797 replies to this topic

[MrBounce]

I decided not to put it off any longer - it was time to (re) do the headlining and the under hatch cover. I could have pushed the Midas out of the garage, but it was still hotter than Satan's curry in there, so I did the sensible thing and rolled out the material in the lounge. I also had the fan on, so keeping cool was a lot easier. I firstly made sure that both the headliner and the under hatch cover would easily fit on the material, then marked out where I was going to cut. I used a wonderful steel straight-edge than my Dad had. It's 5 foot long and pretty heavy. I do not know where it came from (possibly his Dad, who was an engineer?); it's just something he always had. When my brother and I were sorting out the house, we did a deal between us where if there was anything either wanted, we'd ask the other first before taking it. This worked fine because our tastes are so very different. The only thing we both wanted was Dad's watch, which I let him have as I didn't like the strap! I digress; that straight-edge is wonderful and proved perfect for the job in hand. 

 

The new headlining material is smoother, and more of an ivory colour, rather than the furry white I had before. It has also proved to be MUCH nicer to work with. I ended up covering both pieces outside - more space, more ventilation, and less chance of covering the contents of the garage in glue. I did the headlining in 2 stages - firstly I glued the material to the headlining having laid it over the top and carefully ensured that there were no "naked" bits, before flipping it over 24 hours later and clamping the underside. I still have the windscreen pillar covers to do, but that won't take long. Also, once the glue has had 24 hours to properly dry, I need to make the holes for the various screws, bolts etc. I shall be using a proper set of sharp hole punches for this.

 

Material laid out in the lounge

 

 

Headlining and under hatch cover in place to measure up

 

 

Amazing straight edge

 

 

Close-up of the new material

 

 

Under hatch cover covered, and clamped in place

 

 

First part of the headlining positioned and glued in place

 

 

And all clamped up underneath.

 

[MrBounce]

Just in case you thought I have done nothing for a bit, I have got it ready to go in, and it looks a LOT nicer than before!

 

[MrBounce]

Shaun came over yesterday and he helped me put the headlining into place. It is not the easiest of jobs on your own, so an extra pair of hands is far more useful. All was going smartly until we tried to screw it into place. Of course, the original was held in place by self-tappers, and putting screws back into the same holes just made them fall out again. A different approach was needed. I still had a few jack nuts left over from mounting the sun visors, so I out those to good use. Out came the drill and they were fixed in place with the Rivnut tool. I had to make a slight modification, as the shank of the bolt was not long enough to reach the threaded part. It all worked fine though - I just replaced the top screw-in part of the tool with a piece of flat steel with a hole in it - this gave me a very useful extra 5mm. With the jack nuts securely in place, the headlining was first of all fastened in place by the mounts for the rear hatch struts, before lifting it up for the new 5mm bolts at the front. 3 of them went in perfectly, but number 4 simply didn't play ball. It wouldn't go in at all. After a bowl of my amazing Texas Red Chili, and some contemplation, it became obvious: the bolt was too short. A different bolt was put to use and works perfectly. Success! Daisy of course will claim that this was because of her supervision.

 

Next up was the hatch courtesy light switch. The one I had wasn't engaging properly now the headlining was back in, so I changed it for the extendable one I had bought. This works perfectly with a bit of re-wiring. I need to have a think about how I am going to run the wires though - they look a bit messy at the moment. However, I have tested all the courtesy pins and they work brilliantly, so that is something I can cross off my list. 

 

Finally, I fitted some different hatch struts. The ones I had were for a Renault Megane Scenic; they worked but were simply too strong for the hatch glass. Instead I bought some from the good ol' bay of e, which were 100N of force, as guided by a post on the Facebook Midas page. These were a simple click in replacement, and work SO much better. I don't feel that I having to push down on the hatch with my full weight to get it shut now!

 

I am now off to the Mini Spares website to make a purchase. It will be the third most expensive purchase for this car... 

 

Headlining loosely in place

 

 

And all bolted in place

 

 

Daisy, supervising.

 

 

Different courtesy pin. Wiring position is temporary, and will be sorted in a neater fashion.

 

 

New hatch struts!

 

 

And fitted, doing a much nicer job than the Renault ones.

 

Edited by MrBounce, 27 July 2025 - 04:04 PM.