Headliner re-glue, 348TS, interior part | FerrariChat

Headliner re-glue, 348TS, interior part

Discussion in '348/355' started by steved033, Oct 27, 2017.

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  1. steved033

    steved033 F1 Veteran
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Apr 12, 2017
    7,672
    Atlanta, GA
    Full Name:
    Steve D.
    It's time for more upholstery work with Steve.

    As I was cleaning one day, my hand ran across something strange. A hairpin. The hairpin was holding the headliner in place behind the drivers head on the long thin strip that runs between the rear windows. There was a dead christmas tree fastener allowing the area to sag, and much like in my center panel thread, the 28 year old foam and glue has given up, and the leather was free to flap.

    Looking at the exploded view I found online showed two screws under the interior light. Looking at the view closer shows 3 clips that are z shaped on the front edge where the targa seal is. I removed the lamp assembly and removed the 3 wires from the back, there's a small connector and two large ones. I removed them and set them aside. I removed the screws, and it loosened the rear but the front. It was still firmly fixed in place. I peeked, I pried, I figured it was somehow held in place. Another internet search, in a deep dark corner of f-chat gave the answer "there are 3 rivets that hold the panel in place under the seal. Rivets? Really?

    Carefully prying the seal back, starting in each corner where the targa top meets the side windows quickly revealed the two side rivets, and the third was found in the center.

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    Carefully drilling the rivets out allowed the headliner to drop down.

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    I fed the wires through the large hole in the bracket, and let them dangle.

    Carefully bring the headliner panel down you have to push in quite hard toward the back of the car, because it is VERY VERY VERY tight in the B-pillar corners. Once you pry around the b-pillar (it also helps to fold the seats forward), you can extract the headliner. IT'S VERY EASY TO SCRATCH THE B-PILLAR!!!! There's a very sharp corner on the headliner.

    Once you have the headliner out, it looks like this:

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    See where 28 years can basically kill all the glue? Not wanting to mess with chemicals again, I opted for a scotch-brite pad on a high speed angle.

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    I worked my way around slowly, pulling up leather, and scraping off the foam with a gasket scraper, and then scuffing the old glue off with the scotch brite.

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    Then like before, brush on the contact cement to both surfaces, let "dry" and then press them together.

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    Filp the part regularly to check that you don't have any ripples in the leather as you're stretching. It doesn't have to be drum tight, but it shouldn't be floppy either.

    When it's all glued, it'll look like this:

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    Installation is the reverse of removal. Set the panel in place, feed the wires back through, push the panel all the way to the back ensuring it fits into the "slots" behind the horizontal panels that hold the seat belt covers. Push very hard to bend around the b-pillars, THE SHARP CORNER ON THE HEADLINER CAN SCRATCH THE B_PILLAR!!!! Rivet the center first, and then the sides. press the seal back into place, it may take some prying on the headliner and a light tap with a rubber mallet to seat the seal.

    And there you have it.

    sjd
     
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  2. Dave rocks

    Dave rocks F1 World Champ
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    Nov 23, 2012
    16,047
    Orchard Park, NY
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    Dave Lelonek
    Very nice :)
     
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  3. John Glen

    John Glen Formula Junior

    Dec 30, 2009
    476
    Victoria, B.C, Can.
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    John Glen Wesanko
    Yes, very handy to know and clearly described. Thanks for documenting ! JGW
     
  4. 4rePhill

    4rePhill F1 Veteran

    Oct 18, 2009
    8,178
    Worcester, England
    Full Name:
    Phill J
    A useful thread for those looking to re-glue their 348 TS/GTS headlining back down again, but it's not the first time it's been done on Fchat: https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/help-with-removal-of-rear-interior-panels.117003/

    As for the exclamation about the use of rivets to hold the front edge in place:

    The TB/GTB headlining is held in place with push in clips only, but when it came to the TS/GTS headliner, Ferrari were concerned that with the roof panel off, the air pressure on the leading edge of the headliner could be too much for the clips and so opted to rivet the headliner in place, and hide them under the roof seal. It's the simplest and most effective way of achieving what was required.

    Back in the day when Ferrari were building the 348 they were still assembling cars in a very simple way. Look at how some of the interior trim is fitted such as the "L" shaped lower door trim, and the centre tunnel side trim. Rather than use hidden clips/fasteners to hold these pieces on, as the likes of BMW or Mercedes would have done, Ferrari simply ran screws straight through the trim pieces! - That is pretty much kit-car quality, and not what you would expect on a car that cost as much as the 348 did!
     
  5. steved033

    steved033 F1 Veteran
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Apr 12, 2017
    7,672
    Atlanta, GA
    Full Name:
    Steve D.
    wow...I didn't find that thread. Thanks for sharing!

    sjd
     

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