I invited myself to the VA/DC/MD dyno day since I was in need of a long drive in my car and some TT owners' companionship. I got to see Cliff again and meet Michael, Ellen, Evi, and quite a few other TT owners this afternoon. Since I wasn't doing the dyno thing, I decided to bring my headliner along so I could do something TT related while the cars were being done.

Anyhoo...on with the headliner. Taking off the bars was really no problem except for the front ones. The screwdriver I had was too long. A man at the dyno shop graciously lent me a short one for the afternoon. Snapping on the new bars was a little bit of a pain as there isn't really a lot of room to maneuver in the car. Here's a real pisser, though...the holes on one of the bars weren't placed correctly so I couldn't install one of the screws. It was off by about 1 1/2". That bothered me as I expected these details would be checked as part of quality control. Another bar had the screw holes off by about 1/2", but I was able to "make" it fit.

Installing the front of the headliner wasn't really easy since I couldn't take off the handle. It turns out there is a small Torx screw on the side of the handle to remove the handle, but I didn't have a Torx tool to use. So, Michael and I wiggled and pried and did our best to get the short screws in place. The second side was easier because I didn't take the bar completely out -- I left one of the screws in place. This helped me align the bar and this side went in a lot quicker.

Installing the tabs at the front of the window just plain sucked. The tabs didn't line up with the Allen screw hole. I really had to stretch the tabs to make up for the 2" variation.

Attaching the Velcro tabs was easy, but because the top was stretched to accommodate the tabs, the Velcro strips didn't line up properly. Here's another pisser -- the elastic strap on the passenger side was installed incorrectly. There was supposed to be two straps with a male and female snap respectively on each end. This side had two female ends. I ended up using one of the other snaps from the other strap to connect the strap to the bar.

All in all, I got the roof liner installed and I think it looks good. There are a few wrinkles that I plan to work out in a week or two once any stretching is done. I think it took me about an hour and a half to two hours to get it done.

For $485, I expected a lot better product in terms of quality control. The fabric part is very nice and gives the top a finished look that was missing before. The hardware, on the other hand, left a bit to be desired.

Recommendations to future installers:

Get a handful of Phillips head screwdrivers of varying lengths.

Get a 2.5 Allen screwdriver rather than a small wrench. It will make attaching the side tabs a lot easier if you have to "force" the screw like I did.

Take off the roof handle so you can remove the piece that goes across the top by the front edge of the roof. That alone will save you about 30 minutes.

Inspect all the snaps and other pieces before you begin the install.

Have a second person doing the installation with you and you'll save a good deal of time.

Have a drill on hand in case the holes on the bars aren't lined up correctly.

 

I used a mirror and a light, to see into the edge of the back of the handle. No torx bit I had would fit. It's an odd spline-type bit.
The best I did was to remove the 'Caution/Press' Plastic bezel, then the plastic cover could be rotated to get at the screws easier.

see these pics.

You may have some difficulty lining up the screw holes on the new strut bar covers, sewn into the fabric, with the existing holes on the frame.
I had to "create" and open up holes on all new covers.

<img src="http://woodyjdb.home.comcast.net/images/headliner3.jpg">

In order to get the front cover into this position, it's necessary to remove the plastic cover over the top handle/push button. BE CAREFUL! It's held in place by small pastic tabs that can easily break!
I know, I broke them! the part is about $7.00 to replace.
You canot get the top handle off. If you could, this part of the install would be a breeze.

<img src="http://woodyjdb.home.comcast.net/images/headliner4.jpg">

<img src="http://woodyjdb.home.comcast.net/images/headliner5.jpg">

Stick the screws into and through the fabric first, like I tried to show here. The instruction sheet shows this also. It's *much* easier then to get these screws into the holes on the frame.
Also, when you get the frame loose, you will see some fabric covering these holes in front of the frame on the car. You may find you will need to cut away the fabric that covers the holes, in order to assist you in getting the screws into the holes.
<img src="http://woodyjdb.home.comcast.net/images/headliner7.jpg">

 

I'm sorry if this seems like a stupid question but...

Why exactly would you want to install a "headliner"?

 

1. It provides a nice, seemless fabric cover over the stuts, hinges, bars, etc. of the top.
2. It *does* reduce noise.
3. It makes the interior of the Roadster look very classy when the top is up.

It should have been a standard feature.