Finally got around to replacing the headliner; here are some photos and notes.

1) First of all, big thanks to CrossfireForum member onehundred80 for his posts on citing the color/fabric used. I tracked down a fabric supplier for the '2349 Opal Grey' which was a near perfect match in color, stitch design/pattern/size, and texture (see photo). I looked at a lot of different options and textures and this was the closest near identical match to the OEM fabric in my Blue SRT-6. Anybody looking at the completed job, even the most experienced Crossfire owner, is not going to easily spot it's not factory/OEM. I got it as 2-yards from Albright's Supply Company in Corinth, MS.

2) On the shell coming out and going back in; much easier than many have made it out to sound. Sheets, blankets, padding, and tape - on EVERYTHING. I left nothing to chance for scratches or damage, and thereby didn't have any. Ito took me less than 2 minutes to drop and "roll" it out of the car. As a prep, like others found to be an advantage; I moved the seats all the way forward, reclined, telescoping steering wheel pushed all the way in, and when it came to rolling the shell past the Automatic shifter, I shifted it into drive for clearance. I put a thin piece of poster board over the dash/radio/control face in that area under the blanket to avoid scrapes/scratches. I think doing all this helped allow me to remove it in one fell swoop, literally just down and out in under 3 minutes. I also threw small dishtowels over the sharp corners of the two back panels while going out and back in, so they wouldn't scratch the back corners or hang up on the fabric of the headliner.

3) Another good recommendation was to remove the garage-door opener AFTER the shell is out; rather than leveraging it out of the hole where it resides in a way that could damage the thin rail of the shell that retains it, remove the torx screw to "de-clam" the two halves.

4) I did not need any special tools. On the two black post retaining pins on the back, I found I was small and agile enough to get in the hatch and reach in with two fingers and simply pull the pin-retainer down to remove them. I was prepared with various needle-nose extensions, paddles, and interior removal forks, but didn't need them at any point in the process.

5) I absolutely recommend installing Dynamat on the roof - as CrossfireForum member waldig recommended. Figured the need for that to be exaggeration, it wasn't until I got the headliner shell out that I realized that roof is like a giant timpani skin. The wadding Karman/Mercedes/Chrysler used just isn't enough. That really deserves some butyl-rubber sound deadening. As a roller for the Dynamat, I used a gym single pulley attachment; this allowed me to really roll it on and give it some good pressure.

6) To remove the deteriorated foam goo, I first let it lie in the hot sun for a while to soften it up. I then toweled and brushed of the voluminous gobs with a scraper, towel, or simple brush. From there I used 91% alcohol on the mile areas, and Acetone on the more aggressive areas, and for the orange 'film' that remained, I used a 3/8" thick chunk of butyl-rubber from a floor-mat to "erase" off the remnants. This rubber chunk trick worked much better than a brush or a cup-brush in a drill as some have shown. I didn't want to use anything like "Goo Gone" with its citrus solvents, or petroleum-based solvents like mineral spirits, as the shell is like a sponge. I can only imagine if one uses that, it would soak into the shell and later cause the 3M adhesive to fail faster. The alcohol and acetone kept this dry and oil-free.

7) When installing the fabric on the adhesive and spreading it out even, I used a pliable bondo spreader at first, then wore white cotton gloves to spread in and around the concaves. I had several pair and swapped them out or turned them inside-out to continue use if they got dirt or smudges on them, as I continued to handle the newly upholstered shell. I did this from the moment the fabric was down until it was fully installed in the car. This helped to keep the fabric spotless while handling and avoid stains/spots/smudges. (And the gloves are cheap.)

8) While I did not have any deformation or damage to the shell removing it, I still took onehundred80's thoughts and reinforced potential weak spots with fiberglass resin. I had some surplus from a patch-kit in the garage so I figured what the hell, I'd put it to use. I then also used it to reinforce and re-seal the corners and edges. This helped retain the fabric well when wrapped later along and over those edges.

9) Instead of clothespins as one video recommended, I already had dozens of paper binder-clips in various sizes, and used those. The various size-range worked better to crimp along the very edges, and in curves and angles however required, as I assembled and smoothed out the fabric and to pressure it along the more sculptured edges and corners where otherwise the fabric may not have wanted to hold while the adhesive was drying. They also provide better clamping hold than clothespins would have supplied.

10) Speaking of adhesive, I bought two cans of 3M "Headliner Adhesive" - I used one can on the fabric layout, then maybe a 4th of the second can on the back-side edges and polyester "ribbon" I laid to make a nice retention ban at the fabric ends for extra surety in holding those fast. This gave a nice qualitative aesthetic appearance to the job rather than ragged loose ends, which would also prevent those fringe from getting tangled up on something while re-installing. Even if nobody is ever going to see it, I would know it's there looking shabby, so it's got to look tight and polished. ( I DO hear trees falling in the forest even when I'm not around when they do.).

11) When putting it back in, just before re-fastening the back, I reached in with a brush dabbed in clear E-6000 adhesive and applied it to the upper backside of the Velcro retaining swatch. ( E-6000 is very strong, durable, high-heat resistant, no odor, with a thick viscosity to hold it to the brush and in place so it doesn't run off or drip as you reach through the separation to dab in on the Velcro fastener. )

For those that may soon be afflicted with this sky-is-falling pandemic, below are links to very helpful threads that helped get some precognition prior to my own endeavors.

https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum...er-fabric.html

https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum...r-removal.html


rGaoFxDl.jpg

WgqADn8l.jpg

z3FMQAVl.jpg

KEtzKval.jpg

X7zd4sVl.jpg

ovbI4nJl.jpg

rUwVsLwl.jpg

1bEuA1yl.jpg

h7qPYRBl.jpg

zB8knGAl.jpg

.