[vipe155]

Sorry to bring up headliners again on this forum, but I've had the worst luck with these the past month or so. I'm looking to replace my original damaged T-Top 95 headliner, so first I buy one of those ABS replacements covered in gray fabric.

IMO, that product sucks, especially for it's $$$ price. While it's durable and all that, it's so rigid that it doesn't form correctly around the roof. On top of that, all the drilled holes are a little off, so fit and finish is a ton of work and still overall pretty terrible. The thing gets shipped folded as well, which warps part of it. I returned it.

So then I decide to just find a nice as possible original headliner board, and pulled a good one out of a 99. I take it to a local upholstery place to have it recovered, and now I'm fighting with them. They felt the middle section of the board was weak, so without asking me first they put a strip of poster board around it to strengthen it. Great idea, except now there is a large noticeable thicker band around the middle you can see under the fabric. Definitely stands out.

[/rant]

I'm not sure where to go with this now. At this point it would have been easier to just keep my fabric peeling, flaking material original headliner.

 

[94 T/A]

So I took my headliner out when I put a cage in the car it was in rough shape to begin with fabric wise the cardboard was great. I had it recovered and could never get it back in right. So I've gone without since then. It seems once you take them out it's a total bear to deal with after.

 

[vipe155]

I could see that being an issue, I get that.

The problem is the only thing on the market is this way too stiff ABS plastic headliner, otherwise you have to continue to use an old board. If only someone made something that was truly the correct shape and made out of quality materials.

 

[BigBowtie85]

Unfortunately for you, that is one of the downsides of owning a T-Top car. I've done mine (granted my car is a FRC) so the bigger headliner is a bit easier to deal with and repair isn't such an issue. All I can advise you on is what I did to mine and maybe it will help you.

I reinforced my headliner in its weakest spots, I used poster board as it was easy to work with, thin enough to shape to the headliner, but strong enough to hold the weaker parts of the board. I also used velco in every possible edge to hold the headliner to the roof of the car. I also made sure to use a padded fabric in order to get a more OEM look than just using a felt type fabric.

Not sure how much it will help you with yours, but its an easy job (at least to me) and worth doing yourself since it requires very few tools and the materials can be found for relatively cheap (apart from the fabric, that price might be a bit of surprise). Best of luck to you with your headliner issues!

 

[vipe155]

I reinforced my headliner in its weakest spots, I used poster board as it was easy to work with, thin enough to shape to the headliner, but strong enough to hold the weaker parts of the board. I

You know that's the thing, the shop I took a '99 board to reinforced the middle with poster board, and even with 1/4" foam backed cloth you can clearly see where the poster board is underneath. How did you cover weak spots and have it blend in?

I'm thinking some fiberglass resin in the middle may work to harden the surface but not show through the fabric. Whatever it is it has to be very thin, and in my case poster board didn't work.

 

[BigBowtie85]

You know that's the thing, the shop I took a '99 board to reinforced the middle with poster board, and even with 1/4" foam backed cloth you can clearly see where the poster board is underneath. How did you cover weak spots and have it blend in?

I'm thinking some fiberglass resin in the middle may work to harden the surface but not show through the fabric. Whatever it is it has to be very thin, and in my case poster board didn't work.

I layered it. Like I said though, I've got a hard top so it might have worked better for me than it would for a T-Top headliner. Those headliners seem to be extremely delicate.

 

[Harlock]

The problem is the only thing on the market is this way too stiff ABS plastic headliner

The ABS plastic headliner I just got in the mail, came folded in half in the shipping box. It popped right back into shape when I took it out. And it flexes pretty freely, actually. It also came with a foot long piece of velcro (two pieces of it stuck together, with adhesive on the flat sides) to stick to the roof, I assume to hold it in place while you're busy putting clips and such back in.

Did you have an experience with a plastic one that wouldn't flex at all? Just curious as to why you're not considering this an option unless you already tried it.