Camaro Rebuild Journal
Interior // Trim
So, have you ever noticed how the interior of a car was designed by a psychotic
who played way way way too much Tetris? No? Ah, my son, my boy,
try taking a Camaro apart, hell even my '81 Ford Capri is a nightmare for the
way the interior is put together.
A word to the wise, when you taking the interior out, start by removing the front headliner retaining strip. This allows you to remove the upper door rails, and the 'A' pillar covers. Be very careful with the plastic rails, as they are held onto the body by plastic fixings which are held captive to the rail. If you are not careful, these can pull through their attachment point to the rail, breaking it permanently. And hey, guess what? you can't get new ones. Well, I can't find any anyway.
So, once the upper rails are removed, the rear headlining retaining strip should be removed. At this point, the headliner board can be taken out, or left in until the sail panels are removed. Which, funnily enough, comes next. The sail panels are forced over the top edge of the lower rear quarter trim panels, and held in place by metal clips bonded to the reverse side, which hook into the rear screen frame. These should come out in one piece quite easily.
The lower rear quarter trim panels are by far the easiest to remove, (once the the seats have been removed), as they are only held in by a single screw. This gives you access to the rear seat belts.
With all of the rear panels removed, the rear package tray can be removed. Ordinarily, the package tray has a fabric flap stitched to the front edge, which is glued to the trunk divider panel. With the aid of a flat blade, you can peel the flap off without damaging it. More on the package tray later.
A word to the wise, when you taking the interior out, start by removing the front headliner retaining strip. This allows you to remove the upper door rails, and the 'A' pillar covers. Be very careful with the plastic rails, as they are held onto the body by plastic fixings which are held captive to the rail. If you are not careful, these can pull through their attachment point to the rail, breaking it permanently. And hey, guess what? you can't get new ones. Well, I can't find any anyway.
So, once the upper rails are removed, the rear headlining retaining strip should be removed. At this point, the headliner board can be taken out, or left in until the sail panels are removed. Which, funnily enough, comes next. The sail panels are forced over the top edge of the lower rear quarter trim panels, and held in place by metal clips bonded to the reverse side, which hook into the rear screen frame. These should come out in one piece quite easily.
The lower rear quarter trim panels are by far the easiest to remove, (once the the seats have been removed), as they are only held in by a single screw. This gives you access to the rear seat belts.
With all of the rear panels removed, the rear package tray can be removed. Ordinarily, the package tray has a fabric flap stitched to the front edge, which is glued to the trunk divider panel. With the aid of a flat blade, you can peel the flap off without damaging it. More on the package tray later.
Sub-sections: