Adding a dome light

[dan]

Looking for advice/opinions on whether it would be worth attempting to install a dome light in my 31 coupe. The coupe came from the factory not as a deluxe, but a previous owner added the cowl lights... and I'm thinking about going the rest of the way.

Since the upholstery/headliner and top are already on, I'm thinking it would be a lot of work to insert the block that's supposed to hold the light between the roof bows. I'd have to take the headliner down, which means a good deal of effort along with the tricky task of getting it back up again and evenly pulled tight. It would be easy enough to get the single wire up the windshield support and across, but getting the block in might be more work than it's worth until I have the top off for something else.

Has anyone done this before (installing the dome light after the car was together) who can offer advice?

 

[Aerocraft]

Removing the headliner to get at the area where the dome light is installed is probably easier than you would think. Since the light is roughly in the middle of the headliner, I would only remove the forward portion if the fabric headliner "tab strips" are attached to the front of the bows. If they are attached to the back of the bows, then you are in for a longer task.

Normally, the wire feed to the light is from the junction box, past the tank and up under one of the windshield side garnish moldings. Then back to the light. A second (ground) wire is required which I attached to the steel top at a convenient place.

Once you make the commitment, assuming the tabs are on the front of the bows, the upholstered panels are removed over the doors and from over the header (after removing the rear view mirror). Those cardboard panels are generally nailed in place with very small brads that slip under the fabric. Then remove only enough of the headliner to get at the area where the backing block is attached to the bows.

If the tabs are attached to the back of the bows, you probably will have to remove the entire headliner. Hope this helps. Gar Williams