C20 New to Me

[vespaholic]

@tucsonjwt:
The guy I bought it from said it came out of a C20 but who knows.
It will never be used.
Hail Roadside Assistance!

[vespaholic]

Today I decided to try and address the sagging headliner.
The first picture is how the PO decided to deal with it; not great.
I removed the headliner and found a nice clean metal roof.
The factory vinyl peeled off in 1 piece and I plan to reuse it as it is in great condition.
The fiberboard is also in excellent condition with the exception of the area near the drivers visor hole.
I'll fix that with something before I re-glue the vinyl.
Now I need to figure out how to effectively re-glue the vinyl to the fiberboard without the glue seeping through the perforations in the vinyl.
Stay tuned......

[Pyrotechnic]

Really nice truck, and it's a pleasant surprise to see it being fixed to original.

When I saw the post about the radio and the uncut dash I started to cringe at the thought of it being cut, but was really happy to scroll down and see a stock radio go back in.

I'm going the stock radio route in mine as well since the dash isn't cut. I had a flashy new DIN head unit in a different truck (PO cut the dash) and it just seems really out of place.

[vespaholic]

@Pyrotechnic:
Thanks, I'm all about original.
I can appreciate mods others do, but it's just not for me.

I did a little more work on the headliner this afternoon.
First Picture Below:
I brushed off what I think is the remains of the foam and glue from the fiberboard with a coarse rag.
Second Picture Below: (Back of original vinyl headliner.)
I then removed the same remains from the vinyl by using a steamer.
Both came off very easily.
I now feel the surfaces are clean enough to re-glue.
My buddy suggested using brush on contact cement and doing it in sections rather than all at once.
I'm going to give that a shot unless I figure out something better to use.

[Katrina/10]

I have never seen someone try to re-use that vinyl after the foam rotted. You might be able to use spray adhesive to stick the vinyl to a thin sheet of new foam.

[vespaholic]

I've never tried, I guess we'll see soon enough.
I'm not using the spray stuff because I think it would be better to put the adhesive on a little thicker than a spray would allow.
I want the glue to catch on the fibers of the fiberboard.
It will stick to the vinyl.

[Pyrotechnic]

I looked into headliner re-gluing and the main concern is the ability of the adhesive to last through heat and time. Use a weak contact cement and you do a lot of work for nothing. From what I could gather, the best two contact cements are:

DAP Weldwood with a red label, available at home depot, lowes, etc. You can brush it on. This is the flammable stuff with all the good chemicals in it. Apparently the water based with the green label doesn't work as well.

DAP Weldwood Landau Top and Trim. This is industrial stuff, meant to be used in a spray gun and it's what an upholstery or convertible top shop would use. I read this was the best, but probably have to be ordered from a industrial supplier.

Either way, try a small bit of glue on a hidden spot to make sure it doesn't react badly with the vinyl.

[TKCR]

Since the vinyl has separated from the foam, I would think your going to regret trying to re-use that vinyl. It only takes a yard of new new headliner material, to recover the fiber board. Why don't you just get new, it will have the thin layer of foam on the back, which is what your going to need to glue it to the fiber board. There are a few places that still offer the headliner with the perforated holes.
When I did mine, I bought new material. But I also changed my interior color. I also did a friends "Ferd" headliner that was sagging. Here are a few pics of both headliners.
https://www.yourautotrim.com/auheclvifa.html

[vespaholic]

@Pyrotechnic:
The DAP from Home Depot is what I had planned to try.
IMHO the foam is unnecessary; probably just part of the original product that GM sourced.
My fiberboard substrate is solid as a rock and the vinyl is simply vinyl.
It doesn't know that the foam ain't there.

@TKCR:
I understand your point, but I need to take a cut at using the original vinyl.
Mainly because it's the original vinyl.
Worst case I ruin it and need to buy new.

Will advise as I plan on giving it a try tomorrow.
EDIT: Actually, I won't be trying this until the warmer weather gets here. I just read the instructions and it should be 65 degrees to use the DAP.

[TKCR]

When I was looking at headliner material yesterday, I did see some Vinyl without the foam, so maybe it isn't needed. I would think it would make it easier to install, but I don't know how think that vinyl is.
Good luck, I hope it does work out to where you can reuse it.

[vespaholic]

@TKCR
Thanks, me too!
It appears it's going to be a ***** to do but I hope if I take my time it will work out.
It's supposed to be in the 70s here Tuesday, so I'll give it a shot then.

[TKCR]

Originally Posted by vespaholic

@TKCR
Thanks, me too!
It appears it's going to be a ***** to do but I hope if I take my time it will work out.
It's supposed to be in the 70s here Tuesday, so I'll give it a shot then.

Yeah just take your time, it really isn’t that bad doing headliners. I always felt the prep work was the hardest, and you got that part out of the way already.

[TKCR]

Here’s another one I did 96 Civic. Even had to recover the sunshade & visors.

You might have already done this, but watch some YouTube videos on how to’s for recovering headliners.

[vespaholic]

Ok, I've been working on the headliner on and off the last couple nights and today I reinstalled it.
I'd give myself a B- to a C+ on the job.
It is way, way better now than it was before.
Has a couple unwanted wrinkles but nothing horrible.
All and all I'm happy with the results.
FWIW: The vinyl without the foam was royal PITA to work with and if I was not hell bet on keeping the original vinyl I would not have done it.
For this application the Weldwood Red can stuff from Home Depot was horribly useless.
I ended up using a heavy duty spray adhesive that I had left over from another project.
It worked like a champ.

[TKCR]

I think you did pretty good. it does look way better than before. I give you a B+

[vespaholic]

@TKCR: Thanks.

[Joesjunk]

Nice job, it looks pretty darn good to me

[vespaholic]

I did a complete tune up today.
There is no better feeling (vehicle related) than pulling the spark plugs on your newly aquired truck and finding that all of them are a perfect golden-tan color and they have no oil residue at all.
Changed the PCV Valve as well as the old one was a little noisy.

[jrblanke]

Love the truck! I hope to have one similar one day.

[vespaholic]

@jrblanke: Thanks! I'm enjoying it!

[GSP7]

Very Nice Truck

What small box speakers to you use to put behind the seat? Link?

Those windshield wipers are referred to as 'Vintages' arent they ? I have my originals.

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[vespaholic]

@GSP7:
Thanks!
The box speakers are some old no-name units I found on my parts shelf.
Yes, the wipers are the "vintage" units.

[vespaholic]

Found these door carpets on the eBay.
The old ones had holes for speakers cut into them.

[LT7A]

Good job on reusing your headliner. I'm a big fan of reusing what you have unless it's completely shot. I respect the "like new" trucks, but I don't mind mine having the character of wear and tear. I just like it if it's getting in better shape rather than worse, ha. I kept saying to myself 3M spray 77, 3M spray 77 as I was reading about your adhesive dilemma. So I'm glad it worked out. I like the truck and I'm interested to see it shape up the way you want it to be.

[vespaholic]

Worked on the truck today for the first time in a while.
The truck came with a very dark window tint that;
A) Made it almost impossible to drive at night
B) Looked like $h1t
C) It's not legal in my state
While this stuff may be practical in the south, it's a little too "in-the-hood" for where I live.
Got out the old steamer and had at it.
Much better IMHO.