warthog

yea i am active air force stationed in northwest fl

Troth

ya just take it all out! make one cut down the center with a boxcutter and 2 more on each side of dome light because it is not connected to headliner. advantages: extra inch and a half of head room, no more moisture issues, it looks bad ***, there are a ton of spots to bungie from and hang cargo nets. Disadvantage: um... only having to take the crap to the dump. I did this at the same time I ripped out my carpet and bedlined the interior. no more water issues for me

ddavey

what is the weather like where you are troth? and how long have you had it out?

Troth

Pacific northwest. had it out about 6 months. its rainy and cold now but it was hot and dry then. you would think that it would make a huge noise and temperature difference but is doesnt at all.

the only thing is, is mine is a 92. for the later models with the speakers built into the roof I have no Idea whats underneith. but mine just has a metal crossmember where the front and back dome are and one tiny wire for dome you can tuck up.

Troth

So here are some pix I just took. I actually really like the sides of the roof on the interior because you can bungie all kinds of things up there but if you didnt want to to look like that you could get 7' of 3 inch nice wood and make some wood rails or something, not hard to do

cherokee92

I have a 1992 xj also and have been thinking of doing this as well. Thanks for the pics. What paint is your xj and is it the same for the inside roof? Mine is dark green. What about the side where the trim is above the doors?

Troth

Dark purple, yep same on inside but its not gloss or anything, its just mostly a flat dark metallic purple so yours will probably be flat dark metallic green. you could tell they werent planning on people seeing it though, same on the rails. if your really concerned with color you could paint it or rhino line it. i like my interior color if that helps

first put on long sleeve shirt and gogles (the stuff in the roof liner is nasty) I didnt and got rashes on my arms. second, remove the visor hardware and all other things except 2 dome lights, those are connected to cross member in roof. in my 92' I had a security sensor thing between my visors, I just ripped it out and cut the wires, it didnt do anything anyway.

then just make one cut down the center with a box cutter or thin knife and try not to hit metal, theres abot 3/4 inch gap upholstery to metal. then make a cut from one side to front dome and from the other so after the dome should have upholstery cut on all 4 sides, same with rear dome, then start taking it out. be careful with the domes but other than that I took mine out in like 7 pieces. and its a pain to get out of the upper rails but no biggie

ddavey

You've won me over, troth. The only differences are I am going to try to preserve the backing, just in case, and that I may try to put some trim up there.
I already stripped the speaker box down to plastic, so I am not worried about that,

NewXJaddict

Good luck!

Troth

sweet! I tried to preserve the backing at first too, I just started ripping off the thin fabric and man it was gross underneith, it was like 3 mm of rotton foam that when you touched it just fell off and had small brown mold spots so thats when I got mad and my inner hulk destroyed the headliner in a GOOD way

kcenderjim

if you take the headliner down can you just put new fabric on the existing stuff.. if so how???????

ddavey

kcenderjim, if you look early in the thread there is a great guide to doing just that.

got it out today, pics to come soon.

troth, you are very right- i decided against saving the backing, and just ripped it out. looks alot like yours, just with a greenish hue. i may end up bedlining it. i also like the nooks and places to mount stuff.

oddly though, there are a ton of paint bubbles up there, not rust, just looks like they put too much paint and let it drip down. nothing a sander can't fix.

NewXJaddict

Very cool!

ddavey

yeah, i am excited. i just got the thing a week ago and this is the first thing i have done to it. I am already deep into the xj addiction. i have spent no less than 24 hours reading this forum the last week.

I know it is looked down upon to buy a pre-lifted jeep, but i know the PO, and i have wheeled in this jeep for a while with him. he is a mechanic and works for me, and i trust him. you all have no idea how pumped i am about this thing.

now, to make some money to afford the mods.......

NewXJaddict

Hah. Yeah once you start its tough to stop. I never had ANY desire to learn any mechanical stuff. Bought the Jeep, the Haynes came with it. Sure enough first night I was considering lifting, tires, and various other mods. I want to build my own bumpers and go doorless for beach driving.

I think the first "mod" I did was ripping off the bumper end caps, then the fender flares. Cutting the fenders will be next along with front/rear diff fluid change.

Long list of things to come!