PROJECT VOLVO

Removing the headliner in my Volvo 120 is a job that I have been meaning to tackle for a while and with an enforced hiatus in the boot floor fabrications (awaiting delivery of a sheet of 19 gauge steel),  today seemed as good a time as any. My plan was to try and rescue it.  It is not that I think it is in the best condition, obvious it has discoloured, but it isn't ripped. It is an item that I think I might need to have in the car to meet the 'road going saloon' class spec, but not something that I am particularly bothered about aesthetically. At £100 for a new headliner, I though it might be worth go at saving. However the Volvo service/workshop manual suggests that is not the norm, simply instructing to cut away the old lining. After removal of sun visors, grab handles and the interior light, I started on the headliner at the rear of the car. I had already removed the parcel shelf trim some time ago and so the lower corners were already revealed. There is a small fibre ...

Following my concerns about the 20 gauge Zinctec and its suitability for the boot floor fabrication, I did a little homework. Firstly I looked at the pre-pressed sections that I had bought and I measured for thickness using a micrometer. I also measured thickness of the original rear panel. Both appeared to be more than 0.9mm (20 gauge), although no where near as thick as 1.2mm (18 gauge). I estimated them to be approximately 1mm thick. I then measured the thickness of the Zinctec sheet and discovered that although nominally 0.9mm, it wasn't difficult to find areas which were only 0.8mm, and some even as thin as 0.75. This confirmed my suspicions that this 20 gauge was not the right material for this job. Further research suggested that the Volvo Amazon, like many older cars it seems, was in probably originally pressed in 19 gauge (1mm). I have now ordered a sheet of 1mm cold rolled mild steel (I could only find Zinctec in either 0.9 or 1.2). Given that I already had the section cu...