[Shotimes] Replacing the headliner

[George Fourchy]

On Mon,  8 Aug 2005 17:10:30 -0400, brogshan@email.unc.edu wrote:

>I need to replace the headliner of my '94 SHO.  I'm thinking of try to do it
>myself, if anybody has done this do you have any tips?  Thanks.

If you have found another factory one-piece headliner, it is not hard to take loose
from the car, but it is tricky to get it outside the cabin.  You need to remove at
least one front seat....the book says the driver's seat...I'd take them both out. 
Then maneuver it out one or the other of the back doors.  The easiest way to remove
it is to take it out the front or back.  Do you need a new windshield?  Is it
cracked, or otherwise insurance replaceable?  That would make the headliner swap
really simple.

Remove all the plastic moldings from all around the side and front edges, remove the
visors...watch the wiring...and remove the two plugs that snap it into the top just
in front of the back window.  It will basically fall down after you loosen all these
parts.  Be prepared to deal with the seat belt retractors in the pillars between the
doors....they argue a lot with maintenance efforts.

It does not hurt the headliner to fold it once or twice, to help move it into
position.  ....that is, it doesn't hurt a structually sound headliner.  It will not
permanently wrinkle unless it is folded and left that way for a long time.  If your
replacement is not new, you might want to take extra care not to fold it a bunch of
times.  Fold it inward, so that the foam is on the outside....if you fold it
backwards, so that the headliner fabric is stretched, it can tear, ruining it.

George