Removing 740 pillar trim

I'm preparing to do a headliner replacement on my '87 740. Can anyone give
me some tips on removing the pillar trim? I've tried pulling off the A
pillar trim on a couple cars in a salvage yard and both times I broke some
clips, is there a trick to this?

 

I took mine to an upholster and got my headliner done a year ago. I was
around to see them remove it, coz I drove the car away afterwards and only
left the headliner behind for them to repair.

Anyway, to get the headliner off you can leave the A pillar trim on the car,
all you need to do is un-do the first (top) clip. Start with removing your
interior roof handles. The trim pieces above the doors where the interior
roof handles are mounted to should come off quite easily once the handles
are off. Un-do the top clip on the A pillars, and also the top clip on the
C pillars, you can leave those pillar covers in the car. Remove your dome
light, sunvisors and the interior rear view mirror.

Now here's the tricky part. Move your front passenger seat all the way
forward, then the backrest all the way down. With an assistant, remove the
headliner and angle it so you can get it out through the front passenger
door.

Hope that helps. If I've missed anything I'll follow it up with a later
post.
_________________
Will
'90 Volvo 744 GLT
B230F converted to B230FB (531 Head & VX3 Cam)

 

Thanks for the info!

I still need to figure out how to get the A pillar covers off as the
covering is peeling on one of them, I'd like to install a pair from an '85
that are made out of the same textured solid plastic as the door pockets
with no coating to peel.

 

There are 3 types of interior pillar covers for the 700 & 900 series. The
plain plastic usually found on the base models and GL's, the vinyl wrapped
ones found on the GLE's and Turbo's, and the velour (cloth) wrapped ones
found exclusively on 760's (from '88) and 960's. If you're going to replace
them, you might as well replace the whole set of pillar covers with the
velour wrapped ones from a late ('88 - '90) Volvo 760. They give the
interior a much more plush and luxurious feeling. I did this to my 740 and
I really like it. You can also fit reading lights for the rear passengers,
which are standard for 760 / 960 and if you're lucky, the 760 donor car
which you're pulling the trim from will still have it. Your 740 isn't
pre-wired for the rear reading lights, but there's no better time to add the
wiring while the headliner's out. It shares the same power and earth wire
as the main dome light, so it's very simple. The velour also doesn't peel
like vinyl does.

To remove the A pillar, Volvo's instruction is to gently pry it out with a
putty knife or wooden spatula at where the clips are. You might want to use
a cloth to protect the painted surface of the pillar.

With the headliner removal instruction I gave earlier, I just had a good
look in my car and I think the only thing I missed is the clip in the
headliner in the rear, behind the rear passenger. Otherwise that's all
there is to it. I think getting it in / out of the car without breaking it
is going to be the hardest part. Oh and when you glue the new headliner
material on, make sure you tell everyone who gets in the car NOT to touch it
for the first day or 2, otherwise the glue is going to set with fingermarks
on it. I personally recommend leaving the headliner off the car for 2-3
days at least (preferably a week) after you've glued the new material on
before you re-install it in your car again.
_________________
Will
'90 Volvo 744 GLT
B230F converted to B230FB (531 Head & VX3 Cam)

 

Wow, good info. I'll look around for 760's, maybe I can find a complete set,
I'm fine with the plain plastic but the rear reading lights sound pretty
cool, I do like gadgets, may as well run the wires anyway. I plan on leaving
the headliner out for it to dry, I have another car I can drive in the
meantime, gotta give the 242 some attention too.