whats the best alternative to replacing a headliner instead of getting it professionally done or just reglueing it? certain material to change it out with that people have had good results with?

 

You can't reglue it. The separation is the fabric from the foam and the foam is probably deteriorating. What's wrong with having it professionally done? It's only about $180 for headliner, sail panels and visors. You can do it yourself for considerably less, but I can guarantee that you won't be able to duplicate the $180 quality job yourself.

 

I spent $240 for the headliner, visors and sail panels. Plus, the guy reinforced the headliner cardboard which was necessary, at least in my case.

The previous owner had recovered it and, although he did a fairly decent job, you could tell that it was not OEM or pro quality. Now it is.

Don't spend a lot of money in an attempt to save a little.

 

where did you find headliner sails and visors for 180 the cheapest I found was 300

 

Rich, I think Scott is talking about price to get the piece recovered. If you have a good upholstery shop in town you should ring them up and get a quote. If you don't know, go to the low-low club meet or maybe the r!ce club and ask around. Low-low's generally have custom interiors while r!ce generally has no interior (it's faster that way). :P

If your fabric is sagging but your cardboard is strong get it reupholstered. If the cardboard is damaged and you have a hard top, get the aftermarket headliner. If the cardboard is damaged and you have a t-top, find someone with some fab skills. IIRC, the aftermarket T-top headliner fits like OJ's glove, tight in some places, loose in others, but all in all it's just going to cause a mess if you introduce it at trial.

Recover your factory sail panels, if possible. The aftermarket bits don't use the factory hooks, and hold on with velcro.

I'm amazed that someone can charge so much money for such a subpar product (new aftermarket T-Top headliner and sail panels).

 

Oh yes you can...foam, fabric, glue....

 

Too true. I've tried the aftermarket ABS headliner before and it doesn't conform to the t-bar like it should for the kind of money they are asking. Plus, it doesn't have the stock look to it. It highlights the bends/transitions way too much with sharp looking edges. The stock one is a little more subtle and rounded. At car shows, you can spot an aftermarket one immediately. If your stock board is in good shape, get it recovered. If it's not, get it fixed, then recover it. It took me 2 years to find a stock board for my 82 and now I'm hunting another one for my 89. I'd rather look at black metal over me than buy another ABS one.

 

The hardtop ones are even worse. They are nothing like the original and look to be a T top mold with the openings filled in. The shape is completely rong, a console will not fit. I found out after I made my 1st cut to install the console. What a POS!

 

Does the t-top headliner from hawks thirdgen not fit good too?

 

This sounds kind of scary. I just ordered an ABS headliner for a coupe and a fiberglass spoiler from Hawks.I sure hope it fits.

 

I hope yours fit better than the POS pieces I got that need tons of work to get them to work

 

If you know what you're doing, you can recover the headliner yourself. But as the other guys have stated, it will take a headliner with, at minimum, good cardboard. Mine is a little flimsy where the seat belts penetrate at but is otherwise in good shape. You'll need mucho cans of spray adhesive and fabric glue. I've recovered a headliner before with spray adhesive and new fabric (in a 91 Cadillac, no less) and it looked just fine. Multiple fine coats of adhesive is the way to go, but be sure to apply your fabric before it dries. Use fabric glue at the edges and in any problem spots. That stuff is magic.

 

I am very happy with my ABS backed headliner. I put mine in about 8 years ago, looks good as new.