Fiat Coupe Club UK

Head Lining

Posted By: paulw

Head Lining - 04/05/2023 19:49

Not really a styling thing, but it should improve things ...

Over the winter my headlining finally lost all its bonding with the roof panel. I suspect that the foam has disintegrated after all these years. I can now look forward to a days work stripping all the panels out to get the roof panel down - a pain in the whatsit, but at least I have plenty of space inside to work in comfort / warmth / dry when I start.

I may take the opportunity to add some additional sound-deadening to the roof whilst it's all apart.
Posted By: Edinburgh

Re: Head Lining - 05/05/2023 07:49

Ah yes, the job where in order to deliver a letter you first have to knock down the house laugh

I baulked at doing the recovering myself so I sourced material and had a coach-trimmer do it properly. Dropped it off one day and was ready the next - you'll be well-pleased when it's done.
Posted By: paulw

Re: Head Lining - 05/05/2023 15:36

Thankfully the Coupe only goes out for ‘fun’, so I can take my time with the recovering. I have the specialist adhesive, so no problems with melting the foam by using the wrong stuff.

Instead of the beige lining that’s there now, I have gone for a light grey / beige mix. Should freshen up the interior.
Posted By: Edinburgh

Re: Head Lining - 05/05/2023 16:57

So do you have a tan interior?
Posted By: paulw

Re: Head Lining - 05/05/2023 19:20

Interior is actually Black leather (originally cloth) - my last coupe was tan interior and if I can remember rightly, the headlining was also a beige colour!

For some reason, I still have the full set of cloth seats, all in mint condition and stored in my cellar. Actually it's probably because at the time no-one wanted clothe seats!

The headlining I bought is this -

click to enlarge
Posted By: paulw

Re: Head Lining - 28/06/2023 22:47

I have finally got around to doing this and did look at the two 'How To' guides, plus the relevant pages in the workshop manual.

There is useful information in all, but also, it feels like there is also quite a bit that could be added! Would it help if I produced an updated / extended version, which includes my observations?

In fact, how does one add to the 'How To' section?

Paul
Posted By: Begbie

Re: Head Lining - 29/06/2023 07:17

If you do a post here with all the details, then someone can take your post and put it into the 'How To' section
Posted By: paulw

Re: Head Lining - 29/06/2023 08:10

Ok, that's great - I may do it as a PDF once the car is all back together!
Posted By: paulw

Re: Head Lining - 30/06/2023 19:28

Well, It was a job that I wasn't really looking forward to doing, but in the end it was all quite straightforward.

It took me longer to get everything taken out (about 3 hrs, learning as I went), than it took to put back (just over 2hrs this evening)! Add an extra couple of hours for cleaning up the roof and then recovering it, being extra careful with this bit and I am very pleased with how it all went.

I did replace most of the foam pads as they were either flattened, or on their way to disintegrating, plus added a few extra pieces where there was potential for rattles.

I will take a few photos tomorrow in daylight and then write the whole thing up - there are some potential 'gotchas' and a definite best order to tackle things. I would guess quite a few owners out there will have to face the same problem sooner or later. The foam backing to the headlining had almost turned to dust with mine, which is why it was no longer attached!

Paul
Posted By: Edinburgh

Re: Head Lining - 30/06/2023 19:55

Good job, look forward to seeing the pics smile

Dissembly/assembly time about right I would say!
Posted By: paulw

Re: Head Lining - 01/07/2023 08:54

OK, had a chance to get some pictures this morning and this one shows the finished job! Very happy with it and the choice of material, which I think is better than the original and although still a grey, has brightened the inside up. I was never a great fan of the velour material.

This is the material used -

click to enlarge

And this is what you get (although the flash makes it seem brighter!)

click to enlarge

Paul
Posted By: carmine

Re: Head Lining - 01/07/2023 10:20

Good job thumb
Posted By: wink

Re: Head Lining - 01/07/2023 18:42

Woo, looks fab. And unsaggy unlike mine frown.
Posted By: paulw

Re: Head Lining - 02/07/2023 15:09

OK, with the work all complete and being very happy with it, I have put together a 'How To' PDF which might be of use to others.

I know that we already have a couple of documents covering this and others covering some parts of it, like removing various panels, but thought that I would put it all together in one place together with some of my observations.

I hope it will be useful. Perhaps the link to it can be put in the How To section on the site?

Link to the How To Headlining PDF
Posted By: Edinburgh

Re: Head Lining - 02/07/2023 16:45

That's terrific Paul, we'll get Kelv27 to do the honours.

With a sunshine roof model there is really little difference to your instructions; the centre clip simply needs removing before pulling off the beading around the aperture.
Posted By: Kelv27

Re: Head Lining - 04/07/2023 07:11

Link added to the How To section. Thank you for your contribution Paul.
Posted By: Edinburgh

Re: Head Lining - 04/07/2023 09:36

Cheers Kelv thumb
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