Typing 2 Ink by Jim Bryant
Chapter 9: Things Are Looking Up

My favorite dealer brochure for the split window bus has a subtle night sky photograph framed by a black rectangle with the words ASpacious, isn't it?@ underneath.  The brochure opens up to reveal a moonlit interior shot of a deluxe bus taken through an open rear hatch.  The implication is that the night sky is what you can see through the sunroof at night, but the interior photograph depicts a gorgeous view of the headliner.   Thirty years later those head liners may look good only under the same lighting conditions and reek of ugly in daylight.  Mine did, and I set out to do something about it.  I found out that this is not a task for the impatient.

Whether your bus has the early fabric or the later perforated vinyl, the approach is the same.  My >67 Deluxe Sunroof presented as many challenges as one Anever done this before@ person can handle, but the results were worth the effort.  The steps are simple enough: 1) demolition, 2) surface preparation, 3) acquisition or fabrication, 4) nervous breakdown, 5) prayer . . . 99) compliments from people who have never done it.

The demolition phase sounds easy enough.  But if you plan to put it back together as it came out, removal of the old should be more along the lines of Aeasy does it@ so it makes sense going back in.  In the sunroof model there are at least a dozen pieces of fabric.  Some are sewn together.  Some are directly glued to the body.  Some are hidden under metal tabs that bend over to hold the fabric in place.  I kept track of each piece (or in some cases, shredded pieces) as a record of what goes where.  Along with the fabric are a surprisingly large number of clips, rods, screws, rivets, and other little thingys that hold it all together.

Surface preparation?  Didn't this get covered in the body and paint chapter?  I removed the headliner prior to bodywork and paint.  Even if your intention is to ONLY replace the headliner, all surfaces to have glued fabric applied should have most traces of old glue removed and sanded smooth.  Otherwise, when you glue your new material in place, all bumps telegraph through the material and you see what you didn't take the time to remove.  Also, VW glued several pieces of sound-deadening(?) material directly to the metal roof before the headliner was installed.  The originals have probably been baked by now, or crumbled, or plain fallen off.  I found that tractor cab insulation is probably better than the original, but my farmland solution may be hard to come by in the city.  Most interior shops will have an acceptable substitute. Or glue the original back in place.  My recommendation in the paint chapter applies here: prepare the surface, insure the result.

We are fortunate that specialty shops have recognized the split window bus as a market.  Vinyl headliners can be bought without much difficulty.  They are not perfect reproductions, but can still produce great looking results.  As for the older fabric headliners, maybe they are out there too.  I just haven't looked.  If you are unsure, mail samples and ask for samples to be mailed back.  No one was able to match what I call Apainted dot@ that was originally used for glue-on locations.  Even if you can't buy a headliner prefabricated, finding the material and providing your carefully removed example as a pattern should be enough for your local shop to work with.

I bought via mail order from a firm in Richmond, Virginia, for $120, and was happy with the results.  They sent three prepared pieces: sunroof liner, rear cargo liner and front seat liner (with attached pieces for both sides of the sunroof).  In addition, the package included enough uncut yardage for all glue-on locations around the side windows and rear quarters.  Your careful demolition tactics pay off when faced with the raw, uncut material.  Around the cargo doors the original installations had a strip of cardboard sewn to the edge of the material.  Ditto around the roof vent.  That strip slips under a metal tab to provide a clean edge.  I cut new strips from poster board and sewed them in the new material using the old as a guide.

Tabs everywhere!  What goes in first?  Oh, those roof windows!  It’s too short, it’s too short!  Those are a few of the nervous breakdown phase expressions.  Installation is a primarily a combination of positioning, bending tabs and glue.  The focus should be on positioning, especially centering.  The first piece to go in should be the liner over the front seat if you have a sunroof.  This is probably true for non-sunroof models as well.

Center the liner on the roof vent and the cardboard strips slip in under the metal tabs.  Once the cardboard is positioned correctly, bend all the metal tabs down over it to hold it in place.  There is a short gap (2 inches) in the tabs around screws for the air vents.  The short strip of metal you removed during demolition goes there to prevent sagging.  Insert the metal strip and bend the tabs over both ends before proceeding.  Once both sides of the air vents are in place and hanging down in your face, the concept is to work outward from there.

The two worst spots to get correct are next, especially if you have roof windows.  Over both front seats flat material has to be stretched and coerced into curved shapes.  If it’s not right, the result is ugly puckers, or something that rhymes with that.  The other tough part is the fiberboard piece above the visor.  It has three screws UNDER the material, which means you have to glue the material to the backside of the fiberboard, screw it in place with the material in the way, and then pull the material down over the screw heads. Two of the screws are fairly easy.  That third one, I’d like to find the guy who did this for a living and ask him, but it can be done.

Before I go any further, a word about adhesives.  After removing your headliner, brush strokes are quite obvious.  Spray adhesives may be a little more convenient, but include the problem of an over spray mess.  If you use a spray, mask vital surfaces first.  I used two 3M spray adhesives (8080 light duty and 8090 heavy duty).  Both advise you to spray both surfaces, let it dry to a tack, and mate the surfaces.  Easier said than done.  I started with the 8080 and it worked well in situations where I could abide by the directions.  When things dried too quickly and began peeling off, a direct hit of 8090 and direct pressure until dry corrected those spots.  I recommend a can of bug and tar remover for clean up.  Be prepared for sticky fingers.  Clean your hands as often as possible or glue will be everywhere you don't want it.

Did I say the hard part is over?  There’s still a lot to do, but if you can get past the two front seats, the rest is relatively easy.  Non-sunroof models are suspended via metal rods that slip into sleeves sewn into the liner.  Slip the rods in working back from the air vent.  When you get to the back, the concept is the same for both models.  All material leads back to the top of the hatch where the material is tucked under more tabs, trimmed, and the tabs are tapped or pushed over the material to hold it in place.  All along the sides the extra material is glued to a roofline rim, tucked into a crevice, and eventually covered by insertion of a white rubber trim.

Sunroof and roof window models have a lot more gluing to do.  The strips sewn to the front seat piece are both glued directly to the interior roof surface that forms the inner piece of window frame.  At each window the vinyl is stretched to form-fit each opening.  Most likely it will not stay in the correct position as the stretched material shrinks to be flat again.  If you have the time and a helper, install each piece of glass immediately after the fabric is positioned and trimmed.  If not, just position the rubber weatherstrip where it would go if it had glass with it.  Remember, do not trim off too much material.  It should cover all interior surfaces and extend totally under the weatherstrip.

The sunroof itself uses the same concept as non-sunroof models, utilizing metal rods slipped into sleeves.  After centering the front, bending over the tabs, insert one metal rod at a time working your way back.  Eventually a series of trim screw and cone washer can be installed to hold every other Afold@ in place.  Two points of caution.  Each metal rod has a black plastic tip on each end.  If the sleeves are too tight it can be a bear to get the tips through.  Those tips are important because they keep the metal rods from ripping the material!  Also, sew up one end of the sleeve before inserting the rod.  After the rod is in, stretch the material as tight as possible over the rod and sew up the other end.  Otherwise the rod will slip out of the sleeve every time you open or close the sunroof and the rods won’t ride correctly on the tracks.

Whew!  I’ve written too much on this already.  Or too little.  If you have followed me this far, gluing the flat material to the side window panels is the easy part.  Pushing that white rubber tubing trim back in at the roofline can be a pain too.  I sprayed Teflon lubricant on the crevice, used a putty knife to drive the tube into place, and finished it off with the little metal clips that screw on the end.  Two more words to the wise and I’ll finish this off: 1) when the old headliner is down, replace/install any wires for lights or speakers you may want, 2) as you glue the new material in place, take the time to mark with a pen all screw holes for hangers, jail bars and curtain rods.  Believe me, you’ll appreciate it later.  Enough on this!  Next time, general wiring.