I just finished a new headliner for my cabrio hardtop. The attached photo is what the finished product looks like. It took me about 5 hrs from start to finish and about $30 in materials. The material is auto carpet from Wal-Mart that can be had in gray or black. You can get it other colors at your local AutoZone, but Wal-Mart was cheaper.
Here’s the tutorial that I was talking about. I should have taken more pictures, but when I started I was in a bit of a rush and did not think it would look so good when finished. EDIT: It has been over a year since I finished this and first posted and the new headliner has not sagged or given me a lick of trouble.
Tools and materials required:
• Normal hand tools that any DIYer should have.
• Two rolls of your favorite automotive carpet.
• One can of 3M Supper 77 glue.
• Hot glue gun and several sticks of glue.
1. Once you get your top on her back then start by removing the old sagging head liner.
The photo above shows the first layer of head liner. Below the folded over gray material that we all know and love is a woven fiber mesh that is glued directly to the fiberglass top. This must also be pulled up. This will take some elbow grease to pull up.
The cardboard is just there to show depth to the photos. Now this is where you will notice that there are a total of 4 seems in these hardtops. One at either corner and two just below the rear window. These are one of the hardest parts to remove. The two layers of material that I mentioned above are sewn together at each one of these joints. I used a sharp razor blade to cut the seam apart and then a pair of pliers to remove the pieces.
2. Step one above mainly consists of ripping out the old rotten headliner. Now on to the fun part, there will be a greenish glue residue left on the actual fiber glass once all the old stuff is gone. I hit this with some 80 grit aluminum-oxide sand paper to rough it up. If you want you could sand it down completely, but the adhesive I used had no problem bonding to the top over what little glue was left.
3. Once you get it sanded down to your liking, then mask off the rubber seals and anything else you don’t want to get covered with 3M Super 77 glue. I did not remove the side panels. Just mask over them as shown in the picture.
The above picture shows the center section already installed. I chose to spray both the top and the carpet with the glue for better adhesion. The center I tucked under the front support. Make sure that everything lines up good prior to applying the glue.
4. The sides are the real trick in this install. I used some double sided carpet tape to hold them in place while I marked out the general shape. Also, I used an awl to punch holes where the “OS” bar screws go. Make sure that you push the carpet down into the recesses where the bars go while you are doing the trial fit otherwise when you tighten the screws it will pull the carpet seams apart and leave a gap.
5. Once the side pieces are roughly cut out then spray both sides with the glue and mate them. Make sure that the seams are pushed up nice and tight or you will get an ugly gap. Once the glue is set I used a sharp razor blade to trim the carpet to the correct shape. Just make sure the OS bars are installed and the press the carpet into the outline of the top with your hands as you cut along the edges. If you do this right the end product will have the carpet butted up against the side panels with no visible gap.
6. I did the bar just below the rear window last with a rectangular piece of carpet. The biggest thing in this whole process is getting the seams/joints of the carpet nice and close.
7. I finished off the area around the window using a hot glue gun. Leave enough material (about ½ in) to glue and fold over.
I had mine custom painted to match the car after I stripped the fabric off the top, but this is an entirely different write up.
Thats about all there is to doing this. If you have any questions please feel free to shoot me a PM.
Here’s the tutorial that I was talking about. I should have taken more pictures, but when I started I was in a bit of a rush and did not think it would look so good when finished. EDIT: It has been over a year since I finished this and first posted and the new headliner has not sagged or given me a lick of trouble.
Tools and materials required:
• Normal hand tools that any DIYer should have.
• Two rolls of your favorite automotive carpet.
• One can of 3M Supper 77 glue.
• Hot glue gun and several sticks of glue.
1. Once you get your top on her back then start by removing the old sagging head liner.
The photo above shows the first layer of head liner. Below the folded over gray material that we all know and love is a woven fiber mesh that is glued directly to the fiberglass top. This must also be pulled up. This will take some elbow grease to pull up.
The cardboard is just there to show depth to the photos. Now this is where you will notice that there are a total of 4 seems in these hardtops. One at either corner and two just below the rear window. These are one of the hardest parts to remove. The two layers of material that I mentioned above are sewn together at each one of these joints. I used a sharp razor blade to cut the seam apart and then a pair of pliers to remove the pieces.
2. Step one above mainly consists of ripping out the old rotten headliner. Now on to the fun part, there will be a greenish glue residue left on the actual fiber glass once all the old stuff is gone. I hit this with some 80 grit aluminum-oxide sand paper to rough it up. If you want you could sand it down completely, but the adhesive I used had no problem bonding to the top over what little glue was left.
3. Once you get it sanded down to your liking, then mask off the rubber seals and anything else you don’t want to get covered with 3M Super 77 glue. I did not remove the side panels. Just mask over them as shown in the picture.
The above picture shows the center section already installed. I chose to spray both the top and the carpet with the glue for better adhesion. The center I tucked under the front support. Make sure that everything lines up good prior to applying the glue.
4. The sides are the real trick in this install. I used some double sided carpet tape to hold them in place while I marked out the general shape. Also, I used an awl to punch holes where the “OS” bar screws go. Make sure that you push the carpet down into the recesses where the bars go while you are doing the trial fit otherwise when you tighten the screws it will pull the carpet seams apart and leave a gap.
5. Once the side pieces are roughly cut out then spray both sides with the glue and mate them. Make sure that the seams are pushed up nice and tight or you will get an ugly gap. Once the glue is set I used a sharp razor blade to trim the carpet to the correct shape. Just make sure the OS bars are installed and the press the carpet into the outline of the top with your hands as you cut along the edges. If you do this right the end product will have the carpet butted up against the side panels with no visible gap.
6. I did the bar just below the rear window last with a rectangular piece of carpet. The biggest thing in this whole process is getting the seams/joints of the carpet nice and close.
7. I finished off the area around the window using a hot glue gun. Leave enough material (about ½ in) to glue and fold over.
I had mine custom painted to match the car after I stripped the fabric off the top, but this is an entirely different write up.
Thats about all there is to doing this. If you have any questions please feel free to shoot me a PM.
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