Stage 1 V8

Fed up with mucking about with the engine this weekend I decided to turn my attention to the interior.

The headlining was sagging quite a bit, coming away, rotting and looking very poor indeed, so I gave it a little tug at the corner and it came away just a little too easily. Anyone who has ever done the same with wallpaper will know, once you've started, you just can't stop , and before you know it, its all on the floor.

Anyway, whats the best solution for replacing it with something a bit smarter? The GRP/plastic ones are lovely, but far too expensive, so looking for a low cost but smart solution.

Anyone got any good ideas for headlining material and/or fixing method?

In the past I have always evosticked carpet to the roof of mine but they we basic hardtops.

I dont think the roof lining is still available but I have seen an artical where someone stuck lining foam to the roof and then covered it with vinyl.

Jon

The carpet idea sounds good! Was it car carpet or just standard domestic stuff? I was thinking that some thin cord stuff would be okay (rather than a pattened wilton or shagpile ). Only worry is if it gets damp. Don't want a musty damp carpet smell.

I wouldn't mind a bit more insulation in the old bus (soundproofing and thermal), but insulating an aluminium vehicle is always a losing battle. Carpet would help though.

The old headlining was evostik'd up, its gone brittle over time and lost its adhesive powers. I've got to chip all the old stuff off first!. That'll be a fun job

I used some offcuts of bathroom carpet I found in a shop for £15. Yo ideally want something with a decent backing i.e. not foam, so it will stick. Carpet tiles might work well.

Not sure about carpet tiles. Probably couldn't get them to fit into the curve on the sides of the roof. A nice chequer pattern on the roof would be nice! .

Off to the carpet shop for an offcut or roll end at the weekend and a big tub of EvoStik.

Cheers for the help. Hopefully between now and the weekend, I don't decide to pimp it up and get some pink fluffy stuff!

Just had a thought (Rare and painfull ocurance)

B&Q used to do checker plate print blown vinyl flooring.

I've seen the silver chequer plate stuff. The brown would be a lot better. I'll have a look and see if they still do it. Nice idea for an industrial look!

Something to consider when you do this job is the type of adhesive you use.

I read an article somewhere (sorry can't remember where) about someone who did a beautiful job lining the roof with carpet, only to have it all come crashing down due to the glue melting on a hot day. Worth thinking about.

Very good point Londoner. My driving probably isn't great on the best of days, but with a couple of metres of carpet wrapped round my head all of a sudden, I'm sure it wouldn't improve!

Does anyone have any suggestions? Impact adhesive should do the job I would have thought. Over time it'll go brittle, but the headlining I had in there had been up for at least 15 years stuck with impact adhesive. It wasn't as heavy as carpet though.

Larry,

I think that the carpet/headlining/adhesive issue was discussed in a recent LRO. I can't remember which issue - I will have a look and see if I can find the article. Living in the US we are about a month (or more) behind on delivery - anyway I'll see if I can find it and identify which type of adhesive they used.

Alan.

Cheers for that, will be much appreciated.