131mirafiori forum

As most (if not all) of you know, the 'unsticking' of the the headlining fabric in a 131 is a very common occurance, and is highly annoying >:(. Both my Abarth and Racing suffer from this and I have spent lots of money in trying to affect a suitable, permanent repair.

The problem is that most glues are able to stick the fabric, but they also have an adverse reaction with the expanded polystyrene head liner itself :o

The other problem is that the glue needs to be strong enough to hold the weight of the vinyl covering in place and not be affected by long periods of heat, etc.

Theo has written a very detailed piece for the replacement of the headlining, albeit for a Lancia Gamma and not the 131, however the priniciple is the same. (Perhaps you can post a link here too please Theo? ;D), the thing is it doesn't mention whether the original headlining in the Gamma is made of the same material (expanded polystyrene foam) as the 131.

A specialist trimmer that I use spent ages trying to find a suitable glue that was strong enough to hold the new fabric whilst not affecting (by which I mean melting :o) the polystyrene liner. Between us, we found a glue that fitted the bill (it was actually a glue used for fixing polystyrene bathroom tiles and came from a DIY store :D). It has held the new roof fabric in the Abarth for the last 2 and a half years, but it is now starting to 'let go'.

I have been toying with the idea of removing the fabric from the liner completely and spray painting it in white/ivory. I could totally remove the liner from the car but I tried this recently and after a 20 mile drive in the car got out with ringing in my ears - which lasted for days afterwards ::)

So guys, what have you all used to fix your head lining problems? ???

Pins....!!  ;) ;D ::)

Replaced roof lining in 93 and still stick till today. It's the normal fabric lining with a thin layer of sponge (i guess) and bonded with the spray type of glue (the ulholstery guys should know). The not so good result was that the smell made me a glue sniffer for a year or so  ;D.

when i worked in the coach builders making the limos & hearses they made 2 type of roof cloths
1 the hanging type on wires &
2 the glued type
basically a mould of the roof polysterene was made & fiberglass replicas were reproduced & then the sexy cloth was glue to it this is the route to go but will be expensive enough getting a mould made.
 the finished roof cloth is stunning & will never sag ever.

This is what i did.
Pick up the yellow pages, look up 'Upholsters' phone and ask if they sell a contact adhesive for sticking vinyl to polystyrene.
I bought a tin and it worked fine.
Steve.

Guys i have posted this thread but nobody has contacted him???? he can get the correct glue & everything else
http://131mirafiori.com/smf/index.php?topic=954.0

hi all my new 131 ,26 years no problem ,2 years stored in a garage no problem, 2 weeks with me
and yes ypu guess it headlining all drups down ,  :( well out with that self tapping screw..
jason

had the same problem in my 132 and solved it with acrilic acetate based silicone adhesive. awful to work with, takes at least 6hrs to bond, but still holds the roofliner off my head 10yrs later. doesn't look as it should, my fault. works because its heat resistant up to 150'c (dark blue fiat 132 tends to get very hot in the summer)

Yes, the same problem occurs in the 127&132(CLOTH HEADLINER).I got out the heavy duty staple gun........ok, it might sound crude, but it done the job fine. Galvanised staples of course ! and mind those fingers ;D