After I sold it, I started realizing that was a good decision (therefore now the S1)[/QUOTE]

NOT a good decision,..I meant..
Still missing my S2:-(

 

I would miss my S2, maybe it has something to do with which was the First One.
I like how the Series 2s are *Low* to the ground and the rear bumper wrap-around! They look like a crouching predator getting ready to pounce.
(';')

 

In regards to the headliner, we feel that this is a very important part of the car. We debated originality versus quality versus effort. It was a tough debate, and while we won't bore you with ALL of the details, we will summarize our findings in hopes that it will be beneficial to the group.

A primary consideration was whether to retain a separate covered headliner board, or to glue replacement fabric directly to the roof of the car. We envisioned a covered board to be harder to install. But, we had read that fabric directly glued to the roof, even with the necessary 1/4" foam backing, would result in more road noise than the original configuration. If retaining a headliner board, we had to consider whether to patch the factory biscuit board, make our own, or purchase one of the aftermarket replacements (generally made of fibreglass). And finally, we had to consider the fabric correctness, both in terms of colour and texture/feel/look.

We considered each of these factors as we investigated options. We looked at multiple fabric choices. One was a local high-end upholstery specialist with a Jag in the shop, but we found the recommended fabric to be unacceptably expensive ($400+) and to look terrible ("this looks like panty hose," said Jamie). We talked to BAS Jaguar, with whom we have some very-positive experience and highly-recommend, and reviewed their samples and were leaning towards an "upgrade" to their wool-based headliner material, thinking that this would be an easily justified change from original that increased the luxury appointments of the car. But, in parallel, we started working with Classic Cars Headlining in the UK, who offered a new fibreglass board and fabric at a very reasonable price, even considering the UK-to-US shipping.

To make a long story slightly shorter, we ended up going with Classic Cars Headlining, dealing with proprietor Dejan. On eBay, they offered an apparently-excellent fabric in either "oatmeal" or "grey" to cover these cars. We figured we would end up with oatmeal, even though we thought this would be incorrect, lighter than our car's original fabric that accompanied our "tan" interior (the darkest of the biscuit/cinnamon/tan trio). Through both circumstance and Dejan's support, we got the opportunity to sample the oatmeal fabric, and discussed the fact that it was OK but not perfect. After exchanging more photographs, Dejan indicated that he could provide the same fabric in a "champagne" color that appeared to match our car better. We went with that... and absolutely could not be happier with the result!

Classic Cars Headlining provided a new fibreglass headliner board, pre-covered in the chosen fabric, plus enough additional fabric to cover the front/rear cap pieces, side rails, and, at our request, the extra pieces to cover the top corners behind the rear seat back (even though we were told these were black vinyl originally- NOPE!). The colour and texture match is fantastic, pretty much indistinguishable from the original to our eyes, factoring for age/fade in the original 45 year old fabric.

The attached photos show:
1) the original material (in the form of a headliner swatch and a complete header rail) against new "oatmeal" fabric - not good enough
2) the new "champagne" colour fabric against the new oatmeal fabric
3) the original material, on top of the new champagne fabric
4) again, the new champagne fabric with the original headliner swatch and header rail

Next up, we'll show the install of the headliner board and recovering of all of the surrounding pieces.

 

You made the correct choices.. when my S1 headliner was remade by a local upholstery guy he did not tell me that the long tail pieces on each side (cardboard) had fallen apart.

The clips would not hold after his work.. I had a hard time finding methods to get them to stay in the proper place. Finally got them attached satisfactorily.

Originality is not my concern with different seats in the front, S3 rear seat belts and VDP hand holds over the rear doors. I am interested in making the car as comfortable as possible
using as many later model Jag parts as I can.

One picture shows the dead pedal that is actually from a late model Mustang!

 

Ha, that dead pedal is awesome!

 

Years ago, I replaced my series 2 headlining. The biscuit was tatty - as I used millboard lodged behind the metal retaining frames. Then I drilled a series of holes through the board and injected expanding foam through the holes and supported the millboard with suitable wooden props. Wait twenty four hours and then apply the new headlining material - starting with the longitudinal centre line then working out to the edges! The result is a well insulated roof.

 

While we waited for the headliner, we cleaned up the rear window opening. In doing so, we again broke our rule about not painting anything! After removing all of the old sealant and cleaning the parcel shelf and window surround, we sanded down any damaged paint behind the seal and touched it up with a rust preventative paint.

The headliner arrived quite quickly, including the pre-covered board and enough extra material for everything else. We apparently didn't take a good photo of the back of the fibreglass board before we installed it, but it is correctly curved in both directions and includes encased stiffening bands so it will retain its shape.

We thought the installation was going to be tricky, and require bending and flexing the board to get it in place. However, it was surprisingly easy, and didn't really require much bending (though the fibreglass flexes easily if you need it to). We cleaned the metal lip that supports it all around, installed it well into the front and one side first, and then slid it back and over into place. We went around with a small lever to nudge it until it was perfectly centered.

Then we popped the rear window back in with a new gasket, center locking strip, and our nicely-preserved chrome trim. "Popped" makes it sound like this was trivial, but in fact it was unexpectedly painful! It started off bad when we assumed the new window gasket we had was indeed the rear window gasket - turns out it was for the front windshield. Once that was settled, it still took more effort than we've experienced previously. But it's in, and all's well that ends well.

We are very happy so far and think we're going to have a very "correct" original-style solution.

Next up, repairing, recovering and reinstalling the side rails and end caps.

 

Color looks great!
Fabric structure seems quite appropriate as well (better then the one I had chosen even..)

Have a great new years eve all!

(Note:My XJ6S1 did not get revived that well during Christmas Holiday, as it shows to have a bend inlet valve in NO4, but hey I am already halfway in fixing it:-), Being a petrolhead its like being in heaven..almost:-))

 

Happy 2018, Everyone!

To wrap up the headliner, we went to work on the side rails and end pieces.

We stripped them down, cleaned them up, and assessed each one. The metal pieces were all excellent. The long side rails are comprised of two pieces, one fibreboard flat panel, and a metal and foam combination piece. The fibreboard pieces had some damage and warpage, which is typical, but they were usable. We strengthened the clip holes with cyanoacrolate glue (helped a little) and construction adhesive (helped a lot). We used pieces of thin metal strapping, again with the construction adhesive, to bridge where there was a crack and bend in the board. Where we needed to make a new end-section for one of the rails, we first glued a thin metal backing piece in place, then cut and trimmed strong plastic of the correct thickness and glued it in place on the metal backing. The result seems great.

So then we set about recovering the pieces. We used 3M spray glue, both the general trim adhesive and the heavy duty one where required. We bought a handful of new clips, to replace those that were broken or had lost their prong tension, and set them up.

Before installing the panels, we finished cleaning up the area behind/beside the rear seat back, and installed the small corner fabric pieces. Installation was a little finicky - as noted by Roger, getting the side rails locked down between the door felts and roof can be a challenge - but not too bad. In the end, everything settled in pretty well.

Headliner success! Now Jamie and I are on to other interior details, like those stupid headrests! Mackie, for his part, is just glad we are driving the car again.

 

Good Job!!
I hope never to have to do Nix's headliner, but should that dreaded day ever come, I'll remember where to find a How-To.
(';')

 

Another question for the Great Collective Wisdom that is the Jaguar Forums: What do we do with our sun visors?!

Relatively speaking, ours aren't really all that bad. The vinyl is very good, and the passenger visor even has some foam integrity left. The driver's side, however, is basically just its wire outline and no filling. We've no idea what to do.

Are there accurate reproductions available (welded, not stitched)?
Any chance of using some low-expansion spray foam through a small hole while supporting the visor in some form of 'slot' mold?
Other ideas?

 

I've tried it two ways.


On my TR6 I did as you proposed by making a small incision with exacto knife on the pillar side seem, then smashing and emptying out the existing foam (dust). I then sandwiched it between two boards at desired thickness, attached a straw to a can of foam so I could get foam all the way to other end evenly. Then after dried and cleaning excess, I used super glue to weld seem back together. This method produced good results and has held up for six years now. However it could be prone to damage because the foam doesn't have memory if crushed and over time will become more brittle.



On my XJ6 I tried using closed cell foam from a camping type sleeping matt. This will not degrade over time and will retain its shape if hit or crushed with hand or whatever. The downside is I had to cut seem on the end next to pillar completely open to insert the matt foam. This requires a little more finesse to re-weld with super glue, but it came out OK and the seem isn't in view next to pillar end.

 

INDYJAG, thanks very much for sharing your experiences with the visors. in option 2, on your XJ, how precisely did you cut and shape the foam? And do you have it inside or on top of the wire frame?

 

Good questions, I wasn't worried about making them show quality so they aren't perfect, but I'm sure if enough time was put into it you could make them better.


From memory, I used two pieces of the matt foam cut as closely to vinyl outline as possible also rounding edges slightly. I sandwiched the two pieces around the metal frame. After I got the pieces shaped and looking to my satisfaction (yours may be more precise), I used contact cement to adhere the two pieces together around frame. I then re-welded the vinyl end together with super glue. The attached picture shows the matt I used. Its 3/8" thick and doubled up fills the vinyl well.


Sorry for poor quality pics, but its cold in garage and there's a lot of glare.


Its probably easier to use the expanding foam, But I'm happy with results of both.

 

Sorry, for some reason the pictures didn't post. here they are..

 

Perfect, thank you, that is very clear and looks great. That might be the answer for us, too.

 

While deciding what to do with the sun visors, we started in on the rest of the interior. It doesn't really need much, just general cleanup and then fixing the headrests, front seat backs, dash trays and some loose vinyl.

To start, we pulled the seats, took another look at the nice floors and original jute pieces, and starting carefully scrubbing the carpets with mild shampoo and giving them a good rinse. They look great, and we'd almost think they were replacements if not for the worn spots in the driver footwell... which we'll call "patina," right?

 

Such a simple little thing, headrests, yet bad ones really bring down an interior. So many Jags (and MGs and Triumphs, etc.) running around with deflated headrests! Admittedly, I'm guilty too, the last XKE I worked on was sold before I got around to new foams. Here though, we just spent the $82 (we went with XK's Unlimited) and got it done.

Easy job, but worth a post because the photo of the pile of headrest dust is so funny!

 

Very nice work on this car. My hat's off to you

Cheers
DD

 

Doug, thank you for the kind words. That's high praise indeed, considering that when we humbly refer to the much more serious projects on this site, such as XJ coupe structural changes, total HVAC modernizations, etc., it always ends with, "... and some guy doing an XJ6 to XJ12 conversion! Who does that?!" So, hats off in reply, too.

That said, Jamie and I have an XJ coupe idea that we would really like to tackle - anyone want to send us a donor car?