Getting Started

    Time Estimate (conservatively high)
              5-10 hours

    Tools, Equipment and Facilities You'll Need
            - Phillips head screwdriver
            - Large flat -head screwdriver
            - Scotch-Brite pad
            - Large dirt and dust free table or work bench (at least 20"x30")
            - Sharp scissors
            - Felt tip marker (Sharpie)
            - WD-40, or similar penetrating oil

    Stuff to Buy
            - Any tools listed above that you may not already have
            - Headliner Material from suppliers on links page, or approximately three 20"x30"
              sheets of similar material from your local fabric store
            - 3M High Strength 90 spray adhesive (3 cans) can be purchased at any home 
               improvement warehouse (Home Depot, Lowes, etc...)
            - Several sheets or a roll of 20"x30" Tissue or low quality newsprint paper

    Final Preparation

Before beginning you may want to cover the seats, floor, storage shelf, console and dash of your DeLorean with a tarp to prevent falling dirt and fabric particles from getting into cracks and crevices.  You may also want to unplug your door caution lights or disconnect your battery, as your doors may be open for awhile.  To unplug/ de-activate the caution lights simply reach under the dashboard on the extreme left and right directly behind the push switch for the door and interior lights.  You will be able to feel two wires leading to each of these switches. (six wires total, three switches)  Gently pull out the spade type connectors by pulling in towards the center console.  This should disconnect the lights.

Digging In

    Step One - Removal of Door Headlining

Locate at least one of the tree type connectors (illustrated in photo 3) that hold the door headlining in place by carefully feeling between headlining material and door panel.  The connectors are located only around the perimeter of the headlining panel, so you should be able to use a large flat headed screwdriver to pry them free.  At this point be careful not to pry on the connectors so hard that you damage the headlining material above or the stainless steel underneath them.  You shouldn't have to pry very hard to get these connectors off, so if they don't come free check to see why before going any further.  Once all tree connectors are dis-engaged the headlining should simply come free.  If it still seems stuck at the center, chances are the tape that the factory used to hold the headlining bumpers on has deteriorated. If this is the case, simply tugging slightly on the loose headlining should free it.  Be careful not to permanently distort or tear the headlining by pulling too hard on it.

    Step Two - Removal of Front T-Section Headlining

Before beginning here, you will want to pull up the inner door weather-stripping along the top where the headliner has been tucked underneath it.  You should be able to pry this up with your hands, but if tools are required be careful not to rip or puncture said weather-stripping.  Now you are ready to start removing the headliner.  First use your phillips head screwdriver to unscrew the sun visors from the roof.  If your roof is or was leaky  as mine was these screws may be a little stubborn.  Try squirting a little WD-40 on them.  If they still won't budge, try loosening them with a pair of pliers.  This finally did the trick for me.  Be mindful here however that the windshield is RIGHT there, and that you really don't want to break it if you slip.  Take any necessary precautions to avoid doing this!  Once the sun visors are off the only thing left to do is to pry up the adhered headliner that has been tucked under the weather-stripping.  If you wish to preserve the old headliner for any reason this is the hard part.  Pry carefully so as not to rip the original material.  If your like me though the stuff is in such bad shape to begin with, that trying to save it is pointless.  If you feel this way about it, this part can be fun!  after you have pried it all off on both sides the front part of the headliner should start sagging under it's own weight.  Now you can simply pull or rather push the headliner forward to disengage it from the last connector which you will be able to see after removing it.  Before taking the headliner out of the car you'll notice that you first need to disconnect the front interior lamp which is holding on by three wires.  Note the position of the three wires, and disconnect them.  You have now removed the front headliner from the car.

    Step Three - Removal of Rear T-Section Headlining
    To remove the rear t-section of headlining simply pry off the headlining tucked under the inner door weather-stripping the same way you did for the front section.  Once it has been detached from both sides carefully pull one side of the headliner out from underneath the plastic trim above the seat belt.  You will have to bend it slightly to do so, but if your careful you shouldn't have any trouble.  Now pull out the other side the same way.  Once you have done this you should be able to slide the headliner panel forward out of it's connector similar to the way you did with the front section.  You can now remove the rear headliner from the car.

   -Intermission-
    Once all the headlining boards have been removed it is an ideal time to check the roof of your DeLorean for leaks.  To make sure that you check all vital areas I recommend obtaining a copy of the service bulletin that reviews water leakage problem areas, available on-line in PDF format on the DMC-NEWS page.

    Step Four - Removal of Old Headliner Material from Headlining Boards
     This is another "fun" part.  Removing the old headliner material from the headlining boards can be about as mind numbing as anything else I can think of.  The problem is that the foam underlayment of the headlining material tends to deteriorate in it's primary environment.  After a while this leaves gobs and gobs of a thick black mold like layer, which can't seemingly be pulled off in less than a million pieces.  But before you even get down to that layer you have to rip off the actual thin fabric overlayment that is what you see when you look at the headliner.  This can be easy or hard depending upon how it was attached the last time it was put on.  Mine simply tore off in one big piece, but I've heard that some people have a tough time with this.  After you've removed it all, what you should have left are really ugly looking pressed fiber board sheets, four in all.  I'm not sure what these are made out of, but it's certainly not from this planet.  It's fairly sturdy but it will rip if the foam catches it right.  At this point you are ready to install the new headliner, but before you do, you might want to thoroughly clean the boards.  I used a mold and mildew remover and a scotch-brite pad on mine, but keep in mind that that type of cleanser must be dry before you try and glue anything on it.  Otherwise nothing will stick.

    Step Five - Installation of New Headlining Material onto Boards
     The new material, depending on where you got it from, will need to be cut into the right shape to fit the boards they attach to.  This is where it pays to have been paying attention to how the old board fabric was laid out.  You will notice on the door pieces that you need quite a bit of stretching room to make this stuff fill up that center recessed area.  This is difficult, but not impossible to do.  First, however, I suggest making patterns!  If you've ever done any sewing, or watch someone who has, you probably know what I'm talking about.  The rest of you may have a vague idea, but here's the low down on it anyway.  The purpose of patterns are to determine how much material you will need to cover a certain area.  This is REALLY helpful when trying to calculate the area for the recessed portion on the door pieces.  The way to make patterns easily is as follows.  First you will need a piece of tracing or newsprint paper about twice as big as the piece of pressed board or at least 20"x30".  Next you want to figure out a way to temporarily attach this large sheet of paper to your boards.  I used duct tape.  The idea is that you want to tape the paper down into the crevice without creasing it in such a way that will seriously corrupt your perimeter measurements.  Once this has been done, turn the board over (so the paper is against your clean flat work surface) and mark the perimeter of the board on the paper with a sharpie.  Now, add 2 to 3 inches to that perimeter, and mark that on your paper.  before you go further, take note of all the corners on the piece of board in front of you, and figure out how you will need to cut these to make them properly wrap around the edges, and mark that on the paper.  You are now ready to remove your "pattern" from the boards.  Granting that you did not rip the paper as you removed it, now tape, or pin it down on the new headliner material sheet that you just purchased, and "cut out the around the dotted line".  This sounds hard but makes it a hell of a lot cheaper than finding you've cut the wrong size out of your expensive headliner material, so I feel it's worth the time, at least for the doors.  Plus you can now use the pattern you've made for one door piece on the other door by flipping it over and cutting out the reversed shape!
            Now that you have your pieces cut out, you are ready to adhere them to the boards.  This is where you get to breath in the wonderful chemicals of the spray adhesive that I instructed you to buy.  Seriously though, read the hazards listed on the can, and leave your car open after installing the reassembled boards until the intoxicating smell of this stuff has died down.  You will use ALL of this adhesive!!  DO NOT SKIMP ON THE ADHESIVE!!  If you do, your new headliner material will look like the old stuff very soon.  The trick is to apply it directly to the boards in a ridiculously heavy coat.  in fact two or three ridiculously heavy coats may just barely do the job!  To give you an idea, you should use up the first can of this stuff on the two door sections. DO NOT APPLY THE SPRAY TO THE ENTIRE SECTION OF BOARD.  Instead I recommend spraying one end of the board up to about four or five inches in from that end.   After you have applied the glue, try and remove any air bubbles that got trapped under the mucous like coating of the spray.  then air dry the board for about thirty seconds, either by waving the piece in the air, or by blowing on it evenly with an air hose.  After the thirty seconds have passed you have about the perfect consistency of glue.  It's not too wet to completely soak through your headliner material, but it's also not to dry to not stick anything too.  Your window of time here is relatively short, so be patient and careful when applying your cut headliner material, but keep in mind that you only have about two or three minutes before the glue is too dry.  This is one of the main reasons I suggest only doing a small area at any one time.  The only way to adhere the headliner material to the recessed area on the door boards is to slowly work your way from one end to the other.  You may have to do this two or three times before getting it perfect so do a few practice runs before you actually apply any glue.
            Once the door sections are done the hard part is over and the central sections, (giving that you follow the same instructions), will be a breeze.  The only thing to remember on the center sections is that you have to wrap certain sides of the headliner material over the door opening.  Don't forget this, or you will end up having to redo the entire board sections.

    Step Six - Installation of Refurbished Headlining Boards
          Reinstalling the boards into the car basically entails following the removal instructions in reverse order.  First install the rear center section and adhere the appropriate sides to the t-section of roof around the door openings.  Next, install the front center section by first reconnecting the light then slipping it into it's slot by sliding it towards the back of the car.  I recommend screwing in the sun visors BEFORE adhering the sides of the material to the door opening, as this will allow you to align holes and such.  Finally reinstall the door sections by carefully pounding the tree connectors back into their appropriate holes.  Check here to make sure that all trim that comes into contact with each section that you have just reinstalled is overlapped correctly.

Finishing Touches

The Next Step