All,

How do you, or should you, remove a headliner from a 240 wagon, especially without bending inwards the channel that the liner attaches to?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Matt

Hi,

I have pulled two or three over the years but it's been many years between them.
As I remember, I worked from the backend and went forward by unclipping the rear corners first.
The stiff but flexible edging is stretched over a lip along the length of the whole car.
The fabric is clipped or fitted, like the rear end was, along the length between the spring strips.
What is done is you slip the edges loose between those metal supports to get movement fore and aft.

The metal strips are sewn into channels made to go across from side to side.
The springs are longer than the width of the car will bow upwards some to make things taut.
The end of each spring sits on top of rail or lip that holds them up there in little notches in the rail. This locks them in a finite spacing down the length of the car. Again the material is released by pulling the edging in between each spring bow.

Once getting slack in the fabric you should be able to lift and slide the first spring up on either end. One going to the front and the other going to the back.

You have to work at creating more slack by pulling the fabrics lips loose on of each side of metal strip to let the spings move and clear the rails. You have to let them hang down as you go.

I'm sure it's real fun to put one back in. I have never done that. You have to work with it hanging down both ways and not directly under it.
Especially at the front up behind the sun visors when the whole length of the headliner is rolled up on the dash. It was hard to get that front edge loose because you have to pull it forward!
I have thought about that and I think it would, for me, to best start in the middle of the car and work towards the ends, stretching and clipping. I could be wrong or all wet thinking this way!

Have a nice day pinching!

Phil

On my 93 wagon, I tackled this when replacing the tailgate wiring. I was able to pull the headliner down by starting at a rear corner. I grabbed the edge where it connects to the metal edge of the roof, and pulled the liner at about a 45 degree angle towards the rear corner of the car. You may need to vary the angle more closely to parallel the roof structure. This stretches the headliner, but there is enough 'give' to allow the liner to clear the metal ridge on which it is mounted. I don't have any pictures, but remember seeing something when I was researching a few years back.

Woodshavings,

Thanks, but what I'm really after is how to get it out of the channels on both sides of the car. I've done what you've described before when working on my tailgate, but now I want to remove the whole thing from my car and I don't want bend the metal along the sides like I did in the junk yard to get it out.

Hope that clears things up a little bit more.

Thanks,

Matt

Hi again,

I just read your post back to Woodshavings and I remembered that I had to loosen the ridge holding that the sewed on vinyl cord in place.
Pinching and pulling gets it out but it is tight! Going back is another animal.

It was my belief then and now, that if I had to put one of these things back in the car I would have to open them up and clamped it back down.
I imagined that when the car was first made that rim was far more open for ease of assembly.
The worker needs to have space to hang the material temporarily, while working a line of sight, to a point probably between springs.
A tool is used to hammer down the metal lip with the vinyl cord up flush onto the roofs top frame and is brought in for a final finishing touch. A tap here and there and when it looks even they run over the length.

Something like a rawhide mallet with a cushion block placed, up against the material, to be struck with the mallet. The block might have a slight ridge or depth to keep the mash even in height.
A soft wood or plastic bone, nylon like material is very possible.

I hope I passing along some thought provoking information.
Do a write up about how you get'er done!

It's interesting that the wagon was done in one piece vinyl and the sedans were done in one blown foam piece.

Only problem you have to remove a front or rear window of a car to get them in or out.

During production the wagons top was accessible from a missing hatch or now even with the rear door in place by the owner.
I like the idea of a foam molded, sound and heat insulating roof piece. The wagon is an empty noisy cave or tunnel. Nothing but a thin sheet of vinyl up there!
I could see a flat wiring cable, in a tough sliding sheath, emerging from it with No Tortuous tight radius involved. The hinge bolts accessible through push plugs like the knee bolsters.

Hmmm, want to do an upgrading project from two sedans?
Better hurry, the crushers are banging away everyday!


Phil

Sounds like a geometry problem. Remove windshield?