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| Original Marina Blue headliner from a 67' Camaro |
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| Headliner spray dyed black with SEM Vinyl Spray |
One of those "fixes" was the headliner. The headliner is a large sheet of vinyl that runs vertically along the roof of the car. The top side of the liner has long loops of cloth running horizontally across its width. Metal rods go from one side of the car to the other, and they feed through the liner loops. This is what holds the liner taught against the roof.
The original headliner was marina blue and saggy. It had a small tear near the windshield too. The plan was to remove the headliner, spray dye it with black SEM vinyl coat and reinstall it. Unfortunately that plan was foiled almost immediately. Upon removal of the liner, it was apparent the cloth loops had been disintegrating for years and wouldn't be reusable. Simply looking at them the wrong way caused them to rip. It was obvious the existing headliner would need extensive repairs, or a new one would need to be ordered and Turbo Camaro would be liner-less for 6-8 weeks.
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| The headliner fabric loops were toast |
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| Headliner removed - Note the roof rails |
The existing loops were literally ripped off. The seams in the liner itself were loose so they were re-sewn, by hand. Cloth was purchased locally and careful measurements were taken from an original loop and new ones were cut and hand sewn to the original seam locations. This alone probably took 4 hours. The rip in the front was approximately 3" long. The backside of the rip and the nearby area was coated in contact cement. A new piece of cloth was soaked in contact cement and, once tacky, was applied to the tear. This area was then pressed between a stack of magazines to ensure it tried flat and avoided ripples. The repair wasn't flawless but once sprayed didn't really show. The sun visor did a great job of hiding it too. The blue side of the liner layed face up on the garage floor and was sprayed with SEM vinyl prep and eventually two cans of black SEM vinyl coat. Since the headliner was original, it reinstalled perfectly as it already had holes for the hanger hooks, sun visor mounts and dome light. So, for about $30 in chemicals, $5 in cloth, a few cents worth of contact cement and about 5 hours of your time, you can complete restore an original headliner. The real question is, unless your obsessed with originality, why would you?
Which is why Turbo Camaro already has a brand new headliner, still in the box, waiting for install once the weather improves. A headliner installation video is planned for 2016.
Turbo | Camaro
