[Xman]

My GTO got hail damaged this Spring. I think I found someone that will do paint-less dent repair for a reasonable price. I think I want to remove the liners myself to have a lower risk of damage. The hood pad looks easy enough - do the plastic tabs break when they are extracted or can you reuse them. Any tips on removing the headliner in the passenger compartment?

 

[EEZ GOAT]

My GTO got hail damaged this Spring. I think I found someone that will do paint-less dent repair for a reasonable price. I think I want to remove the liners myself to have a lower risk of damage. The hood pad looks easy enough - do the plastic tabs break when they are extracted or can you reuse them. Any tips on removing the headliner in the passenger compartment?

those caps can break but take it easy to pry them out. i use a flat head screwdriver to get it loose all the way around then i use my fingers the rest ot the way arty:

 

[HTRDLNCN]

I took mine out first day i got it,I hate hood pads,,I used a trim removal tool you get at autozone for about $5 looks like a big spatula with a slot in the middle. You slide it under the hood pad clips and it pops them out with no damamge.

 

[JMVorbeck]

Hood pads, hood pads? Whats all this talk about hood pads? I dont got no stinking hood pads?!

 

[EEZ GOAT]

:rofl:

Hood pads, hood pads? Whats all this talk about hood pads? I dont got no stinking hood pads?!

 

[Xman]

Any tips on the headliner? I need to get at the dents in the roof.

 

[b_a_betterperson]

Any tips on the headliner? I need to get at the dents in the roof.

After looking around at the interior and how everything is assembled, I'd talk to a dealer about having them quote a removal/install before taking the project on yourself. A good dealer will want to move billable hours -- so they shouldn't have a problem doing it. In fact, they might even be able to coordinate their effort with a visit from your paintless dent removal person.

The sequencing of everything, plus all the different types of fasteners involved, etc., are going to be a big pain real quick. Know that's not much help -- but with stuff like the a-pillar covers going down the sides of the dash, etc., I'd be a little concerned about diving into that. That said, try pulling the little round plastic inserts near the top of each b-pillar -- if there's enough give in the support panels -- then you could work around the edges out pretty easily. From there, it's just a methodical process to get the sun visors and interior dome light off. There isn't any trim holding by the windshield and backlight.

BTW, if you're headliner does get goofed up during the process, check with that yard you found in OKC about a replacement...

 

[Dad's 05 GTO]

Hood Pad Removal?

I always thought a hood pad was a great idea due to the extreme heat generated by the engine and the affect the heat would have on the paint. I had a 2000 Z-28 and after I saw what happened when the sun and heat baked the paint from both directions, I ordered one and installed it myself. So I'm happy I've got one on the GTO.

 

[HTRDLNCN]

old wives tale,hoodpads do nothing for the paint unless your engine catches fire. I took the pad off my Black LSC when I bought it 8 years ago,,paint still looks new.. Quality of the paint has more to do with it than any hood pad.
The extra heat contained by the pad will hurt your power on a hot day in the GTO

 

[IPOCKALYPSE]

I took my hood liner off and drove around for about 30 minutes and when I got home, there was a large patch of torrid paint underneath gone--beware. I don't know if this could cause damage to the top of the hood or not (the hood was extremely hot on the outside) but, I'm not trying to find out so I re-installed it. There has already been a lot of posts about how bad our paint is on these cars.