Morris Minor Owners Club

i would say no glue, get comfortable take the old one out carfully noting where all the wires go and put the new one in. its fiddly, only done it once and cant remember all the details, but 2 wires one each side of the screen to glove box, some more wires top rear of door, remove trim to see them and around the rear window down to rear seat. they are wire loops with a screw and washer, into the body, not to difficult to remove, but the wires must be pulled tight for bes effect, it will look great when is done, and make the inside so much brighter

the car gets quite damp inside overnight

Sorry Amanda, but I think maybe you should look after this part first, otherwise there might not be too much left for the headlining to hold onto!
Where is the water entering? Or is it a lot of condenation?

The headlining itself is quite a job to fit correctly. It's even difficult to remove as the front board can be tricky.
The headlining is only cosmetic & the damp problem will not help the new lining either.

Best to take it out and redo properly - will look much neater as they are pulled tight and a glued on one will be hard to stretch tight on the old one.

In the dash there are two wires (one on each side) coming down the pillars and screwed on - undo these. At the back there are also two (one on each side) to undo - I don't remember where they are - but hidden.

Then twist the metal hoops to get them from the upper sills above the doors. Like scott says the front board is the trick.

I've had not much experience doing these in saloons - I was pointed to a couple of minors one day and told I could get what I want - one had a brand new headlining so I took that out - didn't have much time but got it out pretty easy - looks like dad is getting a saloon soon so He'll most likely end up with the lining in there. I just have to fit my pickup one soon.

There are four at the rear.... 2 under the parcel shelf & one either side above the wheelarch behind the cards with the arm rests on...

Gah!, beat me to it!

Sorry Amanda, but you'll have to take the old lining out first & fit ythe new one properly. No other wat. Simple really, but lots of hidden bits.

Start by looking under dash board for two bits (one by left pillar, one on right) of thin wire bare wire held taught by small screws. Undo screws & release wire. Tie a bit of string to wire to make life easy later on.

The board behind the lining over the windscreen is retained by two hidden slips. Positions vary, but roughly 1/3 of way across car is a good bet. You need a flat thin bar bent at 90 degrees & a lip of about 1/2 inch and a longer "handle". Carefully insert the short bit over top of windscreen & under lining. Slide sideways until engaged with clip & then lever upwards. This bit always sounds difficult when explained, but in practice is dead simple and takes only one or two seconds!

Fold down the rear seat (yes in a saloon, it's held up by two winged bolts removed from inside the boot. Some owners don't realise they can do this for transporting long loads!) and then remove screws from piece of headlining under the rear window. The lining and its backing board can now be removed. Also remove the side trim with arm rests.

At the sides of the car, next to edge of rear seat backrest, just below windows, are two more screws & then ends of bare wire. Also underneath the rear shelf, accessfrom inside the boot are the last two. Remove all four. Also remove any metasl trim clips that are holding the lining down - exact positions will avry depending on who fitted the lining.

Lift the edges of the rear window rubber and look for concealed hooks holding down more of the bare wire. Some people reckon it's easier to remove the rear window for this bit! Release the wire.

The whole lining can now be bunched up in centre of car and the metal supports manipulated out of the side channels. As you reomve the lining, the bits of wire pull up through the iwindscreen pillars. The bits of string are to help pull them back down when refitting.

Note how the old lining and bits of wire are attached to the metal hoops. Mark the hoops so that you know (a) which is front, middle, back, and (b) where the edge of the lining goes. Also note how much material is required between the front hoop and where the plywood board is attached - headlinings are supplied to approx size & trimmed as needed.

Assemble the new lining and wire with the boards and hoops. If you need new wire try bicycle shop for thin inner gear / brake cable.

Now it's just "a reversal of the removal process". Pull all wires tight and adjust to get an even spread of fabric. Pushing the board into place over the windscreen makes the final tension, and the two front wires are the last to be fixed.

Time consuming, but well worth the effort.

Good luck.

Gah!, beat me to it!

Haha - One smart "over large donkey" is enough for any thread!

Can someone give me a list of all the funny phrases that pop up when you swear on the forum....

It's tempting you see! Bit like those road signs that tell you how fast you are going

Fold down the rear seat (yes in a saloon, it's held up by two winged bolts removed from inside the boot. Some owners don't realise they can do this for transporting long loads!)

simmitc - you say the seat back is held by to winged bolts - my experience with saloons here is they are held by a central strap of leather with a metal clip on the end attached to the inside of the boot - you go inside the boot and un clip to drop it forward - or if you don't know that, you just pull the seat down from the inside and snap the time-weakened leather strap!

I remember my uncle used to have his seat back down with the dog in the boot/backseat.

my experience with saloons here is they are held by a central strap of leather with a metal clip on the end attached to the inside of the boot - you go inside the boot and un clip to drop it forward

That's how my '52's rear seat is held in, but my '69 4-door's seat is held in by the winged bolts.

Maybe it's the early/late difference again, and as has been said before in your part of the world there are not too many late cars around.

Yep, early late difference for definite. The early leather seats all seem to have this strap arrangment.

I was going to try and refabricate the strap arrangement in leather, as there doesn't appear to be provision for wing-bolts on mine, and I didn't want to pierce the vinyl in case there was nothing for the bolts to bolt to inside the seat... However, a big wood-screw does the job...

My 65 has the wing bolts so I assume it changed with the 1098cc engine, if you do have them remove and lubicate them so one does not shear off like mine did, a devils own job to extract the broken bit, if it does break dont try the cut a slot with a hacksaw as the metal is to soft to cope with a screwdriver , I used what is basically a minature stilson and plenty of plus gas and it came out eventually.

Kevin,
my 62 had the wing bolts so it's not a 1098 thing...
In fact I'm not sure I've ever seen one of those leather straps yet - I'll have to have a looksee at the next meet.

Got no carpet in

Sounds like an ideal opportunity to get some fresh paint down to protect it then!

Dad's just got himself a '62 four door - just ran and had a look, seems like its had the wingnuts (but they are missing). My '57 has the strap.

Fweddy they should be wingbolts a bolt with the wingnut as the head they are one piece, and sometimes (as in my case) the heads (wings) break off as they corrode in place, they are an item that needs copper grease on them to keep them free, I think what makes them worse is if the rear screen leaks and lets water into that area. They are quite small and you should see the 2 holes where they should go.

Yip Kevin I see the holes but there is nothing in them - nice clean thread etc. I'd say some one's taken them out to drop the seat back down and has never put them back in place.