'Da Chief . . . So it Begins again

[cu4whln]

In Today's News . . .

Today I finished up the pass front door panel.

Plenty of tweaking to get it mostly right.
Kinda a pita - but it didn't cost me anything but time.

Reworking the original door skins was worth it.

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I was worried that the grey was too light in contrast to the carpet, and interior black out.

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But now that I see it all together ( Sans Seats of course ), I think it looks decent together.
Looks better in person than in this pic....
Now have to do the driver side.

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[cu4whln]

In Today's News . . .

Long weekend.. Labor Day stuff.

Not getting much done on the Jeep - Until today.

I still have to finish the driver door panel, but just haven't felt up to it.
I have been working on acquiring some small detail parts that I need yet.

This is now the next BIG task.
I need to make seat adaptor brackets for the RAM truck seats.

Removed the front/center carpets again.

Been mocking these up for a couple of days.
Been experimenting and trying to decide when to locate them.
Need to make sure they will work and clear various items.

These seats do not have a dump forward feature - Oh well.
I am going for comfort on road trips.
Will not be running a back seat. Never had anybody back there in 7 years now.
Plan to carry camping stuff, chairs, cooler, and luggage items.
(Note: I did saved all the rear seat stuff in case I change my mind some day)

Step one - Pass side first.

This will be the most problematic due to the Q-trac hump.
I removed most of that - but still going to be a tight fit.

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Notice my 2x4 spacers...
These seats sit taller than the original ones.. (cushion is thicker)
That seems to get the seat cushion to a comfortable angle.

I had previously marked where the stock seat sits for reference.
I am moving the "normal" center of travel back a bit.
This is for comfort - and the seat reclines all the way.
Good for resting and possible ingress/egress into rear seat.
Been fussing with this for a couple days.. Check and re-check.

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Formulating the plan.
Soon must make some brackets to pick up the original mounting points.

[cu4whln]

In Today's News . . .

Still figuring out seats...

Pass side.. Now have a plan, need to make and weld mounting brackets.

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Driver side: Hmm, need to cut down the tracks down - TOO HIGH!

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[cu4whln]

More Details . . .

Got the center caps back from paint today.

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Had to put them on the Jeep of course..
Wheel project complete, new tires too!

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Note what I did with the Warn hubs -
I wanted some Red / Blue accent like the original cap would have been -
Sooo - Added a bit of color in the finger pockets.
I like it!

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[melford1972]

Got the center caps back from paint today.

Note what I did with the Warn hubs -
I wanted some Red / Blue accent like the original cap would have been -
Sooo - Added a bit of color in the finger pockets.
I like it!

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Just when you think this couldn’t get any cooler, you go and add THIS detail. Great idea. Ties it all together perfectly.

[cu4whln]

In Today's News . . .

Thanks Melford1972.

Been busy with family stuff.
I have no complaints..
The wife has been MORE than understanding with my focus on the Jeep this summer!

So a couple of items...

Here are the little clips that the arm rests attach to.

Best to add a small amount of Goop to hold them in place before they get knocked out by accident.

Ask me how I know !

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ASLO -

It is best to install them BEFORE you put the panels on.
Hmm, I was short some clips, so put the rear panels on figuring I would get some clips later. ( I did btw )

Its really easy install these normally, but NOT after the panels are on.

So how to proceed ... ??

I used the armrest bolt to hold the clip and feed it through the panel hole.
Not easy to manipulate it into position. Might have been easier to remove the panels again...

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An hour later? Got them in.

Dammit this was frustrating.....

Lesson : Put the dam clips on BEFORE the trim panels !!!

[cu4whln]

In Today's News . . .

What is this latest delivery??

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It's the headliner!
The kit from BJs Off Road btw.
I did NOT expect it to come rolled up ??

Step one :
Remove from box, and roll it the opposite way to try and get it flattened out.

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After some time, laid them flat, letting them settle into a somewhat flat configuration again. ( "Somewhat" )

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Note there is a front and back piece to deal with.

Here is the larger front piece.
Note, it has the cutouts for the dome lamp and sun visors.

There are a few layers...
Foam board, foam, headliner fabric, and some reinforcements here and there.

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My buddy came over to help.

Good thing!
Installing this was like putting a wet noodle into a precise location in a 30 mph wind. UGH

Here it goes...
Into the Jeep.
Get it as close to final position first, then try to get the edges parrallel and square. ( Good luck with that! )

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Instructions were very general.

One of the confusing parts... there is extra material on the edges.
They say not to tuck it up under the headliner as it is installed.
They state this is to help with things not being straight in the Jeeps.
I am still not entirely sure how to finish this yet.

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After hours of fussing, we got the basics installed.

Now, unlike the "directions", we left the front header piece installed loosely with a few screws.
This enabled it to help hold the front in place while we fought with each side.

We also made up a contraption to hold the rear up while we tried to fit the front. ( Boxes )

Would have been better to have at least 3 people !

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Then installed the front dome lamp.
Note - It takes more trimming to open up the hole...
And not easy to locate the mounting holes.

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The basics installed
Note, the extra material is not yet dealt with.

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I asked they leave out the rear switch cutout - and they did.
In addition, they also left out the rear dome lamp hole as well.
More fun locating that!

Had to relocate the center strip slightly.. ( the metal part mounted on the body)
This is the part that the center trim snaps onto.
This is my old trim, temporarily installed as it's damaged / broken.
Have a somewhat better one, but would love to find a MUCH better one. ANYBODY ??

Again, note the extra material hanging below the edge rail holding the headliner on the sides.

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Next up? Sun visor mounting

Yep, had to do a lot of trimming to get the plastic trim buckets to sit well.

Be very careful as these things are easy to break!
Get them to lay flat on the sheet metal surface before installing the visors over them.

Oh, and trimming the headliner? One would think it was easy, right?

NOPE. pita. Very tough to cut through the various layers.

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Pass side installed:

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"Extra" fun .. had to run the Compass/Temperature rear view mirror wires up over the headliner and not drill through them.
Cut a slot at the forward edge for clearance
Oh, also had to run the radio mic up there too for the Bluetooth.

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Most everything installed...
STILL have to figure out how to handle that extra material and make it look nice ??

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Two of us started at 10 am...
Brad left at 3:30 pm.
I finished up around 7 pm. And it's not complete.
Long tiring day.

[78 WIDETRAC]

The headliner and jeep is looking good!

I have a couple of the headliner center pieces one is spoken for. They are for 79 and later, I don't know if it would work for you. It's a solid wide piece of plastic not shiny chrome. I can send you a pic. Let me know if you are interested.

[cu4whln]

The headliner and jeep is looking good!

I have a couple of the headliner center pieces one is spoken for. They are for 79 and later, I don't know if it would work for you. It's a solid wide piece of plastic not shiny chrome. I can send you a pic. Let me know if you are interested.

Awesome! Sent you a pm...

[cu4whln]

In Today's News . . .

Headliner - "Completed" ??

So, after messing around with the extra material, I came up with a way to tuck it in.

Again, this was not clear in the directions really.

Right or wrong, I ended up "rolling" the extra material to outside of the vehicle, then used a trim stick to wedge it into the channel.
In some areas, it is a VERY tight fit. Be careful!

Is this right or wrong? I surely don't know, but it's the best I can do.

Here is the "roll" and "tuck" into the u-channel mounting gutter for the headliner.

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The "Finished" headliner

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Added the corner trim pieces as well ...

They "fit" sort of well, but not really.

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The headliner does not fit into the channel all the way forward?

At the front maybe 30" or so, it sits above the u-channel.
I think this is what the extra fabric is supposed to cover/fill?

The headliner is secure, but is maybe 1/2 to 3/4" short on each side.
Thus, you don't get the nice crisp line you see at the back.

Look at the outer edge next to the Sunvisor -
See the line? Thats the extra fabric bridging the "gap" since the headliner is short to reach the rail.
Maybe someday it will settle down into it?

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So - This $550 headliner kit?



I would rate it an "8.5" out of 10.
Overall, it delivered a decent looking headliner -

I mean, in some respects, I am sure a LOT of work went into this part to make it work.
And it does - mostly. You can see some of the various reinforcements going across. Not the end of the world I guess.

BUT -

The lack of clear directions and no illustrations on how to deal with the extra material? Boo !!

AND -

The fact the fit was off by 1/2" to 3/4" from the B pillar forward.. Dang.
Can't get a sharp edge at the mounting channel.
Now, I didn't expect it to be perfect, but 3/4" is off a fair amount?

So, I call it "done".
BUT - maybe some time in the future, I will try and make some insert material to help make the edge line better at the front?

For now, I have bigger fish to fry!
Like getting the seat brackets made and seats installed.

[SJTD]

Disappointing. You seem to be taking it better than I would have but overall it looks good.

But if you're like me it'll fade and you won't notice it anymore. I got a few wrinkles in mine and that's how it is for me.

My corner pieces fit like that. In screwing around with one of the fronts a piece went flying and got lost so I made a form out of wood and formed them out of ABS using a heat gun. They don't look too bad and I figger I could make them better if I want to bother. The piece did turn up so I can glue it if I want. They can be solvent welded or glued with ABS cement.

[bkilby]

Too bad about the fit issues but it does look good from my chair..... 2300 miles away. I think my headliner runs a little shy up front too. But then again, mine isn't brand new. That interior sure is looking good.

[letank]

Impressive how to, thank you for posting the steps for the headliner install.


Yes the corner pieces fit randomly sometimes, if you do not tuck the OEM headliner right, then there is an extra layer and you break a corner piece!

[cu4whln]

Disappointing. You seem to be taking it better than I would have but overall it looks good.

But if you're like me it'll fade and you won't notice it anymore. I got a few wrinkles in mine and that's how it is for me.

My corner pieces fit like that. In screwing around with one of the fronts a piece went flying and got lost so I made a form out of wood and formed them out of ABS using a heat gun. They don't look too bad and I figger I could make them better if I want to bother. The piece did turn up so I can glue it if I want. They can be solvent welded or glued with ABS cement.

Thanks ...
( Those pesky corner trim pieces! )

Headliner:
I have no choice at this point. I don't think it's bad enough to warrant a complaint.
It is made very clear this is a non-returnable item when you purchase.

Now, as I said, overall it looks good.

My Jeep is a home built, garage tool job done by me and only me.
I am not a professional. I am persistent though!

This is going to be a "driver", not a show vehicle.
It will not be perfect, nor do I want it perfect.
So, it's good enough !

I have shared this "journey" so others who aspire to do their own build can reference this info. Pictures help me a lot!

[cu4whln]

Too bad about the fit issues but it does look good from my chair..... 2300 miles away. I think my headliner runs a little shy up front too. But then again, mine isn't brand new. That interior sure is looking good.

Thanks Brad !

Is it only 2300 miles? Gonna swing by when we drive to Burbank . . .

Our two "Lori's" need to meet !