Date: Wed, 15 Sep 1999 15:53:37 GMT From: David M. Arnold <darnoldnopsampc.com> Subject: Case Study: Headliner part 1/6
Headliner Replacement: A Case Study (part 1 of 6) 1: The Problem As we were resurrecting our 1979 900GLE for our daughter to drive, one of the things we noticed was that the headliner was drooping. This is a very common problem with older SAABs: I'd guess that every SAAB built between 1974 and 1993 (and, maybe even later) will eventually experience this difficulty. The cause is that the headliner fabric is backed by a thin layer of foam rubber that eventually decomposes and turns into powder, leaving the fabric to fall down. I had repaired a headliner before, on a 1976 99GLi, thus I was somewhat familiar with the procedure. The complication this time was the sunroof, which also exhibited fabric droop. In order to make the car roadworthy we had to repair wiring to the hatch (running lights and rear defogger) that had become brittle and had broken. This repair required dropping the headliner, so the upholstery repair involved overlapping labor. Besides, we wanted to do the job The Right Way, so using staple guns, trim retainers from Pep Boys, subcutaneous glue injections, etc were out. The 900 GLE also has a pair of interior quarter panels covered with headliner material. We had to have these repaired many years ago. Covering these requires professional expertise, since two pieces of material had to be fitted and sewn together around the opening for the opera window. Fortunately for us, these were still very solid. (continued in Part 2)... Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ Share what you know. Learn what you don't.