The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Interiors Headliner Advice

Our '53 bolt is ready for a headliner; I am going nuts trying to find out the best way to go. Some way get a single piece and glue it in, some say get the split one with the "floating rod." What should I use? Most of the ones from the common suppliers look cheap cardboard.

That's why they sell them for $24.95! Thin cardboard that bends very easily so you can close off the space. Two pieces so that one person can accomplish the installation without too much difficulty. Slide the front in under the front windshield rubber, the sides in under the door windlace, slide the floating strip over the back of the front piece, slip in the rear half and screw in the metal strip to hold it all in place. You've got a headliner, all your insulation and sound deadener material is covered.

The one piece, which is a different animal, starts at about $159.00...is a piece of black plastic that will need to be cut, covered or colored to meet your needs.

The search function under "post new topic" shows 3 pages of "headliner" related reading. You may get some ideas from these. If you are intersted in creating something unique, the stock cardboard makes a good pattern. There are other materials that can be cut, bent, covered and colored that will give you any look you are willing to create. I prefer tempered 1/8 masonite. It can be bent to form the permanent curves but it's heavier and requires screws to keep it in place.

Once you get the thin liner in place, only you will know that its just cardboard with the original stock appearance. I bought a $25.00 liner, installed it and will use it as a pattern when I have time to design my own 3 piece. Two fixed side pieces with an easily removed center overhead console for some gadgets.

Hope this helps!

Good timing! For my ;50, 3604 I’m looking a little ahead and was thinking bout the headliner just last night. My original headliner is actually in excellent shape, but it looks as though it has shrunk and slightly warped over the past 56 years. I was thinking of taking it down and moistening it than clamping it between a couple of ply sheets for a week or so to flatten it.
Dave I noticed you mentioned that you use the original panels for patterns. Have you run into any problems with the original material having shrink? Also I wonder if you could expand on your use of tempered Masonite as a headliner panel board. Specifically how are you bending it and are you bending it in a simple curve or have you been successful in getting it to conform to a compound curve?
Denny Graham
Sandwich, ILL

Morning Denny! The older headliners are also cardboard...but heavier. IMHO I don't think that they will flatten out and remain that way after you put it back up. Getting it down without it falling apart will be a victory in itself!!!However, it doesn't cost anything to give it a try.

I've used tempered masonite (Home Depot@ less than $10.@4x8 sheet) on several other vehicles.
If you place a wet rag on the back (rough) side of the cut-to-fit piece,hang the area to be bent off the edge of a table and add weight gradually you can easily make a 90 degree bend with a 6" radius. I put a c-clamp on the outside edge and hang weights off of it as the bend increases. You want to do this in stages as hanging too much weight too quickly, can break the masonite.
Be sure to weight the part on the flat table. It
usually takes a couple days of keeping the rag wet and adding weight to accomplish the curve. Let it dry up overnight and you'll be good-to-go in the morning. I like to cover it with velour...cuts down on cab noise.

However, I'm going to go a little different on my 54 Chevy. Instead of a 2 piece that's split across the cab, I'm going to use my "cheapie" cardboard replacement liner as a pattern to split the headliner into 3 pieces. Two...one each side of the cab that will be fixed and one in the center that can easily be dropped. Thinking about adding some gadgets and forming an overhead console.

This would require scrapping the cross-cab metal stiffener and adding a front-to-back aluminum stiffener, pop riveted on top of the windshield and rear window lips. Alan H. and I kicked this around in an earlier post so for the sake of brevity, do a search and you can get some more info from it.

If you have questions you know how to get in touch. Feel free!!

Man, that's getting over my head.

Try this:

[img]http://thumb1.webshots.net/s/thumb4/6/6/75/148060675FlCMjF_th.jpg[/img]

Beautiful interior.....tell us more about your headliner.

AD_Pickup, very excellent truck. What color did you use on the interior and is it considered close to original? Thanks

Fla54Chevy3100, I got my armrest from Chevy Duty and I had my upholsterer to match the same material for the door panels, headliner and sunvisors. The center bow for the headliner is above and the seam attaches to it.

TEDS 54 PANEL, According to Dupont's 1953 Chevrolet Truck Color Bullentin, that interior color is "Sheen Gray Metallic" and yes, that is the orginial color, at least for the 53.

Thanks for the info. Just out of curiosity, and for the sake of sharing info....would you like to put a dollar figure on the headliner. I'm sure there are others out there that would rather opt for a "custom" headliner and skip the paper DIY operation. Thanks in advance.

HA! That's exactly where you want your headliner to be!

FLA54 -- I'm heading in that direction now ... I might be getting to my headliner around March/April. I just bought a moose hide and started covering the faceplate I made for my radio and the faceplate I made for a clock and some switches ... and I started covering my ('75 Caddy) steering wheel ... now I'm getting a sewing machine that will handle leather and will be doing my entire interior with skins (not vinyl). Here we go, baby!

Alan ,

I was wondering if you found some leather. Let me know if you have a questions. Tom

Thanks, Tom

I wound up going to ACS Trading Post and buying a black moose hide (12 sq.ft.) for $50 ... and man, am I ever glad I did! See the pic I linked to above in my previous post ... after seeing the beautiful texture and unique qualities of a real animal hide, I decided I would never ever use vinyl!

And now you tell me!!!! Just slipped on a nice set of vinyl skins from LMC! Didn't realize that moose was available!!!!

Were those domestic skins or from road-kill? I may go with a "moose" throw for the seat!!! A couple zebra pillows. Hey, get that sewing machine and you may have a whole cottage industry at your fingertips!!!

I checked with LMC and they assured me that my covers were made from "virgin" vinyl.....Gosh, I hope you can take a joke!!!!!

Catch you later...

LOL! Virgin vinyl is hard to find!!!

Whoever that moose was, he now lives on as part of the coolest ride in Jersey! Gee. I sure hope it wasn't Bullwinkle!

PS - I just won the bid on eBay at 9pm tonight for one of the absolute best sewing machines for leather that I could ever get my hands on! I was determined to win the bid, so I already built a page on my site to show it off:
See Here

Genuine Virgin Vinyl is better that that phony artificial virgin vinyl IMHO. Can't trust'em...they will lieeeeee....

Yup!!! You're absolutely correct about those artificial virgins!!! Never met one I could trust! I'm already working on an insert panel pattern for Alan to use for practice...got a nice fat gator out back that might just donate his hide for contrast!!!

Interesting to see his new machine....I've got a Singer that looks similar up in my loft...used it to stitch up canvas bags...gotta dig it out and see if it is a Model 15-88. A walking foot attachment would surely open up a lot of creative uses.

Learn something new every day!!!!

AD_Pickup,nice job on the interior !! Genuine Virgin Vinyl,Artificial virgins,moose hide,fat gator skins ; you guys are having all the fun!!!!!!!!!

The Singer 15-88 is a very rare model to find ... and one of the best workhorses out there!

My wife does lots of sewing and embroidery work, Alan. She said that is a very good machine you bought. Your auto restoration talents just keep expanding. Great job!!

Thanks, Coach-Frank ... that's good to hear; tell your wife I said thanks! Interior designs and working with leather is where my interest is the strongest ... so it should be very interesting to see what I do in this department.

YEAH RIGHT!!!! REAL VIRGINS HAH