65 GS hardtop sail panel dissection

[mdkd]

All

To work on my hardtop sail panel exterior trim and insignia it looks like I have to remove or get under the interior panel.

Does anyone have a picture of what it looks like underneath?

Can the interior panel be removed without destroying it?

If it is destroyed are they available?

Mine is perfect so it would be very helpfully to know what I am getting into.

Milton

[nut465gs]

Hi Milton,

Its been a long time ago that I helped a friend install his headliner which included the interior sail panels. So my memory of the installation may not be exactly correct. But I think that you need to remove the sail panel to gain access to that trim piece. I'd probably start by going in the trunk with a flashlight and see if you can observe how and where the trim attaches. Then I'd probably remove the back seat and that metal filler piece. Maybe you will need to remove the package tray and interior quarter panel trim. You then might be able to use a wide putty knife to slip behind the bottom edge of the sail panel. Remove the interior light first. The fabric is glued to a thick cardboard which has one or two push clips that press into the sheet metal. The sail panel may also be glued to the headlinerat the top edge. But you will only need to peel the sail panel up enough to gain access at those trim clips.

You might talk to an auto upholstery shop that has installed headliners in 1960 GM cars for some information. Maybe that's your first step.  Good luck.

Has anybody else installed a headliner, etc. before?  Loren?

John

[vinnie]

Milton,

The removal of the sail panel is not a big issue as I remember. Remove the light from the panel first and the panel should come out. The insignia and trim are held in place by nuts. The insignia is easy to remove as the nuts are right behind the area opened up be the sail panel removal. The trim is not so easy. several of the nuts can be reached from inside behind the sail panel. The remaining nuts can be reached from inside the trunk . You have to reach around behind the trunk hinge area to reach several of them. You don't have to remove the back seat or the package tray Good luck.

Glenn   

[Brian]

From the factory, the sail panel has to metal clips on the back that pop into holes in the metal to hold it in place.  Once you remove the light, the plastic trim around the rear window, and the plastic pinch weld molding inside the quarter window, reach up under the sail panel with one of those forked trim clip removal tools so you can pop the clips out without tearing them out of the cardboard sail panel.  Once it is off, it is really easy to get to the two nuts holding the Gran Sport emblem on.   The roof trim under the Gran Sport emblem has clip that pop in from the outside--no nuts on the clips until you get to the section of the trim that is behind the rear window. 

[mdkd]

Brian

For the clips on the trim under the Gran Sport insignia, can they be compressed and pushed out to be saved or do they get sacrificed?

If sacrificed are they available?

Thanks

Milton

[Brian]

They can be re-used if they are not too rusty.   Alot of the time they are rusty and break when you try to pry them out. 

[Loren At 65GS]

Milton,

 Some pictures of the sail panel, back side of sail panel and the clip.