its a common problem with roof linings in the e series that the foam backing between the fabric and insulation perishes due to the heat of the roof, and a replacement from ford is expensive and will eventualy end up doing the same thing.

this is a quick roof lining mod ive done to both my cars now (EA & EB) that i thought someone with a falling lining might find usefull. basicly its a matter of replacing the original lining with installation carpet. (usualy bought from autosound stores for use with speaker box installations).

once installed the finished job looks great, i think it looks alot better than the original and will last for the life of the car. the eb i did in black to match the black interior and seat covers, and the ea in grey which i think looks awesome with the grey interior.

i wanted to post pics with this mod but i didnt have a working camera when i did my second lining replacement in the ea.







what you will need:
- 2 litres of Carpet Glue: Selley's Quick Grip or Parfix Fast Grip (there are others).
- Installation Carpet: 1300x1600 (usualy only sold in 2m x 2m)
- Sissors & Stanley knife or soldering iron.
- Flat Glue Applicator

1. remove the lining and place on a table, then remove the old linings bringing it back to the moulded insulation fabric.

2. place the installation carpet face up on the roof insulation and roughly cut around about 2 inches away from the edge. this is because of the concave shape and sun visor recesses the carpet will want to pull inward as your glueing.

3. with the carpet cut roughly the same shape its best to glue it in 4 places (not all at once or the glue will dry) start at the back by lifting the carpet and folding it over to meet the centre interior light cutout.

4. place an even amount of glue over the moulded insulation using the applicator (not directly on the carpet) so that is visable without pooling. once the quater section is covered. place the carpet over the insulation keeping it as straight as possable so there are no creases, lightly pressing it into shape and leave for 5 minutes then repeat by lightly pressing and rubbing. do this every 5-10 minutes for about half an hour or more depending on the brand of glue. to check to see if it has bonded all you do is pull the carpet fibers "lightly" with your fingers. once the first quater has bonded move the carpet over and glue up to the interior light hole, and so on untill you have all 4 quaters complete.

5. cut along the edges using sissors, and use the the stanley knife for all the smaller holes "or" a soldering iron is much easier and neater for this. note that you may have holes for the handle grips, make sure you dont cut these out if you dont have or want the fold down grips. leave overnight and install.



note: the hardest part of all this in the glueing, if you dont use enough glue the carpet wont stick, use too much (pooling) and the carpet will soak it up and become visable on the outside. if this happens use mineral turpentine and a comb to brush it out even if its started to dry the comb will remove it. i used a metal "nit comb" and it works well. never place anything heavy on top of the carpet while its drying or it will push the fibres into the glue.

total cost was around $80. alltho i didnt realy shop around for the best prices. autobarn are usualy expensive but they had a %20 off sale at the time for the carpet and are not far from where i live. glue was the most expensive item.

a re;done roof lining costs about $120 at my local upholstery joint .
but you have a great idea there .

Last edited by kut&shutkustomz on Thu Feb 08, 2007 2:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.

In regards to re doing the roof: For a little custom touch get some thin MDF (is it 3mm or 5 mm?) and thin foam from Clark rubber. Cut out a design or something that may add a personal touch, wrap the MDF in the foam covering and attach this to where ever you desire on your roof moulding.
Re-line it and voila cool looking roof.

i just realised i posted this in the wrong place, it was ment to go in Interior Modifications, lol.

ill post some pics soon of both cars.

nice mate nice

once the pics are posted sedn it to a mod and it can be placed into the tech docco section

i think its interesting that anyone would be concerned with a roof lining eventualy saging again. are u planning on keeping your ea another 20 years? if so good on ya. you should get somone to take a pic of the finnished product

yeah i am, well im not sure about 20 years but i plan to keep it for a long time. i think the main reason i did the roof myself is cos i knew it would look better. the factory linings were too light and didnt match the rest of the interior.

pics of the ea:

 

 

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pics of the eb:

im not sure what to do about the light grey visors

 

 

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get the PVC paint or what ever its called, paint em a darker grey.. don't do black its too overdone. does every dash mod have to make the car look like its driven by one of darth vaders employees when they are not out working on the death star?