[Firedup6975]

Anyone replace the headliner with the kits the parts Companies sell? My headliner seems fine but it’s sagging and the foam is deteriorated and the dust comes down when you touch it. Any suggestions? This is for the red non t top car we just got.

[TAKerry]

Needs replaced. The foam dry rots and separates from the backer board. Need to take the surrounding trim off, pull the dome light, and the entire headliner board will come down. From there the board needs cleaned really good and its just a matter of some glue and a new piece of material. Easy Peasy. Ive never done one with glass in place so Im not sure how it would come out of the car. I suppose the other option is to do it in place. I used a 3m adhesive on mine and it has held up well. I know you guys like to do stuff yourself, but a couple of years ago my son had a new headliner put in his cadillac. An upholstery guy did the job in an afternoon and charged something like $300 including material. If I could find a shop that would do it in place for that kind of money I would be all over it.

[TAKerry]

Sorry MA, I suppose I didnt answer your question. I dont think you need a 'Kit', just some replacement material from Ames. Be careful on removal, the backer board most likely just needs cleaned of the old stuff. 3m makes the glue for application.

[78w72]

yes you can do as takerry mentioned & remove the headliner & locate the perforated vinyl material & re-glue it to the board if its in good shape. the board will come right out with the glass in place, just remove the trim pieces & dome light.

the other option is to buy the complete headliner that uses ABS plastic for the backer instead of cardboard, they are pretty cheap & look & install good. & as usual summit or jegs will usually have the best prices on these compared to other sellers...

https://www.summitracing.com/search/...978%20firebird

https://www.jegs.com/i/PUI/233/74FHC...SABEgKj2_D_BwE

[Firedup6975]

Originally Posted by 78w72

yes you can do as takerry mentioned & remove the headliner & locate the perforated vinyl material & re-glue it to the board if its in good shape. the board will come right out with the glass in place, just remove the trim pieces & dome light.

the other option is to buy the complete headliner that uses ABS plastic for the backer instead of cardboard, they are pretty cheap & look & install good. & as usual summit or jegs will usually have the best prices on these compared to other sellers...

https://www.summitracing.com/search/...978%20firebird

https://www.jegs.com/i/PUI/233/74FHC...SABEgKj2_D_BwE

I saw Firebird Central sells the pre cut cloth and the glue. This car only has 30,000 miles on it and the headliner itself seems to be ok other then the foam dust that comes out of it when you touch it you can see from my picture how it is sagging. I’m worried if I get new cloth it won’t match that white.

[Firedup6975]

Originally Posted by 78w72

yes you can do as takerry mentioned & remove the headliner & locate the perforated vinyl material & re-glue it to the board if its in good shape. the board will come right out with the glass in place, just remove the trim pieces & dome light.

the other option is to buy the complete headliner that uses ABS plastic for the backer instead of cardboard, they are pretty cheap & look & install good. & as usual summit or jegs will usually have the best prices on these compared to other sellers...

https://www.summitracing.com/search/...978%20firebird

https://www.jegs.com/i/PUI/233/74FHC...SABEgKj2_D_BwE

Oh and thank you for the links, but I don’t do cheap on my cars. I waited 13 years to find GM quarters for my 69. Found a set still in the GM boxes with the GM stickers on the backs.

[Aus78Formula]

I'd order the material in a roll so it doesn't have permanent creases and cut it yourself rather than someone else guess for you. It's perforated vinyl not cloth, so it never matches the painted metal trim or molded plastic, or plain vinyl sun visors.

[Aus78Formula]

I'd order the material in a roll so it doesn't have permanent creases and cut it yourself or the upholstery shop, rather than someone else guess for you. It's perforated vinyl not cloth, so it never matches the painted metal trim, molded plastic, or plain vinyl sun visors perfectly. Just get the right off-white to match as much as it does already. Back in the day I got my material from Fbody Warehouse when run by enthusiast Pete, can't imagine doing so now.

I haven't seen any of the repro roof boards that are any good, but there was a recent version that sounded like it may at least have somewhat of a concave shape rather than just flat. If your original is intact in any way I'd still use it and patch up long before replacing

[78w72]

Originally Posted by Firedup6975

Oh and thank you for the links, but I don’t do cheap on my cars. I waited 13 years to find GM quarters for my 69. Found a set still in the GM boxes with the GM stickers on the backs.

"cheap" doesnt mean cheap quality, it means a better lower price than many other retailers... these are the same parts most retailers sell, why would you want to pay more for the same part? yes NOS GM are the best parts but for things like headliners & many other items they arent really out there as NOS anymore & you have the same places like PUI & OER etc making parts, then big retailers just sell them at whatever price they want.

just trying to save you some money by showing you who has the lowest prices for parts you ask about... kind of like the carpet you asked about on facebook awhile back, you got prices from places like that graveyard guy for $50 or more than what i mentioned at rock auto, for the same exact part. i prefer to be a smart shopper & buy from the place with the lowest price.

[Firedup6975]

Originally Posted by 78w72

"cheap" doesnt mean cheap quality, it means a better lower price than many other retailers... these are the same parts most retailers sell, why would you want to pay more for the same part? yes NOS GM are the best parts but for things like headliners & many other items they arent really out there as NOS anymore & you have the same places like PUI & OER etc making parts, then big retailers just sell them at whatever price they want.

just trying to save you some money by showing you who has the lowest prices for parts you ask about... kind of like the carpet you asked about on facebook awhile back, you got prices from places like that graveyard guy for $50 or more than what i mentioned at rock auto, for the same exact part. i prefer to be a smart shopper & buy from the place with the lowest price.

They don’t show the color on either site, I can’t compare the white so it matches my interior. I appreciate you trying to help, I meant no dis respect!! I have not had good luck on product quality with some of these companies. And I try and get as close to factory as possible. I also need to see the color and perforation pattern on the headliner. I am very particular maybe a bit to much lol.

[Aus78Formula]

X2 shop around, know what you are getting and who actually makes the parts. Many big name shops still sell the same items but make it look like it's their own product by failing to mention it. NOS doesn't always mean good or original either, many parts produced as spares did not match originals or outsourced production, can be fine if you know what you are getting.
Likewise, not all brands will have all colours or trim types, always good to order from someone who knows what you have to help select correctly.

[Firedup6975]

Originally Posted by Aus78Formula

I'd order the material in a roll so it doesn't have permanent creases and cut it yourself or the upholstery shop, rather than someone else guess for you. It's perforated vinyl not cloth, so it never matches the painted metal trim, molded plastic, or plain vinyl sun visors perfectly. Just get the right off-white to match as much as it does already. Back in the day I got my material from Fbody Warehouse when run by enthusiast Pete, can't imagine doing so now.

I haven't seen any of the repro roof boards that are any good, but there was a recent version that sounded like it may at least have somewhat of a concave shape rather than just flat. If your original is intact in any way I'd still use it and patch up long before replacing

Yes the board is near perfect. The foam is toast!

[Firedup6975]

My hope in posting for help here is, that someone has replaced their headliner and can give me a review and source to a best quality product. I show my cars so I want it as right as rain.

[78w72]

Originally Posted by Firedup6975

They don’t show the color on either site, I can’t compare the white so it matches my interior. I appreciate you trying to help, I meant no dis respect!! I have not had good luck on product quality with some of these companies. And I try and get as close to factory as possible. I also need to see the color and perforation pattern on the headliner. I am very particular maybe a bit to much lol.

no disrespect taken, just wanted to clarify what i meant by cheap.

many places like this will send you a sample of the material/color. but as mentioned above, different materials will never be a perfect match & these interiors werent perfectly matched when new, dashes were different colors than seats or metal trim etc etc. especially after 40+ years of sun fade. just gotta deal with whats available if you are buying repro parts.

[Firedup6975]

Originally Posted by 78w72

no disrespect taken, just wanted to clarify what i meant by cheap.

many places like this will send you a sample of the material/color. but as mentioned above, different materials will never be a perfect match & these interiors werent perfectly matched when new, dashes were different colors than seats or metal trim etc etc. especially after 40+ years of sun fade. just gotta deal with whats available if you are buying repro parts.

Yeah I have bought many repo parts found very few that are actually the same or better then factory. I never thought about getting a sample good idea. We also don’t have upholstery guys here that do classic cars anymore. The guy that did my convertible top only does new insurance claim cars now.

[vertigto]

I've found that SMS has the most accurate offerings...although not cheap.

https://smsautofabrics.com/

[Firedup6975]

Originally Posted by vertigto

I've found that SMS has the most accurate offerings...although not cheap.

https://smsautofabrics.com/

Thanks!

[455Grandville]

Originally Posted by Firedup6975

I saw Firebird Central sells the pre cut cloth and the glue. This car only has 30,000 miles on it and the headliner itself seems to be ok other then the foam dust that comes out of it when you touch it you can see from my picture how it is sagging. I’m worried if I get new cloth it won’t match that white.

If the material is in good shape it can be reused.
Mine started sagging and I had a mobile guy fix it as I’ve seen some replacements that didn’t look right.

[Firedup6975]

Originally Posted by 455Grandville

If the material is in good shape it can be reused.
Mine started sagging and I had a mobile guy fix it as I’ve seen some replacements that didn’t look right.

Yes the material itself is in great condition, the foam deteriorated and it’s sagging. We don’t have people that do mobile things like that here, and the one guy that did work on classics don’t anymore because he’d rather just do insurance claim cars. I guess we’ll just get the proper glue and try and do it ourselves. We just did a t top car ourselves and that turned out real nice.

[TAKerry]

I know the new stuff has the foam backing attached to the fabric. I would surmise thats how the original was as well. So, if yours is crumbling and falling loose I dont see how its in great shape. The foam is the part that dry rots and degrades over time. Simply putting the fabric direct on the board wont be correct. I suppose one could make sure the fabric was perfectly cleaned of all the old foam and glue new foam to the fabric, then glue that back to the headliner board.