82 Vanagon/Westfalia Front Headliner Remove/Repair/Replace?

[lodcomm]

Hello Folks,

Can anyone point me to the instructions on removing, repairing and replacing the front 82 vanagon/westy headliner. Mine has the dreaded center sag, and worse is covered with some kind of bizarre "mystical symbols" fabric.

the combination of the drooping ceiling and weird fabric simply has to go.

The whole moulded fiberboard? thing looks a bit flimsy so I don't want to damage it trying to hack my way into getting to out, hence my looking for some directions for the proper removal procedure.

Once I do get it out, I intend to replace the fiberglass insulation with the much nicer HVAC Bubble/Foil Insulation, which hopefully will help prevent the sag in the future.

Any Ideas on getting the sag out of the headliner or somehow forming it back to the the proper upper "bow" along the centerline?

Open to any suggestions on the proper material and fasteners anyone could suggest for the replacement

Lastly, does anyone know of a source for a replacement headliner (the actual fiberboard headliner - in case mine is so warped it needs to be replaced!


thanks again to everyone here for the nearly instantaneous answers to my myriad of west/vanagon questions!

-todd

[Jeffrey Lee]

I can understand why the custom "mystical symbols" fabric might sag (after all, even Karma has its ups and downs), but why is the hardboard panel sagging?

My original 83 vinyl wallpaper/fabric was peeling and sagging, so I removed the entire headliner panel and used a hi-temp heat gun to remove all the old wallpaper. Then I repainted the panel using a satin kitchen/bath paint of the same color and a roller with a stippled pattern to approximate the original panel. All in all, a pretty good match.

If the panel itself is damaged, you could contact this guy who sells ABS replacement panels:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1395379

[guavajelly]

I had a similar issue in my '83 Westy. The original vinyl was pealing and the fiber board was warped, and had cracked. Once i had the headliner out I pressed it flat and traced it onto a sheet of 1/4" MDF. Similar to Jeffrey Lee I painted it (although inslightly different colors). The MDF is stiff enough and has held the contour of the cab for 8 or 9 years.

ps. don't judge me to harshly for my art.
_________________
65 Karmann Ghia Coupe
83 a/c westy
Past:
71 fastback
66 squareback

[djkeev]

My local lumber yard has 4x8x1/4" sheets of PVC, smooth on one side, wood grained on the other.

This product is used a lot for home exterior soffits and other architectural bits on a home.

With proper preparation and paint it can be painted.

Advantage is that it will NOT sag over the years.

No matter what you do, make darn sure that the luggage carrier brackets above the drivers cab are NOT leaking! Reseal them when you fix the headliner for sure.

Dave
_________________
Stop Dead Photo Links how to post photos

Ghia
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=392473

Vanagon
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6315537#6315537

Beetle
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=482968&highlight=74+super+vert

[rotaecho]

So, when trying to remove my luggage rack, it turned out the previous owner or worker on the van flipped the four bolts that are on the back-section of the luggage rack with the caps.

Because of this moron, I got to remove the bolts from under the head-liner. I can reach two of those bolts kinda (more towards the center), but not the bolts on the outside closer to the sides of the van.

I have the lip off, all of the screws (front / back even though video says no back I already had them off), but I'm not getting a wiggle/move on the headliner.

I figured I'd ask here if anyone had an idea? If I gotta destroy it to fix the bolts it is what it is, but then I'd like to know how to replace/make a newer headliner from a template etc for birch or another similar wood.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Here is the youtube of what I'm talking about:


Link

_________________
-Will
1982 Westfalia mTDI (50deg) aka Betsy Bertha
http://www.tdivanagons.com

[djacksonsf]

Just curious - were you successful in the end? Any tips/instructions you can share?
_________________
+++++++++++++
'87 Westfalia
'88 BMW 535i
'83 BMW R100RS
'74 BMW 2002

[rotaecho]

Been awhile, but I broke the original trying to remove. Was too brittle after the years.

I used marine birch and cut a template using my old one.

I had to shave/thin the driver/passenger sides to let it slip into the groove.

I did it on a hot summer day and sponge soaked the headliner after or a humid day would work to help moisten the headliner when you start to bend it (keep from snapping).

Best of luck!