Originally posted on Cedar Crest Speedlab Technical Articles Further edits will be on my site. This document describes how to remove and replace your hardtop Regal headliner with a high quality ABS piece. Mine came from Mike's Montes and it was a perfect match to the maroon interior. The pic in the product link looks light, but I think it was just the pic because mine was darker. Expect a couple of hours if this is your first time. Bear in mind that this is removal and replacement, not a recover. I will not be addressing a recover of your existing headliner. It can be done, but I wanted a prefab piece on ABS plastic. Tools needed: T50 Torx bit and ratchet Philips screw driver Needle nose pliers X-acto knife (3) Rear headliner clips (not required, but I can almost guarantee you will break them in removal) 1.Pull all trim loose from around the headliner. Start on the passenger side working your way around. The A-pillar will have to come first. 2.To remove the metal trim above the doors, you have to stand outside of the car. Grasp the trim with palms up, squeeze toward your body and push up. The metal piece will pop off the plastic clips that are above the metal trim. There are three clips per side. Don't break them because they are not easy to find anywhere. Remove the three clips on each side with a philips screwdriver. 3.Remove the seatbelt mount by popping off the cover and using a T50 Torx bit. 4.Remove the B-pillar window trim and door trim. 5.To remove the metal trim from above the rear window, you will need two flat blade screwdrivers or pliers. Remove the two Philips screws, one on either end of the molding. Pry the metal trim down a bit until you can see the three plastic clips. They have a triangular plastic piece that inserts into a slot in the roof. Take the pliers or screwdriver and squeeze the bottoms of the triangle together while pulling down. It should either pop out of the clip will break. My bet is on the latter.6.Unbolt the sunvisors. 7.Pop the cover on the interior light in the center of the headliner. Use needle nose pliers to remove the two fasteners on the studs and drop the dome light down. Let the light hang by the wires for now. 8.The board needs to be removed. I didn't care much because mine was going in the trash, but you can easily ruin your factory board by not being careful. 9.Leave the front metal trim along the windshield IN the car. This one is a bear to get out and you are better off not messing with it in my opinion. You can slide the headliner back and down to get if out of this trim piece. 10.Now, it is time to remove the headliner from the car. 11.Slide your seats all the way back, and recline them as far as you can. 12.Tilt your wheel all the way up. 13.Have both doors open and see if you can get a friend to help you maneuver the board out of the car. You must take it out the passenger side, it won't clear the wheel on the driver side. 14.Drop the front of the board down a little and rotate the front so it comes out first. You will want the passenger side up against the roof and the driver side against the floor. 15.Make sure the board goes over the shifter not under it or it will bind. 16.Play with it a little and it should come right out. Here's how mine ended up at the completion of the project. 17.Here is my old headliner compared to the new one. Notice how the old one retains the form of hands and feet. The foam was so old, it compressed and didn't pop back to shape. 18.Here is a shot of the car with the headliner out. Looks pretty bare with no trim. 19.When this is all done you can reverse your process and reinstall the headliner. You may have to cut holes for your dome light and sun visors. I cut my dome light hole with an Exacto knife while it was out of the car. Don't try to cut the sun visor holes out of the car. Just wait until you have the headliner installed and this will be your last step. 20.Roll your headliner a bit to get it into the passenger side of the car. It is fine to roll an ABS liner since it is tough and will return to shape. Do NOT attempt if you are re-using your styrofoam one. Use masking tape to tape the wire to the dome light so you can easily locate it to pull it back through. 21.Slide the headliner into the metal trim above the windshield. It is helpful to have a friend, but I used my head to hold it up. 22.Attach the three plastic tabs to the passenger side and driver side to hold the headliner up. Remember, these were the tabs that were above the metal trim in step 2. 23.Pull the dome light through and let it hang. 24.Install the A-pillar moldings and the B-pillar window trim. 25.Snap the metal trim in place above the doors ... you know, the ones you swore at in step 2. 26.Install the metal trim above the rear window. Position the triangular clips in the moldings first and then position it in place so the clips line up with the slots in the root. Pop them in place with a few pounds of the fist. Insert the two screws, one in either end of the trim. 27.Push the headliner up by the dome light to reveal the mounting studs. Mount the dome light and secure it with the little metal rings you removed in step 7. 28.You are almost there. It is now time to mount your standard sun visors. Use your finger to locate the hole in the roof. It will be easy to find. Trim the hole out with an Exacto knife. 29.Use your finger to find the three screw holes in the metal roof. Use a sharp punch to poke a hole through the headliner for the screws. 30.Mount the sun visors. 31.Step back and enjoy your work. Here's mine. What did I do with the old one?
I have to remove my headliner only because I have two dings on the roof and the ding guy said the headliner has to come down. It is in good shape so I want to be able to put it back. Is this possible? Can I remove it and install it without destroying it?
It can be removed in one piece. You just have to recline the seats and work it out the passenger side of the car. I actually got mine out unbroken ... I just broke it into pieces to get it in the garbage bin. Just be really careful with the front corners because they are REALLY fragile in the area where the sunvisor mounting holes are. If you do break it, duct tape or aluminum tape works wonders.
hi Great post Hi I have a t top can i buy an abs headliner and cut it out for the back? Do they make one for a T top car? Thanks
They make them specifically for T-Tops. Headliner on the board (T-top)- Maroon, : Mike's Montes LLC, Specializing in '83 to '88 Monte Carlo SS Above is an example.
I just got through installing my new headliner. My GN has the dual map lights and it required a couple of tricks to get it right. The map lights are about 6" forward of the precut hole in the plastic of the aftermarket headliner. There are two pins that hold the map lights to the old headliner with a friction clip. You have to remove the clips and re-install just the pins in the dome light mounting plate on the roof. You can then temporarily install the headliner making sure it is aligned properly. Once you have the headliner positioned correctly, use your hand and lightly knock the section of the headliner below the pins (should be about 6 inches forward of the precut dome light area). Now drop the headliner and you should be able to see the two imprints from the two pins on the back of the headliner. You can then drill them with a 1/8" drill bit. This will give you the exact position of the dome/map lights. I replaced the pins with screws, but you could reuse the pins if you can find new friction clips. Locate and trace the hole for the wiring by holding the dome light plate up to the liner. I also broke the rear moulding clips, so be prepared.
Neat trick. I have pretty much figured out that unless you use two screwdrivers to pinch the rear clips in while a partner pulls down on the metal trim, you WILL break them.
I followed your guide and everything went good. I should have taken your advice and ordered the rear clips at the same time. Also, Mikes Montes has VERY fast shipping!
I have never done a T-top car, but I would think it would be easier. You'd still need the rear clips in case you break them. Just start on the b-pillar and work your way around.
I didn't break all of my clips, but I figured 23 year old plastic wouldn't be very forgiving. It was kind of a waste on money buying a full set because I didn't realize I wouldn't be removing the front clips until I got working on it. I had my clips and liner in three days since he knew I was getting ready for a show. Great guy.
hello people; I found this once but lost it. Who carries the ABS plastic headliner for a moonroof in grey. thanks IBBY I just remembered I do not have a OEM moonroof it was put in by ASC. I wonder if it's going make a difference?
I have never seen an ABS replacement for the asc moonroof, but that's not to say they don't exist. From what I understand, there is a difference between the factory installed Buick moonroof and the ASC dealer installed moonroof. There are certainly replacements for the factory moonroof, but that won't help you much. You might be best off just pulling the headliner out very carefully and re-covering it. If you break the foam board, you can use aluminum tape to repair it.
I got my hardtop headliner from MikesMontes in 2006. The fabric started coming apart from the board a couple years back. it's not real bad but it's there.
Thanks for the step by step process. It was a big help. I only had 1 clip in the metal strip accross the back window. I will be putting 3 back in. My biggest issue is that the headliner I received was for a dome light car and mine has the map light so the cut out in the ABS was to far back, so I am going to have to exchange it. I am to nervous about cutting a new hole. Thanks
Did you have any problems drilling the holes and snagging the material when you went through? Did you run the drill backwards? What did you se to cut the ABS material with? Thanks
Thanks for taking the time to do this write up. I'm going to be doing the wife's 85T soon. I've printed out your procedure. It looks like we have the same color interior, burgundy.
