Headlining

Body parts, seats, dash, headlining, windows and stuff!

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amarshall
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Re: Headlining

Post by amarshall »

Ewww....nasty. But probably good enough to get a pattern from.

As for the speakers, I suspect those are aftermarket, but can't be sure. They don't look too out of place.
https://www.lotusexcel.co.uk/
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Lotus-e-Clan
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Re: Headlining

Post by Lotus-e-Clan »

Ramping-up to do mine this year.

In the seventies as a 20-something, I used to drive a Stiletto (Imp coupe) with a custom interior (full Black) including a black carpeted ceiling. It was a fabulous space. Warm, cosy and very quiet.

Last year I replaced sun-damaged carpet on panels in the VW camper. Light-weight panel carpet is easy to fit as it's very forgiving re: cut-lines and joints - the pile tends to fill-in micro-gaps that would otherwise be very obvious using the OE Lotus headlining material. Plus it's easy to acheive a ripple-free flat surface over large areas.

My 89SE has sand leather with that horrible ?biscuit carpet - albeit still in excellent condition, I have never liked the colour of the carpet. I have since seen pictures on here of an Excel with the same base interior who subsequently replaced his biscuit carpet with DARK RED and it looks fabulous. So I wonder if (given my carpet replaced with red) a dark red carpeted headlining would be an option for the large flat ceiling areas?

:?: A question for those who have replaced their headlining: What is the state of the main roof when the nylon part of the headlining is removed - is there a foam backing left stuck to the ceiling?

:?: I'm thinking along the lines whether carpet could be glued to the remaining foam backing - or is the foam a mess and has to be completely removed before fitting anything?

:?: Any other issues foreseen regarding gluing light weight carpet to the Excel ceiling plus A, B and C post trims?

btw apart from VW light-weight panel carpet there is an 'acoustic carpet ' option on ebay - the same stuff used to cover speakers/speaker boxes - which is even lighter but has 'less pile' so may not be as forgiving as VW Camper panel carpet glued to a large area.
All comments will be appreciated including outright condemnation! I need to know what you think of the carpet on the ceiling ideas! :lol:
Peter K

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DavidOliver
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Re: Headlining

Post by DavidOliver »

The headlining has drooped because the foam layer has turned into a gooey semi-liquid, In the Excel, as different to most cars, the fabric is glued directly, not on a card base. Consequently the Sun´s (Ha!Ha!)
direct rays put temperatures on the foam and glue that other cars do not experience.
Cleaning off the goo is messy, and to avoid contamination you need seats out and leather well protected.
A carpet change at this stage is a good idea and then all you have to do is seal the window frames A la Esprit to avoid water ingress damage to the carpet.
Also the weight of any new fabric is critical as the glue has to hold it up there, and soundproofing is mainly
due to some sort of loose mass, meaning weight.
You need a modern soundproofer of minimum weight, try the music shops.

I find Woolies a good source for most materials.

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Re: Headlining

Post by bash »

Done a couple of headlinings using the usual material, carpet would probably be no problem on the large flat areas, apart from attempting to tuck it into the very small gap at the top of the rear screen, but I think you would have big problems on the header rail, central cap rail and the rear cant rails as they all require a bit of material stretching, the header rail in particular can be a pain, and then you have the issue of the sun visors ! I know some thin carpets can be stretched with a large steamer but I wouldnt try it.
Usually most of the old padding comes down as mucky yellow dust and any of the rest rubs off with a rough glove on your hand but I would take the seats out cos it gives more room, and I would cover up everything else thats left cos said yellow dust seems to stick well once it hits owt else bar the roof.
Dont hesitate to get in touch with me for practical advice on this cos its not that hard really and Im much better at limbo dancing now !

Bash
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Re: Headlining

Post by Lotus-e-Clan »

Thanks Bash - very insightful.

OK, so taking what you say about the rails and stretch I have the seeds of a cunning plan. Contrasting rail trim.

If I do the main two ceilings in carpet - which won't stretch so easy as you say but is dead easy to get a good ripple-free finish.

And then do the rails and posts in this stuff which the Imp forum has just dragged up as a possible solution.

It's called mega stretch lining carpet ...

4-way mega stretch lining carpet clicky

So given my sand leather seats, I could do dark red carpet on floor, rear shelf, two main ceiling areas then contrast the posts and rails (and sun visors?) in barley-coloured mega stretch lining carpet assuming it matches the seat colour?

Do you think the 4 way mega stretch would work on the rails?
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bash
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Re: Headlining

Post by bash »

Interesting stuff. I'd ask for a sample and see how well it moulds and what the match is colour wise. If I was going down this route I would want the same stuff in the carpets and roof. At the end of the day, its not mega money to sort either your way or with the normal stuff, you wont ruin owt that can't be changed back. Its just time consuming thats all. All I will say is the big bits the easy bit !

Bash
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Re: Headlining

Post by CHRISYD »

Qwertyco wrote:
amarshall wrote:
Did you once tell me you had covered some lightweight panels to cover the flat roof sections instead of glueing directly?
Yes, i wondered if it would be better to glue it onto panels then fix them to the roof, but what about the bit next to the rear window?
I REALISED YOU CANT LIVE WITHOUT A LOTUS!!! Until now :oops:

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Re: Headlining

Post by carlp »

Taking the easy way out, my local car trimmer, who is used to working on Lotus cars, (he trimmed Elans for Peter Day of Daytune fame), has quoted me £300 to completely replace all the headlining in my Excel which includes providing the material as well and machining the bits needed.

Carl
Carl

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72 Elan Sprint
97 Alpina B10

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Lotus-e-Clan
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Re: Headlining

Post by Lotus-e-Clan »

^^^ that's a bargain! Where is he located?
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Re: Headlining

Post by carlp »

Lotus-e-Clan wrote:^^^ that's a bargain! Where is he located?
Burwell, Cambridgeshire..

https://www.yell.com/biz/p-and-m-taylor ... e-1371966/
Carl

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Lotus-e-Clan
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Re: Headlining

Post by Lotus-e-Clan »

Hmmn..there must be an equivalent somewhere up here too.

Cambridgeshire is not impossible ... but I rarely travel into that area.
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Re: Headlining

Post by carlp »

Lotus-e-Clan wrote:Hmmn..there must be an equivalent somewhere up here too.

Cambridgeshire is not impossible ... but I rarely travel into that area.
Here be dragons ... But Burwell is not too far from Hethel ... :-)
Carl

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Re: Headlining

Post by Lotus-e-Clan »

carlp wrote:
Lotus-e-Clan wrote:Hmmn..there must be an equivalent somewhere up here too.

Cambridgeshire is not impossible ... but I rarely travel into that area.
Here be dragons ... But Burwell is not too far from Hethel ... :-)
yeah too scary for me! :shock:

All that fiery breath would make a right mess of the fibreglass... :lol:
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Re: Headlining

Post by Lotus-e-Clan »

Well the headlining never got done in time for my son's Wedding (Aug 21019). But the Excel was used as the wedding car regardless and all went well. I'm STILL waiting for him to forward the official wedding pictures of them and the car mind you!

Meanwhile, I've started the process by engaging https://www.heritage-classics.com/trim-shop to do the headlining work.

After discussion with Heritage Classics, I decided to splash out and have the headlining done in colour-matched Scottish hide. It will be 'a tad' :shock: more expensive than replacing the original...but after 3 weddings with this car (2 daughters plus son) it's likely to pass along the line of one of my kids when I'm done with it.

Received two leather samples in the post today (saves a potential CoVID visit) but they are well-out - far too peachy/biscuit-coloured for the Lotus Sand leather original.

I've sent these photos to Heritage for reference - he will narrow it down further with more samples in the post soon.

Image

Image
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Re: Headlining

Post by Pete Boole »

It's going to smell fab in your car when it's been done!

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