Satellitecentral

OK Guys,
Looking for advice ,
I just recently bought a 66 Dynamic 88 4 Door, the Head Liner is Trash, I mean TRASHED, ripped falling down , etc

My Question is,
Is it in your opinion a Doable job , with a Kit bought on line for a Novice ?
If so what type/where have any off you bought yours an how bad was it to do
Just looking for some thoughts on the project

Regards
Paul

Olds64

I have heard this is a doable project for someon with experience turning a wrench. You can get kits from Kanter to redo the headliner. I have just heard that the key to putting in an early style headliner is taking your time and pulling it tight when you insert the rods into the car.

Bluevista

You want thoughts, asked for it now. I just did the two headliners in my Vista Cruiser, never did it before either, piece of cake. I went to staples and bought a small case of binder clips and basically installed it with those before I glued it. First you center it, pull it tight front to back and clip it, then tighten it side to side at the bows and clip followed by between the bows. Then go back after it looks good and loosen the front and glue it, use the clips to hold it, then the back, etc., you can just loosen a little at a time and glue it so it stays pretty tight. It was pretty straightforward, took me about 3 days off and on but I took my time, let it sit overnight clipped and it was a lot smoother the next morning too. It does take a little practice but it ain't rocket science. Just dont stretch it too much or worry about hard fold creases from shipping, they do go away eventually, why don't they roll them to ship? I parked it in the sun one day and most of the wrinkles are already gone. The Vista just has a small headliner in front but it has a compound curve around the roof window, that was sort of challenging. I got mine from Year One, drop shipped from somewhere, really nice and matches exactly, plenty of sun visor material, Vistas have four.
They probably could do headliners in their sleep on the assembly line.

[IMG]http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3180/...d61eeca050.jpg[/IMG]

Allan

Satellitecentral

Thanks for the Reply
I,m feeling a bit more Confident now,
I just need to order one , i,m looking on line an see a few different company,s
doing the kit for a 66 Dynamic 88.
I,m not being Cheap , lol
I just want to save a bit where I can , cause I know when I go to get a quote on getting the Big Girl Painted , I may be in for a Shock, he he but that,s months away .......

http://www.deep-south.org/photogalle...bum/index.html

Bluevista

That headliner does need a littlle attention, make sure you mark the bows and put them back in the same place, are those letters in the circles on the roof the insulation? I had to replace some of mine, used the roll foil duct insulation from Lowe's and contact cement, much cheaper than stuff made for cars, and you can insulate your water heater with the remainder of the roll. Car looks pretty clean, doesn't look like too much major bodywork. AC is cool, I love all the chrome on the dashes on those, I don't know about that steering wheel though, at least paint it to match.


Allan

Satellitecentral

LOL!
I,m a bid Embarrassed ...........
Errrr , I forgot about the roof insulation
he he ........
I better get that Installed before I get to the Headliner , Thanks for pointing that out :-)

I have also found out that the Car is not a 330 .......
em , it turns out , according to a guy who has done work on this car......It,s a 425

Now for a newbie question
How do you get the bows out ?

Bluevista

Gee, your engine grew, better than it shrinking, I hate when that happens. I only did one of these! could be the blind leading those who can not see. That insulation is a little hard to get in after the headliner is up. My car just has plastic clips the bows snap into on the roof and they go in holes at either end. I just snapped them out of the roof clips and popped them out, had to roll them over a little to clear the roof for clearance. Your car looks like it has the metal tabs, I'm not sure how they release, may have to bend them or something, can't be too hard to figure out. My chassis service manual or Fisher body manual? showed all the clips and bows and basically how to do it, but '71 is different. The new headliner pockets for the bows were way longer than the bows on mine and they had to be slit on each end for the bows to fit. I slit them just enough to let the end slip out and maybe a 1/2" more, too much and the curve won't be right on the sides. You will be able to se if they are too tight when you pull the sides and can then give it more room if needed, just make sure the bow is centered on the headliner and cut the ends evenly, those clips should keep it centered I would think, should have a line down the middle like I said before. There are all kind of marks and lines from when they mark it to cut and sew it actually.

I'm working on my sunvisors now, interior is finished once there in, sort of a melancholy feeling finishing up, sniff.. sniff, I will miss it. It was an epic saga, *^%*$# wagons are all interior so it took countless hours of blood, sweat, and tears, but I persevered and was victorious. The seemingly endless trials and tribulations made us both stronger in our own seperate yet hopelessly intertwined ways and I am humbled by the experience. But alas, it all turned out for the best in the end and all is well within the world of El Veesta Cruiser. Excuse my ramblings not my fault, idle hands are the devil's workshop, devil made me do it.

Just my 2 cent woof,

Allan