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Introduction The headliner, also known as the roof lining, is the fabric panel that spans the interior of the roof above the heads of the occupants, and in the Kestrel’s case, the fabric extends down the B and C pillars to the waistline of the car. It is suspended from 6 arched metal rods that slide into pockets on the upper, roof side of the lining and their ends locate in holes in the cant rails down either side of the inside of the roof. Over time, headliners can sag, tear, rot, become damaged by UV, or stained by tobacco smoke and hair products. The process of replacing the headliner is a painstaking but rewarding process which can greatly improve the overall look and feel of the car. With the average price to install a headlining kit ranging from £250-£500, our aim was to document the entire process so that other enthusiasts might feel confident enough to tackle the replacement and do a professional job, at a fraction of the price. While our headlining is known as a suspended headliner, and this is a report on the fitting of this specific kit, the steps are applicable to many other models and designs. Tools and Materials Before you begin, gather the following tools and materials: Headlining kit: Purchase a kit specifically designed for your car model. Ours was from the renowned specialists in this field, Newton Commercial. Screwdrivers: Flathead and Phillips screwdrivers to remove interior lights, coat hanger clips, sun visors, etc. Fabric adhesive: On the advice of top trimmers, the best glue for this job is S1358 contact adhesive from Alpha Adhesives & Sealants. It proved to be excellent. Scalpel or blade: To trim the excess material. Spring steel trim clips: These are essential for the dry run as they properly secure the fabric to the panel edges when tensioning the fabric without moving – unlike Bulldog clips, clothes pegs, etc. Removal process. The old headliner was complete but heavily stained, ripped, and damaged in a few small areas. Newton Commercial had supplied headliners for other ADO16 models and had the patterns, but they did not supply a Riley Kestrel headliner before. So, for them to be able to match materials and replicate it, we had to remove it as carefully as possible and send it to them so they could add it to their pattern database for future Kestrel owners. The front and rear screens had already been removed for the full respray. As this is necessary to replace the headlining anyway, this was the ideal time to do the job. All the door rubbers were removed too, and the old fabric carefully peeled back from the door aperture and screen body seams. The old glue offered little resistance. When the edges were unstuck, the metal support bows above the fabric were accessible. They were rotated through 90 degrees and bent just enough to get the ends out of their locating holes in the cant rails. They were slid out of their fabric pockets (some of which had rotted, hence the sagging headlining) Then, as some are different lengths, they were numbered from 1 – 6 (counting from the front), with a vibro-etching tool so the numbers could still be seen even after cleaning and painting with Rustbusters epoxy mastic paint. Stuck to the roof panel above the headlining were three longitudinal strips of brown sound-deadening felt, about half an inch thick, as fitted at the factory. The glue had failed in several places allowing the felt (which looked heavily water stained, probably from soaking up condensation over the years) to fall on to the old headlining and exaggerate the sagging. This was removed and replaced with sheets of self-adhesive DODO mat. This is a dense, foil-backed anti-drumming product, designed to dampen resonance in body panels, and makes the car quieter to drive on the road. This was secured by using hand rollers to push it up against the roof panel to ensure best adhesion after thoroughly cleaning with panel wipe. Installation Process Dry run We found that a preliminary ‘dry run’ fitting of the headlining, using steel trim clips to secure the edges before any glue was applied, was extremely good advice! The main objective being to ensure that before any adhesive was applied, we were certain that the headliner was dead central front to back, that there would be no sagging or creases, and that the pockets for the rods were not too long to prevent sideways tensioning of the fabric. We had to cut a centimetre off both ends of the frontmost pocket to be able to lose creases in the corners. While an experienced trimmer might be able to fit a headlining alone, we had no previous experience and felt that a team of 4 would obtain the best results, especially when it came to tensioning and clipping the headlining into place. We also sought lots of advice beforehand which proved very useful to us novices. This is our take on the installation of a headliner with the newly acquired knowledge from some of the best professionals in the field. Keeping the new liner clean, and thoroughly cleaning the bodywork is imperative at this stage of the fitting process, as any oils or residual adhesive could affect the strength and longevity of the adhesive bond. The initial step on the dry run was to thread the refurbished metal bows into their respective pockets in the headliner, and then slot those into position in the roof, leaving the new liner hanging from them. We then measured and marked the exact centre line of the roof, and then made sure we had the same amount of metal bow protruding from either end of their pockets. Working at the front and rear of the car we pulled the headliner taut to prevent sagging lengthways, and then used the spring clips to hold it in tension. After trying unsuccessfully to use some tailors chalk to mark out where the sun visors should be, we decided to use some masking tape and a Sharpie pen to mark the fixing points [Figure 1]. Moving to the sides and the B pillar area, inspections were carried out to see how much room we had left on the bows in relation to the looped pockets in the headliner. We discovered that we had a lot of room - around an inch and a half - to move the pockets along the bows on the nearside so we pulled down on the corresponding area to shift the pocket ends.
After pulling on the fabric in the area of the B pillar, the seam between the headlining and the B pillar fabric - which is a slightly different material - began to tear, so we then pulled only on the headlining fabric itself and spread the load over as big an area as possible when grasping it to pull the pockets outwards along the bows. Once we had pulled the hoops central on the two central bows, we again secured the headlining to the door aperture flange with spring clips. We then moved to the offside B pillar and secured the lining in the same manner. To keep the tension even on the headlining we moved forward to the bow above the front seats. We removed the interior light above the driver’s head and threaded the fixing screws back into the body so that when the lining had been adhered to the roof, we could accurately locate where to replace the lights [Figure 3].  Figure 3 - Headlining interior with dome light reinstalled Once the lining was clipped to the body we moved to the rear and realised that there were some ripples in the headlining between two bows. So, we unclipped a section and evened out the tension by pulling at the point with the least tension or hoop misalignment. The corners were the next part to address. They were pulled in various directions to achieve the desired ‘creaseless’ look and clipped in place. We then clipped the A, B and C pillar sections to the interior, paying great attention to make them level and in line with the stitching seams [Figures 4 and 5]. We moved onto placing the padded plastic ‘lozenge’ panels onto the inside of the C pillar to ensure that when the adhesive was applied, they would sit correctly into the recess in the bodywork and the clips would secure it. We then placed the front carpets to one side to ensure that the separate A pillar section of black fabric was lined up so that it would sit behind the carpets with no gaps visible. After altering the tension in a few spots, we were left with a very neat dry run of the headlining installation, and this gave everyone involved a big confidence boost.
Final installation of the headliner - with adhesive! Once the dry run was completed and checked multiple times, the adhesive was applied to the back of the fabric and to the body in the areas between the spring clips which were left in place. Waiting until the glue is dry to the touch before bringing the two surfaces together is very important for a secure ‘creep free’ bond. We used Alpha Adhesives & Sealants S1358 contact adhesive [Figure 6], which required the team to apply the adhesive with a small paint brush and wait for 20 minutes or so, until it was no longer tacky to the touch. The headlining was then pressed and moulded over the lip of the flange into the contours of the door and window apertures by heavy finger pressure [Figure 7]. Exceptional care was taken in this process to ensure that as the clips were removed, none of the tension in the headlining fabric was lost. The fumes from the contact adhesive are strong so make sure that the area is well ventilated. Using a scalpel, and a plastic filler applicator as a backing so as not to cut into the paint, the excess fabric material was trimmed back to be hidden by the door and window seals which reinforce the bonded edges when they are fitted. By this means we achieved a result which is taut and virtually crease-free and has been much admired.
 Figure 10 - Headliner before trimming Conclusion This is quite a daunting job for beginners, but if the correct procedures are followed, a dry run is done first, and time is taken to understand how the headlining reacts to different tensioning scenarios, a high-quality finish can be achieved. The results achieved by the OUMF team after a few days of planning, seeking advice, using an excellent tailored headliner from Newton Commercial, the best adhesive, and the right spring clips was a copy book practical (and bonding!) exercise for everyone involved. And best of all, it all came together to produce an amazing finish to the interior of the car of which we justifiably feel very proud and happy about. Our great thanks to Paul Nakhoulakian, Kim Johnson, Terry Waller, Mark Charlett, Nick Laidlaw, Jonny and Josh at Newton Commercial, Paul Burbridge at Alpha Adhesives, Chris at Rustbuster - and a host of others who kindly offered advice and guidance. By Amy Foster 1st year Motorsport student Bibliography
Ach's Detailing, n.d. 5 Hacks To Fix A Headliner Quickly. [Online] Available at: https://achsdetailing.com/blogs/articles/5-hacks-to-fix-a-sagging-headliner-quickly-achs-detailing [Accessed 19 March 2024]. Fuel Flow Pro, 2023. What Is A Headliner In A Car? Definition, Materials, Problems. [Online] Available at: https://fuelflowpro.com/what-is-headliner-in-car/ [Accessed 19 March 2024]. Restoration Performance, 2020. How to Install a Bow Type Headliner. [Online] Available at: https://restorationperformance.com/tech-tips/installing-a-bow-type-headliner/ [Accessed 19 March 2024].
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