anyone recover reupholster sunvisors?

[Bonnewagon]

Jack, the pics are of the Cherokee visor. I wouldn't know where to begin with the GM visors. That is why I save all I can. I had used Firebird visors in my Malibu wagon.

I can sew, but you need a commercial machine. One of my fishing buddies' Dad in Brooklyn had such a machine. He used to do boat seats and cushions. I don't know what happened to it after he passed. I actually have an old Singer pedal powered machine. It is what I learned on and can do some pretty heavy duty work.

And as much as I hate working on Jeeps, they are ahead of GM in some ways. When I did the Cherokee headliner, the backing board was a thick hard foam that was very easy to work with. It put the crappy cardboard stuff GM uses to shame. I vacuumed off the residue, applied the new material, and it went back up with no drama. No repairs needed, unlike the wagon board.

 

[doood]

I have more than 6 hours invested hand sewing my sun visors. I do not recommend. Bust out the wallet.

 

[81cutlass]

GM does everything as stupid as it can. When I did my wagon headliner I was lucky enough that my visors were in good shape.

When I did my Jeep Cherokee, the visors unsnapped apart. They unfolded like a wallet. The mirrors and lights were easily accessible. You removed the old material, glued the edge of the new headliner material onto a crevice on the inside, then they snapped back together. And guess what? The three screws that hold the visor to the body? They are the same as our GM pattern. Hint-hint.... And the spring they used is way better than GM's. The visor stays in place, unlike ours that droop.

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XJ cherokee I assume?

That's an awesome tip. Better visor, good price and home serviceable.

 

[Bonnewagon]

Yes, XJ. Only a Jeep guy would know that. You have my sympathy. The problem is finding an XJ that isn't stripped to the bone.

 

[81cutlass]

Dad daily drove an 87 XJ from 91 to probably 03 when it got scrapped due to so much blowby the airbox needed an oil drain plug and a regular oil drain lol

I bought an 88 XJ limited in 09 to save my Cutlass from salt and sold it off in 15 to get replaced by my Rainier so I could actually tow stuff.

If I could find a clean 2wd 2dr 97+ XJ I'd have plans around IFS strut front conversion (fox or similar), a significant drop in ride height and some boosted GM 6 cylinder..... Alas they don't exist, or at least not what I am willing to pay for. I have yet to find another vehicle that is as light and small but as spacious as an XJ

 

[Longroof79]

Jack, the pics are of the Cherokee visor. I wouldn't know where to begin with the GM visors. That is why I save all I can. I had used Firebird visors in my Malibu wagon.

I can sew, but you need a commercial machine. One of my fishing buddies' Dad in Brooklyn had such a machine. He used to do boat seats and cushions. I don't know what happened to it after he passed. I actually have an old Singer pedal powered machine. It is what I learned on and can do some pretty heavy duty work.

And as much as I hate working on Jeeps, they are ahead of GM in some ways. When I did the Cherokee headliner, the backing board was a thick hard foam that was very easy to work with. It put the crappy cardboard stuff GM uses to shame. I vacuumed off the residue, applied the new material, and it went back up with no drama. No repairs needed, unlike the wagon board.

Mark,
I thought they might've been the Jeep visors, but I know you have a blue interior in your wagon.
I like the old Singer treadle machines. They're pretty cool. My mom had one and converted it to electric. My mom was pretty handy, I must say.
People like the old treadle machines as a display piece. Mom had two old Singer machines. One was heavier duty machine that she said could sew leather and canvas and a regular light duty machine for fabric. I should've held on to the heavier duty machine. Oh well.
Actually, the light duty machine would be enough to do sunvisors.

Doing marine interiors, tops, and covers, a heavy duty machine is required.

 

[Longroof79]

GM does everything as stupid as it can. When I did my wagon headliner I was lucky enough that my visors were in good shape.

When I did my Jeep Cherokee, the visors unsnapped apart. They unfolded like a wallet. The mirrors and lights were easily accessible. You removed the old material, glued the edge of the new headliner material onto a crevice on the inside, then they snapped back together. And guess what? The three screws that hold the visor to the body? They are the same as our GM pattern. Hint-hint.... And the spring they used is way better than GM's. The visor stays in place, unlike ours that droop.

View attachment 252142View attachment 252143

Mark,
I assume that the Cherokee visors can be used on our cars. I like the fact that they snap together with just a small application of glue.
GM has done a lot of hokey sh*t over time. I agree.

 

[Bonnewagon]

My daughter works for a small village gubmint. They had a treadle Singer in their museum some local woman donated. The idiot mayor decided to close the museum and scrap everything. She took the Singer before it could hit the dumpster. I restored it. I separated the base, cleaned and painted it, put it back together with a new belt. I used Murphy's Oil Soap to gently clean the decades of dirt from the beautiful decals. Then I greased and oiled everything. It works as good as new. When I was a kid my Mom and Aunts had them. That is what I learned to sew on. In the drawers I found the original manual, bill of sale, and some WWII letters. It was first purchased in 1909. They sure built stuff to last back then.This is when I started cleaning it.

 

[Bonnewagon]

I assume that the Cherokee visors can be used on our cars

Jack, the only issue I see is how the wire for the lights comes through the body. On the Jeep it goes through the hinge and mount. I guess GM is similar but I never had a lighted GM G-body visor. I don't remember if the Jeep is ignition switched or hot at all times. At the time I just held the Jeep visor up against my wagon visor mount and it looked the same. Even if it is not perfect, a drill will make new mounting holes.

 

[Sweet_Johnny]

The problem is finding an XJ that isn't stripped to the bone.

They don't currently have any visors and I'm unsure if they ever do, but https://deadjeep.com/search?q=sunvisor++tag:all is a solid source that I can vouch for. When I bought a steering box from them my order somehow got missed- after a few days I contacted them and they sent one "hotshot" style that looks like new. I'd buy from them again in a heartbeat, so maybe an email could determine if they sell visors.