Headliner and door card fabric Topic is solved

[CedBobKing]

Just purchased a great starter car for my daughter, an S40 with a stick. It is in remarkable shape, but the headliner is starting to fall. We plan to pull the tray out and re-upholster it. However, it does not have the usual "fuzzy" fabric that is in my V70 and seems to be in every other car. It looks like a "waffle-weave". It is the same fabric used on the innermost patch of the door cards too, which is also starting to de-laminate. Does anyone know where some similar fabric can be sourced in the Internet?

Thanks,

Cedric

[RickHaleParker]

The OEM headliner is discontinued. Somebody on eBay has some old stock for the 1999-2007 S40. They want $250.00 each. You are looking at $500.00 in materials to do the headliner and doors unless somebody can find it for less, which is unlikely.

You might be better off finding some fabric she likes and use it. Don't go for the OEM look. Make it her car with something of her choosing. You have an opportunity to do a creative father - daughter project. That is worth way more then the cost of the OEM fabric or OEM looks.

[CedBobKing]

It would seem that this stuff, https://www.dltcorporation.com/product_p/dhf-2325.htm, is it. They seem to have it in stock.

I completely agree with the idea of personalizing it. There are some auto/marine fabric places out there with some really interesting stuff. My plan was to find something close and then show her where to look at the different stuff too.

[theWIFES_S70]

It would seem that this stuff, https://www.dltcorporation.com/product_p/dhf-2325.htm, is it. They seem to have it in stock.

I completely agree with the idea of personalizing it. There are some auto/marine fabric places out there with some really interesting stuff. My plan was to find something close and then show her where to look at the different stuff too.

Did you ever get around to completing your daughter's headliner project? Any pics? I need to start planning out this project...

[CedBobKing]

We ended up doing something a little simpler than finding something to order. I happened to see a slate blue, foam backed headliner cloth at Michael's or JoAnn's, that seemed to match closely enough. We got some of that.

The tricky bit is getting the headliner tray out of the car. We removed the two front seats, which was simple enough. Then we had to pull the seals from the top of the four door openings. Next was popping off all the pillar trim pieces. Then the tray was simple enough to remove from the roof. If you do a Volvo part lookup for the interior trim pieces, it has an explosion diagram of how everything fits together. It can also be found in VIDA. I used that as a guide for dis-/re-assembly. I find I break less stuff if I use plastic trim tools instead of screwdrivers.

Getting it in and out of the car was not nearly so easy. The next time I do it, I will look into removing a door, probably front passenger. If there is a wiring connector there, I certainly will.

As for re-lining the tray, the tedious part was removing the rotting foam. I used a putty knife and some acetone. The tricky part is gluing the new cloth down. We used 3M Super 99 spray glue from the Ace Hardware. There are several videos on YouTube I watched before we tried it. [The process is the same for any headliner tray.] Basically drape the cloth over the tray. Fold back half. Working in "stripes," spray down the glue then fold the cloth over it. When you reach the end, fold the unglued cloth back over the glued and do that side. Let it sit. Trim the edge. Then put it back in the car.

We took no photos. Hopefully the description will help.

[RobsS40]

Thank you for your great and inspiring project description.

I just bought an '06 S40 that I love, but knew it has problems. It has rotting foam everywhere and I hate the stuff. Wires are wrapped in it, and it's both sticky and crumbly and gets everywhere.

My headliner is just beginning to delaminate. I've been driving and working on cars for many years. I've had others with the sagging headliner. Knowing the difficulty involved, especially removing the sticky foam goo from the shell / tray, I just used "twist pins" to hold it up in strategic spots. Inelegant, but functional, and can be done nicely by the artistically talented.

Doors have connectors which are very easy to release.

[800artfreed]

You mentioned failing foam around wiring bundles. I ran into the same problem when rebuilding my dashboard in a S70. I tried to remove it but that was unsuccessful. A simple solution I used was to take thin sheets of foam packing material and cut it into long strips. I then wrapped the packing foam (white 1/8" thick) around the existing wiring harness leaving the old sticky foam in place. It stuck long enough to then use black friction tape and wrap it around the new foam in a spiral pattern, leaving space between each turn. As our vehicles can get very hot under the sun with the windows closed I used friction tape because it is less subject to melting like the adhesive of black electrical tape. It turned out great, was pretty easy, fast and cheap and has already lasted for a couple of years.

Good Luck

[RobsS40]

Great tip, thanks. I haven't used friction tape in a long time. I'll give it a try.

3M Scotch Super 33+ and Super 88 are pretty good with higher temperatures, and I'm sure others make good tape too. Here's an article: https://www.electronicshub.org/best-electrical-tape/

I guess I'm wondering why they bother with the foam on wires? I assume it's for sound dampening? I'm more in the getting rid of it camp. I hate dealing with rotting foam. Speakers that die due to foam. I only use rubber surrounds to repair speakers, which will last forever.

Thanks again.