Hi, I need a new headliner in my 89 XJ-S, I spoke to someone on the XJS club stand at the Weston Show and he said he might be able to or know someone who he could recommend in Nottingham. Unfortunately I have lost the details. Can someone help?
Thanks

Van

Nottingham UK

 

You can do it yourself, it is not difficult and it's a lot cheaper.
You can buy the ready trimmed headliners complete with extra material to cover the rear panels and cant rails so that they match.
I did mine myself and swapping the headliner takes less than hour, a bit longer if you trim the extra bits.

 

Did you need to remove the back seat and c pillar trim? Some say that this is necessary, others not.

Thanks

 

By all means have a go at refitting yourself.

The garage in Nottingham is most likely

David Marks, small independent garage specialises in Jaguar, is run by Dave Marks who acts as Jaguar enthusiast club technical adviser.

Definitely knows his Jaguar, owns several himself.

Had about five XJS in for servicing / repairs when I visited last year

David Marks Garages - About Us

 

You do need to remove the rear 3/4 panels (c pillar trim) to allow the headliner panel to drop down. You do not need to remove the rear seat or the rear window.
I would recommend getting a new headliner with either matching 3/4 panels and cant rails or the kit that I got which had enough extra material to cover those parts; if you don't then there will be a noticeable difference in the headliner and the other bits.
I did mine like this:
Remove the steering wheel (it's not a big job but I had mine off already, just make sure that your wheels are pointing ahead when you do it so that it lines up properly when you refit it).
Slide the front seats forward as far as you can and drop the backs all the way down.
Disconnect the battery or remove the fuse for the interior lights otherwise you will blow it anyway or set fire to your hair.
Remove the interior mirror (took me half an hour to drill out a rusted screw!) and interior light and disconnect the wires.
Unscrew the A post covers.
Use a wide bladed screw driver or similar and carefully prise off the cant rails; there are 4 or 5 push in plastic tabs holding them in on each side: if you push firmly along the length with your thumb you can locate them.
Remove the rear 3/4 panels and disconnect the wires to the lamps.
Everything is out now except the headliner: this is held in by 3 (I think) metal tags on each side. Carefully bend them down and the headliner will drop on your head. Then it is just a matter of wiggling it out of the door, there is plenty of flex in it, just take it slowly. Somebody told me that you can take it out through the passenger door without removing the steering wheel but mine was off anyway.
Fitting the new one is a direct reversal of removing the old one; I had everything out and back in within 20 minutes, it only took longer because of the rusty mirror screw. And obviously that does not include the time for recovering the cant rails and 3/4 panels.
Make sure that you wash your hands properly before fitting the new stuff otherwise you will get grubby finger marks over it all.
I'm 6 feet tall and of a slightly generous girth but still managed it on my own with no problems, just take it slowly.
Hope this helps.

 

Brilliant! thanks. I will give it a go. Any recommended brand of headliner?

Van

 

I did mine with a fibreglass shelled version from these people:
Jaguar XJS 1991 - 1993 Early Facelift Model Replacement Headlining Board [Jaguar XJS] - £165.00 : Myrtle Productions, fine wood car interiors and luxury steering wheels
Very nice job, but glue a layer of very thin foam (say 5mm) to the steel roof or the fibreglass can "bong".
Greg

 

It was a couple of years ago but I think that this is the one that I bought;
New Single Headliner for Jaguar XJS 1975 / 1991 Beige or Grey with Trim Kit | eBay
It was very good quality.
This might be a good option;
JAGUAR XJS REPLACEMENT HEADLINING KIT (COMPLETE SET) | eBay
I still have the old board (fibreglass so it must have been replaced previously) if you want to cover one yourself; free if you want to collect it (from Wiltshire) otherwise it is going to the tip soon.