Headlining (again)

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

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amarshall
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Headlining (again)

Post by amarshall »

The headlining, that Mel Broome and his team put in for me at the factory a few years ago, has succumbed to my bad habit of using the car, and drooped. I think the cause was a leaky rear screen seal and having the car travelling backwards in the rain on the AutoZug last year.

Anyway - I've just dropped it off at a local restoration workshop (2 miles from the house, 1 mile from Croft circuit) for them to tackle the rear roof panel and cant rails for me (I really don't want to play around with that edge inside the rear window myself). Estimated cost is comparable (pro-rata) with what I paid Lotus, so not too bad at all.

All being well, it should be ready tomorrow, just in time for the first of this year's big trips.
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Re: Headlining (again)

Post by Simpatico »

Do any other plastic specialist vehicles suffer as badly from this, all things being equal (say Scimitars, Cerberas etc)? Or does the Elite/Eclat/Excel take the crown for leakiest hard-topped sportscar? Even Esprits seem to fare better.

I suppose most other competitors are predominantly convertibles so a bit of precipitation is accepted
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amarshall
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Re: Headlining (again)

Post by amarshall »

I think the Esprit has it easier because the roof is shorter and there's more sealing at the rear of it because the structure of the car.

I can't speak about the others you mention, but suspect that they probably use more conventional headlining construction, where a separate panel is covered and then mounted to the roof, rather than sticking the fabric straight onto the shell. That gives them some benefits in terms of insulation and adhesion (they can wrap the fabric round the edges to get a better fit and finish).
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chrisw2811
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Re: Headlining (again)

Post by chrisw2811 »

Hmmmm. I wonder if there is enough room around the cant rails, roll bar cover and header rail to install a covered panel?
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Re: Headlining (again)

Post by AndyC »

For some of us it's more about whether there's enough spare height to install a trimmed panel.

I think a trimmed panel would solve it, the heat caused by the sun beating down on the roof is what hastens the failure of the foam.

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Re: Headlining (again)

Post by garyexcel »

Hi I've have to replace my headlining when the weather gets a bit warmer, I was thinking of using a leather cloth vinyl material to avoid the foam backing I thought it should match in quite well with the leather windscreen surround what does everyone think?

Gary

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Re: Headlining (again)

Post by Simpatico »

Hi Gary

I fancy leather too.

Unfortunately where I have seen it used glued directly to the roof (on an Elite and an Excel) it takes on a really "harsh" look, not like the padded luxurious look provided by a sponge backing.

Perhaps leather could be used with a more robust 3mm closed-cell foam backing that could be stuck in place with a spreadable rather than spray on glue? A member on here with an Elite in tropical SE Asia seems to have had success with this so far.
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Re: Headlining (again)

Post by AndyC »

I think the interior surface of the roof , as finished, is too uneven to give a good finish with any non-foam option.

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Re: Headlining (again)

Post by 16VJay »

Quote:

"Do any other plastic specialist vehicles suffer as badly from this, all things being equal (say Scimitars, Cerberas etc)? Or does the Elite/Eclat/Excel take the crown for leakiest hard-topped sportscar? Even Esprits seem to fare better."

The problem with the Lotuses is that the headlining material breaks up with time, the middle foam layer breaks up and the surface cloth drops. This is a time thing - I re-trimmed my Elite's panels years back but ended up never fitting them - I looked at them the other day and they all need re-doing as the foam has broken up.

The Esprits do better as their headlinings have stitch lines front to back which helps hold the material together!

Scimitars use proper material with folds stitched into it, tensions rods are threaded through the folds and screwed to the body. Last forever pretty much.

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