i'm an older woman about to replace my headliner and would like to sound like i know what i'm talking about when i hunt for someplace to put in a new headliner. my 740 GL wagon's headliner is totally destroyed (rotted out, falling down, missing sections). i was told to look into marine upholstery repair shops before going to a customizing auto body shop (they do upholstery like you see on tv shows). are there any questions i should ask or any info i should know beforehand to make sure i'm not being taken advantage of? and, i understand it might cost $400 or so (long island is terribly expensive!). is that about right? any help would be appreciated.
thanks!

IPD in Oregon sells a kit for replacing it.It may be cheaper or easier to get it and have someone install it.Mine failed in my 88 years ago so i took it down and just have the material under it left.They use a type of compressed fiber to glue the liner to and that attaches to the metal roof.Havnt removed mine to see how it attaches to the roof.My interiors red and the compressed fiber is brown so it almost matches.The liners are backed with foam for temp and sound dedining i guess and when thats glued to the board the weight of the liner pulls the foam loose.My moms S80 is doing it too so i assume most Volvo's have this problem.

I've done at least eight headliner replacements. Wagons are easy since the headliner board will come out the tailgate. It takes two people to remove and replace the headliner board from a wagon. You must handle the board carefully to keep from breaking it. Once it is out turn it upside down and carefully remove all of the decayed material. I use a wire bristle brush to get rid of the foam residue. I use 3M Super 77 spray contact adhesive to glue the new headliner material. You'll need two people for this, to. To position the new headliner material in place you may want to use thick paper between the new headliner material and the headliner board. You could use cardboard. You slip the cardboard out and stick the new material to the board as you go. Don't expect perfect results on your first job.
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john

to john and everyone else,
i panicked and went to one of those shops where they do the whole redo of a car (as in those shows where the wife brings in the husband's tattered car and they make it amazingly brand new looking)and they could not have been sweeter. it will be a two man job (in one day) as they have to also sand down the top as the padding had all fallen down. since the skylight on top was misaligned and caused water to accumulate inside the headliner they will take out the skylight and realign it and seal it off completely and then it will be covered by the new headliner. i feel very comfortable with them doing it. and i got a senior discount. it's AUTOMAT in hicksville/bethpage. it was much more than i expected but then i didn't realize the work involved. thank you all for your responses. p.s. i won't have my driver seat sewn up as i told them "fishing line and a sewing needle seems to be working out just fine!" LOL. again, thank you!
mary ellen

OOOOH! Fishing line! And a sail (curved) needle would make a big difference to the holes in my seat.

That's a great idea! Thanks :)

Wagon is easier than sedan as it can come out through the back. Suggest you print out info in the FAQ here, and more info on Turbobricks/articles so any shop knows the details of a Volvo. If the sunroof has leaked there'd probably be damage to the headliner around the opening. This can be fixed by making a seam at those areas rather than trying to make it all be one piece again.
The sunroof itself can be tricky. If that headliner needs replacing that adds to cost I think.
Hopefully John Sargent will see this, I believe he's done several.

Make sure they put the safety handles back up by the doors. The Bozos left mine off. I had to go find the screws for them.

I've done one, a sedan, including the sunroof. That was enough for me!!

Do you have a moonroof? Lots of liner installers don't realize the moonroof fabric is different thickness than the rest of the liner...
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Post Back. That's whats makes this forum work.

Assuming the fiber board backing is still in tact.....

Check out your local yellow pages or ads in local circulars, etc. There are people that will come to your house and do it fairly reasonably. That's all they do, all day long - headliners. They can do three or four of them in a day and you can bet that they're quite familiar with doing Volvos.

oh, it's a 1990 740 GL......

Ahh another Long Islander living the financial pains of this Rock
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'75 Jeep CJ5 345Hp ChevyPwrd, two motorcycles, '85 Pickup: The '89 Volvo is the newest vehicle I own. it wasn't Volvos safety , it was Longevity that sold me http://home.lyse.net/brox/TonyPage4.html http://cleanflametrap.com/tony/