Aftermarket Product ReviewProvide questions and answers about aftermarket parts for the Third Generation F-Body.
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I know alot of people are thinking of getting one of these and since I just installed mine I thought I'd give you my take on it. I got mine from 1AAutomotive for about $170 shipped. When you order it make sure to look at the color samples as they call them different names than what GM calls them. I made the mistake of ordering "beechwood" (what GM calls it) but it wasn't the exacty the same color tan I was expecting. I should've ordered "saddle", but I liked the beechwood so I didnt return it. I planned on recovering the sail panels and sun visors anyway so I would just recover them in beechwood to match the new headliner. Well they forgot to send me the extra fabric (comes with the purchase of a headliner if you don't buy their sail panels) to cover the sail panels in so I called them up and they sent me some right away. But get this, they sent me the saddle color instead, so basically I have a roll of fabric that I'll never use. I was gonna send it back but its not worth the trouble, I'll just buy some. Let's move on to the installation of the new headliner. When you receive the headliner, you have to cut out the fabric over the holes (the plastic is already cut) for the sun visors, dome light and seat belts. Of course when I installed the headliner the drivers side seat belt clip doesn't cover hole completely so I had to go back and glue some of the fabric back on. So, make SURE that you dont cut off all of the fabric around those holes, leave about a half inch around the border in case you have the same problem. The other problem I had was that the holes for the sun visors are not exact. The passenger side wasn't that bad but the drivers side was horrible. I could only get two of the three screws back in. So im gonna have to drill a new hole. Other than those problems it was an easy install. I knew that with dealing with an aftermarket piece there could be problems so I wasn't that pissed, I just chalked it up as a learning experience. So basically what this means is if you are planning to drop $170 for an ABS headliner, be prepared to incounter some fitting issues. Or who knows, maybe I got a bad apple. I'm interested if anyone else had some problems as well.
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Like I had just posted in another thread. I think the build quality of thirdgens is horrible and very inconsistent. It's got to be tough for any aftermarket supplier to fit every car.
When I changed from a tan interior to a black interior in my TA, I had a same year donor car to take the parts from. Rarely did any screw holes match up. It was amazing that 2 cars built at the same plant the same model year would be so different.
Well i just ordered the same liner from the same company, it should be in any day now so i will see. I did get the carpet from them came in real fast and just finished the install today sweet. worked well molded in all the right places, got it off ebay save a few bucks same carpet as their web site. Keep that in mind if your looking for carpet and headliners. Got both off ebay with buy it now and saves some dough. I'll let ya know how the install goes. Can't wait all new interior, got seats out of a 90's z28 for my 85 which was in bad shape from years of top leaks. that all fixed its on to spiffing it all up.
Chet, when you compare colors you mention you ordered the beechwood but it should have been sadle.
I got color samples this week and the medium beechwood they have is as you mentioned not the correct one for the 88-91 GM Beechwood. The one that I got and is the closest is the one they call 1711 Doeskin. The saddle one looks more too me as the 1987 tan color.
i dont know i didnt have any problem instaling it and im only 16 so some stuff is new to me. The best advise i could give is to take your time.WARNING the dome light clips suck so be careful. luckily my dad has a van with like a million tools and parts and i used a brass insert for a set screw wire nut( something that could be found at the electrical department of home-depot or an electrical supply house).
Not sure of the brand of mine, but I ordered my ABS headliner board from a local upholstry shop and I had about the same issues. Nothing that some trimming and test fitting didn't fix. Wish I would have test fitted before getting it covered though
I just ran into the same issue with the visor holes.. What the heck??? Their suggestion to me to fix this problem was:
"BEST SUGGESTION I CAN OFFER WOULD BE TO POKE A HOLE IN THE PLASTIC WITH AN ICE PIC TO ACOMODATE THE STRAY SCREW....THE BASE OF THE VISOR BRAKET SHOULD COVER THIS UP...."
Uh.. No Mr. ABS man - it doesn't cover it up!
You gotta love how people know their product SO well.
The fit certainly leaves much to be desired, but they are okay if you take your time and are prepared to keep adjusting things. They do leave annoying gaps, though. The biggest issue I had was after I ahdinstalled mine and got everything to fit as well as possible, there were all these very annoying rattles and squeaks from where the ABS was rubbing against the metal (mine was a t-top liner). I ended up removing it and applied strips of soft rubber weather-strip to the metal parts - the knid that comes in a roll with an adhesive on one side, is very soft black rubber and is about 1 inch wide. that worked really well, so before you install one it may be worthwhile insulating the contact points with some rubber or something else to deaden the sounds. The adhesive strip I used worked really well.
I use to be a dealer for these, and I sold them cheaper than anyone else, and sold alot of them... BUT, there were quite a few fitment issues, and I got tired of the complaints, so I quit dealing with them. And a little secret... they are all made by the same manufacturer.
Another thing, Do NOT order their sail panels... they suck. They are not repro, they are simply fiber board that comes with velcro to mount them with instead of the built in plastic "hooks" that our factory ones have. Just re-cover your old ones (it is SUPER easy) just dont use too much 3M spray or it will soak through, and FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS on the can. And also remember that smoking in your car eats away at the glue. I also suggest using some Scotch guard fabric spray for easier cleaning, that way you can wipe them with a damp cloth and the material wont absorb the water and loosen the glue... same goes for the headliner. The visors are pretty good as well as the sun visor mounting arms.
When you clean them, do NOT use a shop vac or it will pull the material loose... use a regular home vac with a brush on the wand and gently wipe.
I am very happy with the fit of my Black ABS headliner I bought from 1A Auto.
Thank you,glad to see you made out ok.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Convoy25
i know i'm reviving a dead tread but,
other than the material differences, what are the differences between the ABS headliners and the factory ones?
what are the pros and cons of each?
The ABS one's won't deteriorate like the stock fiber board,their more ridged too.
Remember when installing the ABS headliner to take your time,you do not need to reuse the front headliner clips that are on the original board,you can leave these off on the ABS one.This may be throwing some of you guys off.
Keep all of your retaining points loose,including the dome/map light tighten this once the board is lined up correctly.
The reason why the board ships with the material covering the prepunched holes is to have the proper amount to tuck under the dome light and sun visors,so if you trim this all off you'll not have a neatly finished product.
Just a few things to keep in mind when installing these.
Hi all
Must agree I again brought from A1
Had it shipped to uk we tried the fit today not good lined up at front and big gap at back (Sh-T) should have waited will have to cut through middle of the board and try stretching material.
This is a show car so not happy.
If anybody wants photos of poor fit just ask?
notice the guy from a1 only adresses the guy that had no issues, and the guy he might be able to sell something to
I'm here to help you guys out no matter what the issue is. The last post since this comment was from 2 months ago,this thread itself is very old and we're not open on the weekend.
If any members have any issues at all about a product that we carry feel free to call me direct or PM me.
With these headliners, you have to take your time lining them up, it's recommended that you do not tighten down the dome light,and other fastening points until the board is lined up correctly.
Also the clips from the original board do not get reused.Follow the included instructions that came with the product,and you should be all set.
I bought this for my 88 Camaro T-top car and what a piece of garbage!! Huge fitment gaps, sun visor mount holes do not line up, material cut to short in parts exposing the board. The sail panels were a joke and I just threw them to the side. The Sunvisors won’t even stay up and are not the right shape.
A big waste of money!!!
A1 if you want to be a quality vendor on this board be truthful about what this product is. Or you can least try and find another manufacturer of these products aside from the Chinese sweatshop that these are clearly being made in.
I advise all TGO members to stay away from these ABS headliner kits regardless of who is selling them.
I have to admit that this headliner took me forever to get in properly because of all the modding and cutting and hole making etc. i had to do....
First off, the color was beautiful so i have to give them that... The only real problem here for all of us is fitment... The plastic is hard and solid and will probably deteriorate after 100 years.
The fitment is terrible. The headliner: i needed to cut the dome light opening fabric AND the plastic (i took a grinder to do this as that was all i had available). Then the sunvisor holes were totally off but i managed (to my best abilities) to line everything up and cut the fabric and plastic for this too... I finally did it (took 6 hours total).
The sail panels were a joke on fitment as well.. didn't get anything to mount them so i went out and bought 3m double sides adhesive with velcro... Cut everything so it's nicely tight and attached (worked well but took 2 hours to do all that cuz i measured everything super precise)...
The sunvisors ddin't even fit.. and the passenger side doesn't even come with a mirror like the original one...
But, compared to my old one which looked 100 years old, it is STILL a step up... Although when i go really fast ( 80mph and up) the front part of the headliner (t-top) shakes and vibrates so much that it annoys the hell out of me and makes this annoying flapping noise... This is because there is no way to attach it to the middle of the front t-top roof (the stock board had metal mounting tabs with plastic clips to attach it to the roof to keep it from vibrating...) It's not so bad but it sags just a tad lower than i would like and doesn't really contour the t-top roof as good as i had hoped but it's better than before so I am happy...
If you need this for a show car...
well... you're tough out of luck cuz this definitely isn't show worthy or original replacement worthy..
But i'm simple so it's good enough for me.. maybe one day i'll find a way to attach the front middle part to the roof... anybody found a way to do this?
__________________ "An engine is like an orchestra. It's made up of wind, brass, percussion, and a whole range of other complimentary sections, all working to make that beautiful music that we call 'performance'..."
I used 3m automotive double stick tape to mount the whole thing to the roof placed in large and short strips and sections. Seemed to solve the whole flapping and lose mounting problem.
These headliners are made in the US not in China. I had read through the install instructions and yes they're pretty long,but they do tell you step by step the best way to fit these into your Camaro.
With the sun visors the manufacturer told me that the most important thing was to line up the sun visor holes,then loosely put them back on and line up the rest of the headliner.
When everythings lined up they tell you to then tighten the trim in the front of the board and then the sun visors, and work your way back.I also keep hearing that (I had a hard time reinstalling the front clips onto the board)these are not needed and should be left off.
The back of the headliner was manufactured 1/2" wider to help catch any dripping water from the T-Tops off of your seats,so keep this in mind too when making adjustments.
Also these cars do have allot of flex to them so I'm not sure why some guys have a hard time with these and why some say the final result was good,it may have to do with the shape that the body of the car is in and if it had flexed over the years.
Feedback I've received about the middle rattling in the wind, from what I've heard Velcro or double faced tape should secure that area and take care of that issue.
I'm here to help you guys out, if you get stuck installing these shoot me a pm or even buzz my phone and I'll see if I can help you out.
Right now this is what we have offered to us from our supplier to offer to you guys.
If your original board isn't totally trashed and you would like to recover it,keep in mind we do offer these scrape and recover kits.
I went to a junk yard and found sunvisors from another vehicle, (not firebird, or camaro) the type with the small click it bracket. The piece that keeps the visor from tilting down. Our 3rd gens dont have them, but that small bracket that you can snap and unsnap your visor with makes an additional point that keeps your t-top panel tacked down.
I bought some of these about 5 years ago and it was horrible to put in. I made a thread about the nightmare one year later, after all of the black dye on the top edges was worn to light-greyish-almost-white after one summer with the t-tops off maybe 10% of the time.
It really accented the huge gap between the headliner and t-bar part of the roof. I really miss my seatbelt trim ring for the drivers side belt also, something that just wanted too much cutting on my new (seemingly) awesome headliner to accommodate my tastes for having.
With the cost of these headliners and the effort they take for a halfa-- job and poor appearance. You would have been better off going to a local auto upholstery shop. Then you would have a factory stock look with less problems and be cheaper in the long run..
Lol I spent like $300 something on the full set (headliner, sail panels, sun v). What a joke. I didnt even use the sail panels cause you would have to have used Velcro to attach them. So I found some at the junk yard and used them.
Worse thing ever here is that over the 3 years I had took my time redoing the interior on my car, it wasn't even done yet, and the headliner needed to be redone after I spent over $300 on it. What a rip. I contacted the company, and they said it was life time warranty on the abs but not the glue. Glue had only one year warranty, and it had been 18 months or so.
This was the most pissed I had ever got working on this car over the years. I had posted about this in the vendor review section if anyone wants to know who sold me the junk id be happy to look it up.
Lol I spent like $300 something on the full set (headliner, sail panels, sun v). What a joke. I didnt even use the sail panels cause you would have to have used Velcro to attach them. So I found some at the junk yard and used them.
Worse thing ever here is that over the 3 years I had took my time redoing the interior on my car, it wasn't even done yet, and the headliner needed to be redone after I spent over $300 on it. What a rip. I contacted the company, and they said it was life time warranty on the abs but not the glue. Glue had only one year warranty, and it had been 18 months or so.
This was the most pissed I had ever got working on this car over the years. I had posted about this in the vendor review section if anyone wants to know who sold me the junk id be happy to look it up.
Live and learn, had mine done by a shop and cost less then half of yours not counting your time. Took two hours of my time waiting and it still looks factory after ten years.
Live and learn, had mine done by a shop and cost less then half of yours not counting your time. Took two hours of my time waiting and it still looks factory after ten years.
Ya I know right. If I had the backer board I may have thought about it. Darn credit cards. lol.
i dont know i found one on craigs list in montgomery al that was bought from hawks it matched perfectly and i had no trouble what so ever. it took me about 30 min to remove the old one and insert the new one
I bought mine from Classic Industries and had no problem putting it in it lined up great and i order with out fabric was alot cheaper and put of black denim and looks great i took like 45 minutes doing it and it looks great. Maybe some have problems and others dont the only problem i had was getting the fabric to stay with the shape of the abs.
POS ABS hardliner doesn't even work with console...sure enough you find out AFTER you cut holes in it. The center has a raised (well considering the orientation in the car it's lowered) section right smack down the middle, the complete contour is different from stock. So after spending a sh!tload of money on getting it here (shipping = $$$$) I'm going to get a good used one from a breakers yard here next week and have it reupholstered in black.
The fit and finish on it sucked too, big gaps with the a pillar trim. The speaker covers are a joke, I tore the carpet off and used it to upholster some plastic OEM ones with the tabs and the screw hole. Those velcro things always fell off...what a joke!
POS ABS hardliner doesn't even work with console...sure enough you find out AFTER you cut holes in it. The center has a raised (well considering the orientation in the car it's lowered) section right smack down the middle, the complete contour is different from stock. So after spending a sh!tload of money on getting it here (shipping = $$$$) I'm going to get a good used one from a breakers yard here next week and have it reupholstered in black.
The fit and finish on it sucked too, big gaps with the a pillar trim. The speaker covers are a joke, I tore the carpet off and used it to upholster some plastic OEM ones with the tabs and the screw hole. Those velcro things always fell off...what a joke!
I did the same thing with the hole in my headliner. Only thing is that my headliner started sagging before I could get the hole cut out so I got screwed twice. Not three times yet though cause I just deal with the gaps in the liner and console.
Oh ya it gets worse too. The console vibrates so bad that it sounds like I have a blown speaker when I turn up the radio. Id like nothing more then to have known that so Id still have a good headliner. After all I did pay over $400 for it so far, & still have junk.
Funny thing is that I thought I was the only one that got screwed. Sorry that im not. Yet this guy had people sticking up for him when I started a post about it.
My 86 iroc never had a headliner when I bought it. (its supposed to be saddle) But I got a black one out of one of the parts cars I had at the time (89 rs) Even thought the one from the rs was original the wholes for the sun visors didnt match up too good. so I just made it fit with some adjustments. So I dont know. Maybe the ABS headliner works in some cars, and others not?
My 86 iroc never had a headliner when I bought it. (its supposed to be saddle) But I got a black one out of one of the parts cars I had at the time (89 rs) Even thought the one from the rs was original the wholes for the sun visors didnt match up too good. so I just made it fit with some adjustments. So I dont know. Maybe the ABS headliner works in some cars, and others not?
ya. It don't work in any if it sags after 18 months.
