Installation Instructions for New Headliner

[4402tuff4u]

I'm not ready for it right now, however I'm getting the stuff ready to either have someone do it or do it myself. There is a big interior installer/restoration shop that my auto body shop works with called Automat here in LI, NY and he's quoted me $ 300 for installation only. I did a search here to see if someone had ever posted instructions on how to install. I also checked Moparts and did not find any. Does anyone have instructions on how to install a new headliner? If it's very difficult, then I'll sub it out. Thanks, Mike 

[69chargeryeehaa]

I'm not ready for it right now, however I'm getting the stuff ready to either have someone do it or do it myself. There is a big interior installer/restoration shop that my auto body shop works with called Automat here in LI, NY and he's quoted me $ 300 for installation only. I did a search here to see if someone had ever posted instructions on how to install. I also checked Moparts and did not find any. Does anyone have instructions on how to install a new headliner? If it's very difficult, then I'll sub it out. Thanks, Mike 

$300 seems steep, i guess it all depends on who you call.  it's not very hard to do, i've done mine and it's about 98% perfect.  the key is paitence, and measure 8 -16 times, and cut once!!!.  basically take your old one out, keep the bows in order, and install then in the new headliner.  it really helps if you have a helper for the next step.  then put the first bow in the car starting from the front, and get someone to hold it in place, working your way back, install the headliner bows undil you hit the back window.  then while your assistant is holding the front, streach the headliner, and put the headliner in the back on the "teeth" making sure you pull hard.  start from the center, work your way out.  once your done the back, go and do the same to the front.  by the way it really helps if it's a warm day, and the headliner was sitting in the sun for a bit.  then once your done putting in the front, check if you have enough material in the back, and the sail pannel flaps reach all the way down.  now comes the fun part, the sides, i used 3M vinyl glue in a spray can (you can get it at home depot)  it worked very well, dries fast.  you may have to cut the loop that the bows run in about 1" or so on each side to get it perfect.  pull it by hand and see if you need to cut it.  have someone hold the other side while you pull so you don't move the headliner.  then once your satasified with the cut of the loop, start glueing, only do about a foot on one side, and then go to the other side, working a foot at a time, don't worry about the front by the curve until last.  work your way all the way to the back, then attack the sail pannels and side of the rear glass, it helps to remove the rear window shelf.  leave about 2" of material on the end around the windows, and tuck it in the space behind the "teeth" strip.  at each step it helps to use a heat gun before you pull the headliner, carefull it burns the vinyl fast, so don't stay in one spot for more than a second.  then once your done the rear, finish off the front corners, and your done.  using a heatgun at the end very carefully and a rag to run over it right after you heat it gets rid of all the fold lines.  oh and one more thing, before you do the headliner, familerize yourself with the dome light, rear view mirror, and sun visor mounts before you start the headliner.  when your done the whole headliner, you just need to "feel" for the mounting holes and install all your stuff.  i left my sun visors off, just cause it looks cleaner, i can allways put them on if i want.  my new windshield has a tint bar on the top, and i like the look of a clean headliner without sunvisors.  the key is work SLOW, take your time, plan ahead, do lots of test fitting, pull good and see how the headliner fits before you glue it to the rain channel.  i like the 3M glue, it worked very well, good thing about it is that the glue will come thru the holes on the headliner, but if you let it dry and use a rag to whipe it off it balls up and comes right off with no residue.  hope my description helps.  like i said it's not hard, just delicate.  oh and when you cut the bow loops cut a little at a time, then test, cut more, test, if you cut too much your screwed, and you have to sew it back up.  make sure you have lots of new sharp exacto knives.  helps if it's a warm day, or put it in a garage, and run a space heater in the car with the headliner hanging in the car from the bows only, you'll sweat like a pig but the headliner will be much eaiser to work with.  good luck.

[4402tuff4u]

Very thorough instructions - thank you very much. The only part I'm still kind of lost is the "cut the loops..." The part that sucks in my situation is that the Charger came without a headliner. I have the old one with the bows in it rolled up in a corner of the garage. I noticed that the tips are painted different colors on the bow, so that must mean something. Do you know how many bows there are? Want to makesure I'm not missing any.  I'm also kind of lost on how the headliner is fasten and finished at the sail panels. If anyone has a picture, it will probably makes things a bit clearer.  Thanks again.

[69chargeryeehaa]

the "loops" are the fabric channels that the bows go into, they are a little longer then needed and they have to be cut when your installing them,  otherwise the headliner will bunch up at the curve going down to the rain channel.  one other thing, the 3M glue is really good because if you make a mistake, you can peel it off and glue it again.  don't trim anything until your completely done.  the rear sail pannels glue all the way along the window opening, and all around the rear window there is a strip of "teeth" that you puncture the headliner on and that's what holds it in place, it's quite obvious when you do it.  glue the channel first, make sure you test by pulling the headliner in place from both ends before you glue, the glue edge is not pulled tight on the rear sail pannels, you just want to follow the contour of the window opening, and the pulling of the rear sail pannel flap is when your putting it on the "teeth" on the sides of the rear window, then glue the headliner at the base of the sail pannel, and pull it while glueing, the glue dries in about 5-10 mins, so you have to hold it there, and that's why you only work about a foot at a time.  you could clamp it, i just prefer to hold it and pull while it dries.  keep the bows in order, some are longer than others, i can't remember how many there are, i think 6? i could be wrong, you just have to make sure you have all the bows in and there is no left over loops without bows in the headliner. 

[4402tuff4u]

I get it now! So the headliner edges on the rear, by the rear window, get hooked to the teeth on the trim. The front and sides get glued to the edge, right? Thanks again.

[69chargeryeehaa]

I get it now! So the headliner edges on the rear, by the rear window, get hooked to the teeth on the trim. The front and sides get glued to the edge, right? Thanks again.

yes, and then you glue the rear flaps to the base of the sail pannel, at least that's how i did it, looks really good.   

[PocketThunder]

I get it now! So the headliner edges on the rear, by the rear window, get hooked to the teeth on the trim. The front and sides get glued to the edge, right? Thanks again.

yes, and then you glue the rear flaps to the base of the sail pannel, at least that's how i did it, looks really good.   

So the headliner gets glued to the base of the sail panel, right where there is about a 1 inch lip of metal comming up from the package tray? 

what was the cardboard in the sail panel areas for?  sound?

I'm going to do this on Sunday proabably, it cant be too hard now that you mention it.   And it costs $250 for me to get it done here where i live.

[69chargeryeehaa]

the headliner gets glud where the roof rail meats the inside, theres a lip, after you take out the trim where the seals go into, it's under there.  my carboard was eaten and all crappy looking, so i left it out, but i only drive it in the summer so it really doesnt matter to me. good luck

[charger01]

How did this turn out for you guys.  any pics.  Going to attempt it myself sooon.

[K9COP]

My advice? Buy 'PROJECT CHARGER' By Larry Lyles. Step by step for a resto on the hole car. Sweet as...

[mister bungle]

I know it is not from a Charger, but maybe you can find some intresting hints in this article
http://xcs.net/67CougarHeadlinerReplacement.pdf

Good luck

[K9COP]

Shame I can't spell 'whole' but you get what I mean..

[PocketThunder]

How did this turn out for you guys.  any pics.  Going to attempt it myself sooon.

Not worth a crap.  hire it out for $250. 

[gtx6970]

Yep, been there done that, won't do it again. NEXT time I'll just write the ck.


BUT, I cheated currently  the NEXT one doesn't neeeeeed a headliner

[Dave22443]

I'm getting ready to do this on my sons car (1970 Satellite) as his liner is completely trashed.  If successful, I was thinking about doing my car ('68 Charger) because my original one, while still in good shape, is starting to show its age.

There is a place I can go to to get it done, but the directions above didn't sound that hard to me.  By the last comments though, is this something I should reconsider and have farmed out?  I would really rather do it myself if at all possible.

[Runner]

I'm getting ready to do this on my sons car (1970 Satellite) as his liner is completely trashed.  If successful, I was thinking about doing my car ('68 Charger) because my original one, while still in good shape, is starting to show its age.

There is a place I can go to to get it done, but the directions above didn't sound that hard to me.  By the last comments though, is this something I should reconsider and have farmed out?  I would really rather do it myself if at all possible.

  if your patient and take yuour time im sure you can do a nice job. they arent hard persay but you will be spending hours working with your hands over your head so it can be a little physical.      i wouldnt pay anyone to do mine, but i sure wouldnt volenteer to do them for just anyone  lol.

[Shakey]

There are many items on my car that I have taken on myself and for a first time restoration, I feel that things are going smoothly.  There are certain items that I will leave to the pros and the headliner is one of them as it is not something that should it start to sag a few months after getting the car on the raod, that you can simply pull into the garage and fix in an hour or two.

I'm farming it out along with my vinyl top.

[Dave22443]

I actually did do my own vinyl top on my Charger.  The shop down the road wanted $300 labor plus materials and they said I had to do all the chrome removal and install because they didn't want to be responsible for messing up any hard to replace parts.  The material cost me $100 so I figured I had at least 3 chances to get it right before I lost money on it.

The first top I put on looked really good, but I screwed up trimming it around the back window.  The 2nd top however is perfect 

[Runner]

shakey, seeing the pics of your car im sure your can do both.i did  headliners in my 71 and 72 plymouth both looked great, i did vinyl top on my daughters 69 bee clone and again on our 72 satellite  both turned out nice imo.


  as far as headliners go, they are faily inexpensive so if you did mess it up you could always buy a new one and still be money in the bank.