Looking for a new headliner

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Mopar to ya

Mopar to ya

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I was browsing around this summer and found a headliner for my car for about $125 - $135 which I thought was a good price. I didn't order it because I figured to wait for the fall and make it a winter project. Stupid me, I don't remember where it was. I thought it was Dante's, but it's not. I have a 73 Dart Sport with the hard headliner. My hope is to find one without the holes for the shoulder harnesses so I can remove them and have a clean look. Any ideas? Any good, and also reasonable places to get them?
 
I have the same hard headliner in my car. The texture was peeling, but overall it was in good shape. I bought some contact fabric glue and material that matched my interior and fitted it to the hardboard. It turned out really well and cost me about $20 dollars in material.
 
I don't want the shoulder harness holes and mine is splitting at the bends and is crumbling at spots. It is not going to come out in one piece. Otherwise I might have tried that. I have made many of my own panels before.
 
I know it doesn't help now, but I created a folder in my bookmarks and I bookmark those findings for future reference.

I was looking for one for my 74 Dart Sport and happened across a site that had some molded vinyl ones at a decent price and I don't remember where it was either. It was before I decided to start bookmarking those sites.
 
I just looked on amazon and there were some there from Acme for about two bills.
I bookmark stuff all the time and can't remember which folder I put it in....
 
Dang, just done some checking around. (Didn't know they were hardboard headliners) looks like folks are mighty proud of them things......
 
Does this need to look factory correct? If so you will have to locate an original.
If close will suit your needs it can be done at home. (You said you've made your own panels)
You will need to remove panel from car.(this is a must for professional results)
If it has cracks or missing pieces you can repair them, try not to do more damage during removal and handling. 40 year old card board can be fragile.
If the fabric or vinyl cloth (if it has any)is coming loose from the panel it needs to be removed
If it is still fastened secure, leave it alone and cover over the cleaned (no armorall) original.
If you have tears or splits in panel they can be repaired with aluminum furnace tape.
Your repairs will need to be smooth to be undetectable. Keep creases out of tape.
Warped or sagging panel can be reinforced from the back side if clearance on the back side allows by taping or gluing paint sticks or something similar to the top side.
Now you need to choose a new cover material. If you use the modern foam backed knit type it will be much more simple from here on out to get smooth results. It is available from any upholstery supply at a very reasonable price and many colors to choose from.
If you wish to use vinyl you probably should PM me for more detail than i care to type here.
Or take to a upholstery shop as this would likely challenge most skill set and sanity without some prior experience. Your call on this. I have found some folks can be good at things and others pretty much just make things harder to repair than they were in the first place.
You will want to use contact cement. I spray the glue thru a gun at my shop but it can be brushed. Coat the panel first and let dry. Then coat the fabric and allow to get nearly dry or tacky. Drape new fabric over panel being careful not to press it down anywhere you don't want it to stick. This is a one shot to get it right or start over with a new piece situation.
Press down with very light pressure starting in the center and working towards outer edges taking care to not allow any wrinkles to take a set. When you are satisfied press firmly over entire area to set the adhesive.
You can flip it over and glue the edge over the back side if desired.
This is kind of a brief summary of the work involved but with patience and careful attention to detail a first timer can have good results and save yourself about a $100.
If you want a little more detail than I can stand to type here PM me, I don't mind helping out with any upholstery advise. Hope this helps some with their mopars.
 
I have the abs backed one in my dart sport I'm not real impressed on the 3rd one now they just send another each time. First hot day the glue lets go n the vynil lets go of the abs backing
 
ABS is not a thermally stable material. Its just easy to vacuum form into some shapes because of its low working temp. Which means low quality parts can be produced for small amounts of money invested.
3M aerosol trim adhesive never dries.
Neither are good materials to use for quality automotive repairs.
Most folks don't know this ,some don't care. Just throwing it out there for those who
do appreciate quality more than cost.
I see these materials used in the repo parts all the time. Don't waste your money.
 
I may try to repair mine. The furnace tape is a good idea. It is cracking at the creases. My original (maybe?) has no cloth, just a pebbled surface painted black. I thought about covering it, and I think I'll take it out and see what kind of shape it's in before I commit.

I found one this summer that was not ABS, but the pressboard OE style, and it was like $125. I should have bought it.
 
the tips on fixing it are good. you could always repair yours with those tips, then cover it with vinyl, that way you can cover the seatbelt holes
 
spikekid999 said:
the tips on fixing it are good. you could always repair yours with those tips, then cover it with vinyl, that way you can cover the seatbelt holes
Click to expand...

That's exactly what I was thinking. I hope it's in good enough shape. I'll have to take it out soon in case I need to buy a new one. Spring is coming!
 
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