Yes, even the hardtop gets mods.

More quilted Japanese Goodness.

More quilted Japanese Goodness.

This is a part that’s been on my want list for a good 4 or 5 years. It’s more quilted loveliness from Nakamae. I added their quilted transmission tunnel cover years ago and made my own quilted leather door panels, but I’ve held off adding more quilted stuff.

I didn’t want Sharka to have the Full Coffin look, you know?

And then a quilted headliner appeared.

Sticky tape.

Sticky tape.

This piece comes from Ly (who works at Pann Auto and is also known as aarrow on CR) who was parting out his NA for some ridiculous reason. I sent a PM and some cash and received this lovely slab of quilted vinyl just a few days later.

The attachment method – lol. Nakamae apparently uses sticky tape to keep the headliner attached. Ly very carefully applied backing to the tape for transport. I… cannot imagine the time this took. All of the tape was fine and able to be applied to Sharka’s top.

Thanks for the awesome service Ly. You rock!

The Before pic.

The Before pic.

Ready for work.

Ready for work.

HDHCDD damage.

HDHCDD damage.

I took the HT off and moved it inside. It seemed easier than trying to struggle against gravity. I mean… the roof comes off… why not take advantage of that fact?

You can see the rollbar damage on the OEM headliner on the corners. My old Hard Dog touched the top at those edges. After a decade, it rubbed most of the headliner off. No damage to the fiberglass, but the headliner took some wear.

To make absolutely clear – this damage was NOT from my Blackbird Fabworx bar. That one does not touch top and sits a bit farther back. The damage you see came from my old HDHCDD. Because Sharka can’t just have one rollbar, right?

Top cleaned.

Top cleaned.

I’ve never actually cleaned the OEM headliner. No better time than immediately before covering it up forever, right? A bit of rubbing alcohol to remove any oils seemed like the right choice.

Amazingly, there was very little black stuff on my white microfiber after I finished cleaning. I guess the bottom side of a hardtop stays clean pretty easily. Who knew?

Extra tape.

Extra tape.

I took the opportunity to add some extra tape to the headliner as well. I have a ton of it around the shop and figured it couldn’t hurt.

If the tape doesn’t hold and the headliner starts to sag, I won’t have any worry about breaking out the Dap Weldwood headliner adhesive. That would keep the top and quilted goodness connected until the end days. We’ll see if that level of stickiness is required over the next few months.

Installed.

Installed.

OMG.

OMG.

Nakamae.

Nakamae.

What you don’t see is 10 minutes of careful measuring and positioning of the headliner before sticking it down. Many thanks to my wife for the help in this tedious job.

I tucked the front edges of the headliner under the HT latches. The material seemed like it was shaped for it to do this.

Once the headliner touched the top? Brilliance. Angels sang. Unicorns shat rainbows. Stars filled my eyes.

The Before pic.

The Before pic.

Remember the before pic? I had to hit you with it again.

The After pic.

The After pic.

More angels singing. How did I not get this piece years ago? I have no idea why I waited so long.

The weather was warm enough that I got to take Sharka out of the garage, drive a bit, and shoot the interior in a little nicer location than the boring garage.

Installed.

Driver's side.

Driver’s side – click for a larger view.

Passenger side.

Passenger side – click for a larger view.

It adds so much depth to Sharka’s interior. Driving with that beautiful quilting above my head is… different. I never noticed the roof before. It used to just be a black area that my brain would ignore. Now it has this texture and shine.

So beautiful.

I’m so happy with this.

I woke up like this.

I woke up like this.

The warm weather can return at any time. I miss driving my ridiculous tiny turbo car every day.

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  • This looks amazing Adam! Super excited to see what’s on your list next!

  • Alan says:

    Very nice!

  • Chris B says:

    It really complements the rest of the car. It really ties everything together perfectly. It also makes it hard to keep up in the interior department. Kimi and I have been chasing after Sharka’s interior for what seems like years now.

    That said, Sharka continues to be a HUGE influence. Kimi also has a big crush on Sharka. She hopes to be on his level someday.

    • revlimiter says:

      Thank you Chris!! That’s a huge complement.

      And my humble suggestion: get Kimi a quilted headliner. It’s totally worth it. I’ve only driven with it 3 days since installing, but damn if it isn’t every bit as awesome as day 1. You know those mods that quickly fade into the background almost immediately? This isn’t one of those.

  • GT-Alex says:

    It’s incredible how much it adds. Really changes the mood in a good way. I always looked at this piece telling myself it was useless and would look off, like too obviously a glued on piece in the middle of nowhere. Turns out it’s quite the opposite, and full of awesomeness. Now I want it so bad…

    • revlimiter says:

      I know exactly what you mean. I’ve mostly seen pix of red and tan ones and they looked a bit stuck on. The black one really looks integrated into the top. And having a rollbar to hide the back edge makes the headliner look even better.

  • Ying Bot says:

    “Angels sang. Unicorns shat rainbows. Stars filled my eyes.”

    This.

  • Brad says:

    Hopefully the unicorns shat their rainbows into cones…

    Kidding aside, that looks really classy. Do you notice any change in the noise level when driving?

    • revlimiter says:

      I haven’t. The road noise and exhaust noise seem the same.

      BUT! The radio sounds better. Or rather the speakers do. The sound seems more full and a bit more bright. It’s like the sound fills the car rather than just dying on the factory foam headliner. It’s especially noticeable after driving Bucky, who has much better speakers but a soft top.

      Some folks say that it helps insulate in the summer and keep the interior a bit cooler. I’m hopeful for that one too.

  • Leave a Reply to Chris B