strength 90 spray adhesive and got a fresh piece of material. It's been a few summer months now and I have hope it'll last.

Fieros really don't need headliners.
Ever been to a restaurant were the ceiling has exposed pipes and ducts etc?
Craig

quote Originally posted by crgkstnr: Fieros really don't need headliners. Ever been to a restaurant were the ceiling has exposed pipes and ducts etc?

True enough - I drove mine around that way while I was working on the headliner. The wires to the 3rd brake light and overhead console show, though. Didn't look like one of your better restaurants .

Was busy working on a P-4 computer for a friend tonight, but I took enough time off to glue in a tiny triangle shaped piece of material into one corner of the sunroof like Jake-Dragon suggested. It don't look too bad. better than what it was. Makes my mistake a lot less noticeable. Think I'll do the other three corners now, then as Tina wisely suggested, just not point it out to people. Eventually, I'll probably pull it all out and fix it right. I might try that formica adhesive when I do the next one.

ok how come he has one of those shade thingys for the sunroof i live in tx and would almost kill for one, i give up whereda get?

thnx

you can pm me if u wish

Mine is done and sitting behind my in my office.. Took 6$ for material, 7$ for 3m glue. And about 10 mins.

I dont get it. This is the only part of my interior I got right the first time.

Trade you, I'll do your headliner, you come paint my door panels for me.

JesterFox

I finished slicing some tiny pieces of material into the sunroof corners and installed my sun visors. I took the ratty looking old sun visors to an upholstery shop with some of the extra new headliner material I had left over. They refinished the sun visors for $12 each. I think it looks pretty good. Unless you look hard, the sun roof corners are not "too" noticeable now. Here is a pic.

quote Originally posted by connecticutFIERO: https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum1/HTML/020749.html...

Your link don't work for me....

Edit: I found out why.. you ahve dots at the end try this link if you want to see it. https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum1/HTML/020749.html
Cory

[This message has been edited by CoryFiero (edited 08-17-2002).]