Q: Besides its brittleness...

[sailorcto]

Ant advice on removing the plastic cockpit headliner/surround? I need to remove it such the it can be re-installed.

This is on my '78 Eleganza II. Is it glued anywhere? My seats are out getting the leather cleaned up and re-cushioned, so I have good access.

Hoping to hear from those who have actually done it rather than theoretical assumptions and reasons to not attempt it.

--Tony Bennett
Watkinsville, GA
'78 Eleganza II 26'
'73 Toy Hauler 23'

 

[thomas phipps]

I have removed my forward cap, during my headliner replacement. Hardest part of the job are the sun visors. They are a really fine thread and it seems
to be forever to remove them. Reinstalling them is worst, because you must hit their support very exactly. Took much longer to reinstall.
Mine was not glued anywhere, but there were way overkill pop rivets in the back edge. I also found the mixture of screws and machine screws
interesting. Don't forget which goes where. Have help, once removed, it has very little structural integrity.
I used fiberglass tape and epoxy on the topside, over the cracks that were in the plastic. I also applied a layer of thin insulation over the entire
cap, except along the flange. Helps with Summer Heat here.
I used Krylon plastic spray paint to get the cap back to an off-white color, hiding the yellowed appearance of the cap.
Not a hard job to do.
Tom, MS II
--
1975 GMC Avion
KA4CSG

 

[kingsley coach]

I had 2 small cracks on both sides of my rear view mirror...I did a perfect
repair and painted it. There was not even a sign of a hairline crack. I
reinstalled the headliner and for all intent and purposes it was the
perfect repair !!

Less than a week later they were back...I find they give the cab ambiance !

Mike in NS

> I have removed my forward cap, during my headliner replacement. Hardest
> part of the job are the sun visors. They are a really fine thread and it
> seems
> to be forever to remove them. Reinstalling them is worst, because you must
> hit their support very exactly. Took much longer to reinstall.
> Mine was not glued anywhere, but there were way overkill pop rivets in the
> back edge. I also found the mixture of screws and machine screws
> interesting. Don't forget which goes where. Have help, once removed, it
> has very little structural integrity.
> I used fiberglass tape and epoxy on the topside, over the cracks that were
> in the plastic. I also applied a layer of thin insulation over the entire
> cap, except along the flange. Helps with Summer Heat here.
> I used Krylon plastic spray paint to get the cap back to an off-white
> color, hiding the yellowed appearance of the cap.
> Not a hard job to do.
> Tom, MS II
> --
> 1975 GMC Avion
> KA4CSG
>
> _______________________________________________
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--
Michael Beaton
1977 Kingsley 26-11
1977 Eleganza II 26-3
Antigonish, NS

Life is too short to hold a grudge; slash some tires and call it even !

 

[Ken H.]

Tony,

I one comment to add to those from Tom and Mike: If you intend to replace
the cockpit curtain with one from Margaret Guskey (the accordion-fold type
that seem to be most common in current GMCs), you should go ahead and order
it. The reason being that you'll be removing the OEM aluminum track to get
the headliner out; you might as well replace it with the Guske track and
avoid another R&R exercise.

You may also want to consider adding some wooden blocks near the center of
the span, especially if you have distant dreams of adding an overhead
console, shelf, etc. With the headliner down, it's easy to cut away a
little foam and mount blocks with glue (Liquid Nails) and screws laterally
through the molded-in roof struts. You'll have to guess, based on "your
dreams" where those should be positioned.

While the headline is down is the right time to replace the clearance
lights, or at least examine/modify their wiring. The foam insulation was
sprayed over the wires; it's not unusual to remove a clearance light from
outside and have one of the bullet connectors "automatically" separate
because there's little slack in the wires. There's also the matter of wire
polarity: MANY of the wires that should have positive polarity actually
have negative -- and vice-versa for the negative. That's not a problem
since the roof is not conductive and the incandescent bulbs are not
polarity sensitive. But if you replace those with LED's, the polarity MUST
be correct -- now's a good time to check and mark the wires.

Don't forget to add some insulation to the meager OEM application; it will
help keep the cockpit cool/warm.

Ken H.

> Ant advice on removing the plastic cockpit headliner/surround? I need to
> remove it such the it can be re-installed.
>
> This is on my '78 Eleganza II. Is it glued anywhere? My seats are out
> getting the leather cleaned up and re-cushioned, so I have good access.
>
> Hoping to hear from those who have actually done it rather than
> theoretical assumptions and reasons to not attempt it.
>
> --Tony Bennett
> Watkinsville, GA
> '78 Eleganza II 26'
> '73 Toy Hauler 23'
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
>

 

[LarryW]

My cockpit headliner was cracked and yellowed from years of sun exposure. I glued insulation to the back side and used this to cover it. Looks nice,
sound absorbing, and made of recycleable materials.
http://www.perfectfit.com/15593/154092/Marine-Carpet-and-Hulliner/Hulliner-and-Headliner-72.html

Worked for me. While you've got the headliner down, check for leaks at your running lights and anything else that may penetrate the roof. JWID
--
Larry
78 Royale w/500 Caddy
Menomonie, WI.