Head Over Heels

Overcome Your Fears and Install a Headliner

March, 2009

This is Octavio's place. Though...

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There are a couple of things that most people don't want to do to their cars, such as transmission rebuild, paint and body. Surely towards the top of this list is the headliner, as there's some myth that it is the one of the most difficult job in any restoration. Now, granted, it is difficult, but not impossible for someone at home to tackle themselves. There's really no special tools needed or any classroom-learned skilled necessary--although experience certainly is on the side of Octavio Gutierrez, owner of Octavio's Kustom 1 Upholstery shop in Orange, Calif., a secret source of not only great custom and classic interiors but for overall restorations. For an example of his work, check out the feature of Santos Lagunas's 1963 23-Window Bus we showed you in the November 2003 issue of this magazine. Truly remarkable talent.

Based on this, it was logical to take our Super Beetle (part of this magazine's Super Project '71) to Octavio and have him show us how to install a headliner. This procedure shouldn't be taken lightly; though it is possible to do it yourself, it isn't easy, as it takes skill, experience and know-how. But, don't worry, we'll show you how it is done.

Tools necessary for this job is a pair of sharp scissors, a heat gun (a strong hair dryer will help), razor blade and upholstery adhesive. Start by laying out the large headliner in the sun for a couple of hours, as this is one job that is better done on a hot day to keep the vinyl malleable. There are a multitude of options for a headliner, from leather and vinyl to wool and cloth, but we chose a stock standby TMI headliner from BFY Obsolete Parts. Another step you should consider is to sound proof the top if you plan on ever getting caught in the rain. Two sheets of sound deadening material such as Dynamat will do the trick in keeping out a lot of Mother Nature's noise. Like a Band-Aide, these have a film that pulls away exposing the adhesive side.

Conclusion:
Like we said above, it isn't easy, there's a lot of steps, but it isn't impossible either. There is a certain anxiety one feels whenever glue is applied to anything, feeling as though you'd better hurry before the glue dries and then you'll be out of luck getting it to stick. Well, that just isn't so with upholstery glue as its tackiness depends on heat and time. Sure it will set up after a few hours, but for 30 minutes or so, it is free to work with. By taking your time and proceeding thoughtfully, you will have a professional looking headliner to be proud of. However, if you still think this is out of your range of possibilities, call Octavio. He'll be glad to do it for you.

Since the Super just came... read full caption Since the Super just came back from the paint shop, the over spray must be sanded down to bare metal, enough to form a roughed up surface that the glue will stick to. This is done with 36-grit sandpaper.	Right: The retaining teeth... read full caption Right: The retaining teeth on the door pillars are bent out and straightened. This can be done with a pair of pliers as easily as with anything else. You're going to lose some paint in this step, but don't worry, it will be hidden by the vinyl A-pillar pieces.	After all of the paint chips... read full caption After all of the paint chips and dust have settled, vacuum out the debris and make the surfaces as clean as you can. Glue will only stick to clean surfaces.
Octavio measures for the sound... read full caption Octavio measures for the sound deadening material. We ended up using two pieces, each approximately 32 inches wide and totaling almost 60 inches long, but don't take our word for it, measure it yourself.	With the heat gun, the material... read full caption With the heat gun, the material is heated up, causing the glue to run slightly before it is put into place. After a few seconds of holding it there, it will stay nicely.	Starting with the A-pillar... read full caption Starting with the A-pillar piece, feed the rubber piping into the toothed clamps and hammer them down tightly. Start at the top of the door and go down, removing excess material at the bottom.
Add a coat of glue to the... read full caption Add a coat of glue to the back side of the vinyl and the door pillar. Then cut a piece of foam padding with enough clearance to wrap completely around the pillar, approximately three inches.		With another coat of glue,... read full caption With another coat of glue, tightly pull the vinyl around the foam and to the door pillar. The glue should be tacky enough to stick well only after a few seconds. Start in the middle and go up then down, making sure the foam stays smooth underneath. If there are any wrinkles, smooth them out with the heat gun and by stretching the vinyl farther.
At the corners--all corners--you... read full caption At the corners--all corners--you must cut slits in the material to not only relieve stress at these points but to allow the flat vinyl to smoothly make it around the corner.	You'll notice that with the... read full caption You'll notice that with the headliner rods, there are two shorter than the others. These two go in the front of the car, nearest to the windshield, while the other three (four if your headliner is original--aftermarket headliners only used three of the rods for some reason) go toward the back.	The rods are fed into the... read full caption The rods are fed into the main headliner piece and the ends of the channels are cut back a couple of inches to give the rods more space to bend.
	A coat of glue is added to... read full caption A coat of glue is added to the entire perimeter of the headliner as well as any point on the car where it is needed. Assistance is needed to keep the vinyl off of itself once the glue gets tacky.	Each of the five rods are... read full caption Each of the five rods are placed into the channel above the doors and windows, the shorter once farther forward. Don't worry too much about spacing at this point, because when you stretch out the headliner, the rods will fall into place on their own.
	Starting in the middle of... read full caption Starting in the middle of the front (windshield side), Octavio pulls the headliner tight against the window frame and presses the glue down. This is one of the most important steps, because if it is off center, the whole headliner will fit crookedly.	Heading to the very back,... read full caption Heading to the very back, the main piece is pulled as tight as possible. This is where the rods will fall into place, for the most part. Fix the piece to the rear window by the same fashion as the front window. You'll have about a foot of material left over.
Another important step to... read full caption Another important step to get perfectly correct is the position of the center rod, as it should be approximately two to four inches to the rear of the center B-pillar. Make sure it is even on each side. Note the fancy fold on the B-pillar. This is done by simply tucking in the headliner with a slight downward angle.	From that center point pull... read full caption From that center point pull and feed the material into the toothed clamps above the door. Cut the headliner so there's about an inch of overhang so there's enough to grab hold inside the groove.	With a plastic mallet (anything... read full caption With a plastic mallet (anything that won't leave a mark), tap down the clamps.
Working back toward the front... read full caption Working back toward the front pillars, the material is stretched tight and a similar fold is executed as the B-pillar, just make sure that they are at the same level on both sides.	Turning our attention to the... read full caption Turning our attention to the rear of the car, the most important step in making the rear of the headliner look good is maintaining the line that comes off of the bottom of the side windows. If your glue starts to set, heat it until it is tacky again.	From the back corner, mold... read full caption From the back corner, mold the material over the rear-wheel wells, following the curve all the way to the front. Cut away the excess material.
The final step for this kit... read full caption The final step for this kit is to attach the quarter window pieces and they merely glue into place without much trouble. Since they are the outside pieces, make sure the lines created are straight and even on both sides.		For later cars, especially... read full caption For later cars, especially Super Beetles, the package tray carpet kit is supposed to curve up and over this area and cover everything from the window down. However, we wanted the clean look of headliner material in this area instead of carpet, so Octavio fashioned this extra piece with sewn edges.
	The bottom of which just tucks... read full caption The bottom of which just tucks into the package tray channel and out of sight.	After about six hours of continuous... read full caption After about six hours of continuous work, the headliner is completely done and looking great.

Octavio's Kustom 1 Upholstery
822 W. Angus Ave, Unit D
Orange
CA 92868