Headlining Removal #1
I've got too many pics of the headlining removal, so I've selected about 10. As there's a limit of 4 pics per post, that means 3 posts for the subject of headlining removal #1/#2/#3
I don't recall ever removing tacks from anything, certainly not in large numbers. The tacks are spaced about 1 inch apart, the main section of headlining is attached to 4 ribs each 4 ft long (that's 200 tacks) and also along each side down a length of 44 inches. In places (e.g. corners) there are double tacks, so getting on for 300 hundred tacks in total.
Removing the headlining was my biggest dread, as I didn't want to destroy it and didn't know if it's possible to remove so many tacks without ripping or tearing the cloth. I've found out that it is possible for a complete novice like me to remove it without ripping or tearing it - whether I reuse the cloth or not, at least I have it intact in one piece.
I did buy a tack removal tool - CS Osborne on ebay for about £8. There were Draper ones on ebay for half that price, slightly less price at Toolstation but the latter didn't have them and didn't know when they would have them again. The tack lifter is too big, I ended up using it to pull screws out on the gutter. The tool of choice was the white electronic side cutters which I've had for about 30 years. Most of the tacks were the small ones to the left in the pic below, near to the white side cutters.
This is how I used them
Depending on access to the head of the tack, I could either grip the head, or use the side cutters like a tack remover from the top, or sometimes slide them under the cloth. Over 50% of the tacks came out very easily, 40% were slightly troublesome, and the rest were fiddly and stubborn but even those came out.
To begin with, you need to remove the trim pieces.
In the pic above
1. the white numbered circles refer to the ribs - see later
2. the light blue circles are for the 4 screws to remove the top piece of trim (behind which you'll find the tacks down the side
3. the dark red circles are for the screws to remove the trim round the window. There are 3 in the pic, 2 more out of shot along the bottom of the window. It might be possible to remove the main headlining without removing this trim, but since I needed to remove the window (so that I could remove the gutter later), I removed this trim piece anyway.
4. the yellow circle is the top of 3 screws which hold the trim onto the centre pillar.
About 30 years ago I had removed all the trim round the front windscreen and never put it back, so I can't say whether you'd need to remove that too - probably yes. You also need to remove the panel between rib 1 and the windscreen, I'd never removed this, but it comes out easily. You have to remove the sun visors (3 screws each) and then you can pull the panel down a bit along the windscreen edge, get a small pair of pliers in one hand, slide your hand in at the same time as feeling for the clips, then use the pliers to release the clips. 5 clips in all. Pic shows underside of panel with the metal brackets they go into - these are screwed into rib 1 and you can remove them once the panel is out.
I removed all the seating and put it all at one end in the lounge. 20 years ago I'd also removed the arm rests (held on by 3 screws from the wheel arch into the arm rest wood, 1 slightly hidden screw down in the arm rest's side corner) so they came out again very easily and into the lounge.
At the same time 20 years ago I'd also removed the driver's side top side trim, which also came out again quite easily. But the 4 screws on the passenger side top trim had never been removed - and they refused to budge. In preparation for this sort of eventuality, I'd also bought a small hand held battery-powered "mini drill", the chuck on this can hold 1mm bits. Using that drill and 1mm bit, I drilled a 5-pointed array round the first screw, each hole angle to the screw tip. But that didn't work, upped it to 1.5, then 2, then finally 2.5 mm - that worked on 3 of the screws. But the last screw just would not budge, so I used the 2.5 mm bit all the way round the screw head, removed the trim, and removed the screw using mole grips on the screw head (it gave up and did unscrew).
The order in which I removed the tacks was - driver's side first, then along rib 5, then passenger side (realising too late that should have been done before rib 5), then rib 4, (rib 3 is bypassed, being held by the light), then rib 2, then realised that rib 1 should have been done beforehand.
So if I had to do another one, I'd remove rib 1 first, then down both sides, then rib 5, then rib 4, then rib 2 last.