[92LacMotion]

Hello CF members, long time reader first time poster. I have a 95 Eldorado esc that I picked up last year and it has an issue that the previous owner made a very strange solution for, that I am now trying to clean up. It was a canvas top with sunroof model, the sunroof apparently "shattered" so instead of putting in a new one he installed an additional canvas top on top of the existing one... This means that from the outside it looks okay but the inside has a gap where the sunroof was, with a view of the underside of the second top. I decided I would pull the headliner and somehow fill that gap and recover the headliner as one, but there was very limited info on how to do so. Upon removing everything I don't seem to have an actual liner for the middle part, all I could find was foam that goes around the outside of the roof by the lights etc. I've attached a pic of what I pulled out and some pics of the inside, not sure what to do from this point. Did I just make my issue way worse? Where is the rest of the headliner? There is foam attached to like a metal lining, don't see how it could come out.
Keep in mind the fabric was already removed from everything and tossed.
Here are the pics, any advice would be greatly appreciated!

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[MoistCabbage]

Is that plywood I see on the ceiling in the second picture??

It looks like the sunroof is/was aftermarket. The original headliner either gets replaced or canalbalized in the process. You'll need to either find a non sunroof headliner, or have an upholstery shop make one from scratch.

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Is be more concerned with the exterior. You can't simply place a simulated top on top of another. If he took off what was there and installed another one himself, there will almost definitely be rust issues and leaks.

What about the hole where the glass was?

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I'm having trouble making things out completely. Uploading pictures directly to this site, sucks. For future reference, upload to www.photobucket.com , and post the IMG codes here. No size limits.

Simulated tops are a shaped, fiberglass shell with an acrylic fabric glued to it, then glued/screwed/riveted to the roof of the car. In the second picture it looks like wood is visible through the hole. Is that correct? Or am I seeing it wrong?

 

[92LacMotion]

Thanks for the quick reply. That isn't plywood it's actually the fibreglass underside of the second top.
As for the installation, he said he acquired this second canvas top and had an upholstery shop install it professionally, but to my surprise they installed it over the original top.
As for the hole where the glass was, that's the reason I wanted to remove and redo the headliner, so that my new one wouldn't have a sunroof sized hole in it.

I was actually having issues with my photbucket account so I used that site, first time I tried it. I'll try my PB once more to give you better pics.

 

[basscatt]

Hello CF members, long time reader first time poster. I have a 95 Eldorado esc that I picked up last year and it has an issue that the previous owner made a very strange solution for, that I am now trying to clean up. It was a canvas top with sunroof model, the sunroof apparently "shattered" so instead of putting in a new one he installed an additional canvas top on top of the existing one... This means that from the outside it looks okay but the inside has a gap where the sunroof was, with a view of the underside of the second top. I decided I would pull the headliner and somehow fill that gap and recover the headliner as one, but there was very limited info on how to do so. Upon removing everything I don't seem to have an actual liner for the middle part, all I could find was foam that goes around the outside of the roof by the lights etc. I've attached a pic of what I pulled out and some pics of the inside, not sure what to do from this point. Did I just make my issue way worse? Where is the rest of the headliner? There is foam attached to like a metal lining, don't see how it could come out.
Keep in mind the fabric was already removed from everything and tossed.
Here are the pics, any advice would be greatly appreciated!

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WOW -
we all know the CORRECT way to solve this -
actually - there are 2 methods -

obviously strip the exterior coverings off -
down to the steel roof -

1) find another working sunroof and install it -

2) weld a panel and reinstall the reinforcement into the roof -

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the only way I know of to install a complete headliner -
is to remove the windshield -

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how much $$$$$$$$$$ have you budgeted for this project -

what is the condition of the rest of the car - interior and exterior -
is it worth investing $2000 into fixing the roof?

 

[92LacMotion]

Ok so the second canvas top was installed on top of the existing canvas top. I see no point in removing the original top as it had the sunroof in it originally. The reason I haven't tried to put another sunroof in is because the previous owner tried to put 2 different eldorado sunroofs in but neither fit, which leads me to believe moist cabbage is correct in saying the sunroof was aftermarket.
The rest of the car is pretty much mint. There is only 118k on it and it's overall in really great shape for the year, just this headliner was an eye sore so it was the only issue I had with it.
I guess I'm left to either find a headliner (doubtful) or make one myself or have a shop make one.

 

[MoistCabbage]

I'm very curious about the simulated roof situation. The fiberglass forms are fitted to the steel roof and pillars. One simply wouldn't fit flush against another, and the material on top of it. Could you boost a picture of it from the outside?

 

[92LacMotion]

Here is a bigger pic of the interior, as well as a pic of the exterior. As you can see the original canvas top was beige and the one installed over top was black.

 

[MoistCabbage]

Wow. The amount of work someone went through to do something totally wrong. :nono:

My suggestion, if you're planning on keeping the car long term, remove the simulated tops and have the roof repaired. That won't be anything close to cheap though.

Otherwise, find a headliner/have one made, and hope the tops stay waterproof.

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Or.....

Besides the glass, is the rest of the aftermarket sunroof still in the car?

If it is, you should be able to get the model number off of ur and order s new glass panel. Most manufactures still have it available.

The only problem then is the simulated top with the sunroof hole in it is now ruins by god knows what adhesive. But it's cheaper to remove that and just paint the roof then have to patch the hole as well. Still not inexpensive but...

 

[92LacMotion]

ughh what have I done! I thought a sunroof hole and some fabric dropping down around the edges of the headliner was annoying, but now I've just opened a huge can of worms. Seriously though, who would've thought there would be no headliner...

MoistCabbage - although you are not telling me what I want to hear, your knowledge and input was very much appreciated. Thank you for taking the time to provide me with some options. I'll let you know what ends up happening.

 

[MoistCabbage]

The headliner part might not be too big of a deal. In most cars, with the seats and console out, the headliner can be removed/installed through the passenger side door. No need to remove the windshield. And even if you can't find an original, it's not a very expensive thing for an upholstery shop to make.