upholstrey question

bumpskier45

Registered User
is there a headliner that comes in one piece ready to go on,and same question for the carpet,I am pretty sure they make the mold for the carpet wasn't sure on the headliner. And is there any material for a crack in the dash some sort of repair for them or do you have to get the whole dash,the crack is where allmost all of them crack right on the driver's side.
 
is there a headliner that comes in one piece ready to go on,and same question for the carpet,I am pretty sure they make the mold for the carpet wasn't sure on the headliner. And is there any material for a crack in the dash some sort of repair for them or do you have to get the whole dash,the crack is where allmost all of them crack right on the driver's side.

1) There are companies that will sell you one, but I've never tried one of them. Getting a good one from the junkyard and possibly recovering it is a better choice IMO. But if you go to buy one - ask here and on TCCoA about the vendors. There's nothing wrong with checking prices on quality work, but don't buy just on price - if that's all your concerned about, why not leave the one that's in the car now which will cost 0?

2) Yes, there's several places that make the carpet. There's several threads on TCCoA and a few on here about the fit of it. Again, while shopping for a good value, don't buy just on price.

3) Oh, I wish. I'm about to tackle possibly re-covering a dash for my car (yes, I've found a good one, and it's actually fairly priced; alas, getting it TO me is as much as the dash and puts it to more than I paid for the car in the first place!) I'll be removing the dash, removing the vinyl and foam, refoaming it, then recovering it in marine grade vinyl that actually looks a lot like a not-as-faded version of what's on my 1991 XR7 now.

RwP
 
upolstry

I would love to keep the headliner that's in there but its ripped near the windshield,and it looks horible,the carpet i may be able to clean but the headliner is a gonner. to bad on the dash to its just one little crack I will have to start checking at junkyards I suppose.
 
I would love to keep the headliner that's in there but its ripped near the windshield,and it looks horible,the carpet i may be able to clean but the headliner is a gonner. to bad on the dash to its just one little crack I will have to start checking at junkyards I suppose.

Is the headliner cloth ripped, or is the headliner board ripped? The cloth is replaceable.

RalphP said:
Oh, I wish. I'm about to tackle possibly re-covering a dash for my car (yes, I've found a good one, and it's actually fairly priced; alas, getting it TO me is as much as the dash and puts it to more than I paid for the car in the first place!) I'll be removing the dash, removing the vinyl and foam, refoaming it, then recovering it in marine grade vinyl that actually looks a lot like a not-as-faded version of what's on my 1991 XR7 now.

I am very curious about that. I have wondered if that was possible. I thought that re-skinning a dash with vinyl would be pretty easy, but wasn't sure about the foam. Looking forward to pics if you go ahead with it.
 
I'll be pic'ing it as I work. Including the points where I screw up.

If I decide to not refoam it, I'll at least re-silicone into the cracks after I remove the vinyl and before I re-vinyl it.

There's several sources for marine grade UV-safe vinyl out there - I found a place ( www.yourautotrim.com ) has what they call "Allegro" that's about $15/running yard, 54" wide. Too bad the dashboard is more than 54" wide ... I'll need 2 yards for it, and a yard each for the doors. I'll be ordering 5 yards - I may be recovering the arm rest separately.

RwP
 
I'll be pic'ing it as I work. Including the points where I screw up.

If I decide to not refoam it, I'll at least re-silicone into the cracks after I remove the vinyl and before I re-vinyl it.

There's several sources for marine grade UV-safe vinyl out there - I found a place ( www.yourautotrim.com ) has what they call "Allegro" that's about $15/running yard, 54" wide. Too bad the dashboard is more than 54" wide ... I'll need 2 yards for it, and a yard each for the doors. I'll be ordering 5 yards - I may be recovering the arm rest separately.

RwP

I have ordered headliner material from there before. I thought it was nice material, and I had no issues with the vendor. I looked at the "Allegro" material - it does seem to be a good match for the texture of the dash. Some nice colors there, too.
 
If I decide to not refoam it, I'll at least re-silicone into the cracks after I remove the vinyl and before I re-vinyl it.
RwP
The "great stuff" foam seems to be the consistency of the dash foam once it sets up. Im going to try it on my black car's dash as theres a big scar on the driver's side where they always crack. For cover, I intend to cut the old vinyl out where its curled up, fill with plastic filler (e.g. bondo) and then probably sand and paint. If I can figure out how to glue down a new layer of vinyl w/o it looking stupid, I may try that.
 
The "great stuff" foam seems to be the consistency of the dash foam once it sets up. Im going to try it on my black car's dash as theres a big scar on the driver's side where they always crack. For cover, I intend to cut the old vinyl out where its curled up, fill with plastic filler (e.g. bondo) and then probably sand and paint. If I can figure out how to glue down a new layer of vinyl w/o it looking stupid, I may try that.

I have owned 3 Thunderbirds, and the first two had big cracks that developed in the dash. One was even cracked by about the year 2000, so it was only 11 years old. But my current car has no cracks at all. It's a 1990, so it's about 22 years old now. I still live in the same state. The only real difference I can think of is that this car has a sunroof, which I vent on hot days, and I always use a sun shield with this car. Still, time will no doubt take its toll at some point.
 
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