Roof lining

[Murdoch]

HI.
Im looking at buying a VN wagon as i had one as a younger fella.
Hood lining is stuffed.
How hard is it to do in the wagons? Is it more breaking pillar covers when taking off that's the issue?

 

[Fu Manchu]

The job is easy. Take your time. Yes things break.

 

[VPRob]

If you think about it you can leave some of the cover strips in place and still get the headlining out and then re-installed. It is difficult to get cover strips out without breaking a few clips. I did my sedan recently and a local upholsterer supplied and installed the new fabric for me for $120. I did all the prep work and took the headlining out and put it back in. A wire brush does a good job of getting old glue off the cardboard.
I also had to re-glue the metal ribs to the car's roof while the headlining was out. Those ribs are only spot glued to the roof during manufacture, not welded and they had come completely free from the roof in my car. That complicated the job but it's probably a rare problem. I installed some temporary timber supports across the car to wedge the ribs up against the roof while the new glue dried. I drove the car around for a week or so with the supports in place while the glue cured.
None of the removal or reinstallation is particularly difficult, just fiddly in places. It's a good job for an amateur because you can take the time to do a tidy job that would make it expensive if paying a pro to do it.

 

[VS 5.0]

The good thing about a wagon is that you can remove the lining straight out the rear rather than having to go through the front passenger door like with a sedan.

 

[Fu Manchu]

No need to use a wire brush. Only need a stiff bristled brush. I use the one from the brush and pan set.

 

[NORTI]

I remove the linings without touching the pillars as they are known to break the clips.
if you undo the sunvisor, handles, lights, and mirror screws, then you can manoeuvre the lining out of the tops of the pillar covers and the rear piece to avoid breakage.

 

[refvpsenator]

check out U-Tube they show a few different remove and replace head linings. cheers

 

[Fu Manchu]

Do the job properly. Remove the trims. Clean off the panel and recover. You can see mine done in my Cross 8 thread.

 

[NORTI]

Do the job properly. Remove the trims. Clean off the panel and recover. You can see mine done in my Cross 8 thread.

you want to avoid removing trims in the VN/VP era. you will break them more often than not.

 

[Fu Manchu]

Did the one in my VP ute no worries. Also added insulation inside the panels and way more in the roof itself so the car was really quiet after it was done.