The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Interiors 1941 One-piece Headliner

I've spent the better part of a frustrating day trying to install a one-piece cardboard headliner in my '41 pickup. This thing just does not fit, and it's now pretty well mangled. Is it normal to have to trim these to fit? How do you avoid the crimps and creases, especially over the doors? It seems like fitting a flat piece of cardboard into a round space is just asking for trouble. I may have to go to one of the fiberglass models, but I'm concerned they may not fit either. How have those worked out for other people? After wasting $40 on this cardboard junk, I don't want to spend another $160 on fiberglass if it isn't a much better product. Any tips or advice appreciated.

I have installed both. The key to installing the card board unit is to soak it with a spray bottle of water and then fit it in place.

The hardest part is lining up the 3 rubber washers that support it in the center.

I used a fiberglass unit in my 41 1ton and was happy with it.

In both cases I insulated the ceiling before I installed it.

I finally wet the headliner with an ammonia and water solution and was able to get it in satisfactorily. It's not perfect by any means, but it could be a lot worse. What frustrates me most about this is that I had to trim quite a bit off the headliner to get it to fit. There were no instructions to tell me this, and I assumed the whole thing would fit in there if only I got it to bend enough. I think I could do a better job next time, but I hope there's not a next time. I think I would use the fiberglass one if I had to do this again. I wish someone would manufacture and sell a moderately priced headliner (even a cardboard one) that was sized correctly and pre-formed to shape. I've heard even the fiberglass ones need to be trimmed. I believe this was the most frustrating task in my entire restoration project.