DIRTIEST, NASTIEST PROJECT EVER
 

Hey guys, i've got to tell you about today. First of all, I am 50 years old, been a homeowner for 23 years and have rebuilt/restored 5 vehicles. I've had plenty of dirty jobs, but today was the worst yet. Today's project: Removing the jute insulation that was under the headliner. That stuff is disgusting. I thought it would come down in large pieces---HA! Mine came down as dust. I scraped on that junk for 4 hours. Here I am sweaty, sticky, and stinky with 42 year old brown, smelly dust all over me. I had that stuff in my nose, in my ears, in my teeth, between my toes, everywhere. Goggles were all fogged up from sweating, outside of my mask turned brown--you get the picture. My advice to anyone currently restoring a vehicle: Take down the jute insulation BEFORE you prime and paint your car and plan on throwing away your clothes when done. New headliner is on it's way, and I wasn't about to install it over top of that old stuff. Got some Fat Mat to put up. I just wonder if upholstery shops take the time to remove the old insulation before putting on the new headliner. Oh well, think I'll go shower AGAIN. David

Heh-heh! I know that one! I went with a couple guys to spring Carlisle swap meet one year in my 68 Satellite that had the headliner torn. I had it pinned up with safety pins, and every time you got in the car you had to 'adjust' them. Well, we had pulled close to an all-nighter, left early in the morning, was still fairly cool out, hung-over, and we were a bit cranking. On the way up one of the guys got sick of dealing with the headliner, and jerked a big section down. This created a large 'cloud' since we had the vent windows open (remember those things!?!). We gave him so much of a hard time, to shut us up, he scratched the roof, creating even a greater cloud! We had to roll the windows down, and for a good hour we scratched at the roof! We were freezing! By the time we got there, our eyebrows and mustaches and hair were covered in insulation! It got hot that day, and walking around we did nothing but sweat & itch!

A quality shop vac would have done wonders to remove the loose stuff perhaps ? When I replaced my headliner it was not too bad for the mice already had it all in nice neat little piles for me throughout the roof top.

Tim john---

Oh yeah, I forgot about the mice skeletons and poop. I wonder if I caught some dreaded rodent disease today. Makes you wonder how many people are driving around with rodent carcasses in their headliner. David

Wow! Something to look forward to. I have this as one of my projects this fall.
Anyone volunteer to take my place?

I'm just going to cover it with roll on bedliner when the time comes.

You described my ordeal with the '69 Grand Prix job under the headliner. What a mess!!. I thought about a disease from mice crap too!??

Is it wise to use Dynamat or something intead of the jute padding?

That is a future project for me too. One that I am not looking forward to. Let us know how the fatmat works. I hope it will cool the car down in the summer sun.
Jon

Hey guys I removed all that nasty #%@*+ stuff after I had already stripped down the rest of the cars insides (getting ready to take the body off the frame) with a pressure washer it allows you to stay back and away from any rodent diseases :gag: and also does a pretty nice job of taking it all down and easier to get over the roof braces!! I realize this method can't be used unless the car is gutted for the electrical reasons but it is nice if it is
HO

A couple of weeks ago I spent a few hours removing the undercoating from the rear wheelwells of my T/A. Came out each time coated in black crap and dirt, and blew black crap out of my nose for a few days. Got a blister on the palm of my hand from the putty knife. Still have the rest of the underside to go :(

Been there, done that - bought a convertible the next time!! :D