Headliner replacement.

[84E24]

When replacing the headliner I have been told that you
only have to remove the rear window.

Can anyone comfirm that the front window does not
need to be removed?

Thanks,

 

[vraned]

I did mine with the windshield out, but the car was already completely apart. Nonetheless, there are other reasons, which just might be a matter of opinion, so here goes. You should probably remove the molded front headliner piece, and this requires that you remove the windshield. Removing the molded piece is good practice because:

(a) They tend to be somewhat fragile (35 years +/-): There is a good chance of doing damage when trying to tuck/glue the foremost headliner panel under the molded piece. Also, the molded piece doesn't just "tuck" under the windshield seal, it is clamped to the windshield opening by means of a riveted serrated strip: remove it without removing the windshield & drilling out the rivets = damage.

(b) You may want to reshoot the molded piece to match the new material.

(c) This gives you the cleanest way, and best angle of attack, to tension and glue the foremost headliner panel before resorting to the heatgun.

Check out the headliner section of my website: http://www.vranedom.com/headliner/headliner.html