Unfortunatly most everybody says yes. For me it was just a matter of putting in the new headliner before the new window. There was a guy on this forum(maybe the main board) that was going to try it without...if he ever posted anything about the results, I never saw it. Personally knowing how much clamping and pulling and tugging and back and forth there is trying to get all the wrinkles out, I don't think you'd get very good results without taking the rear window out. That is all aside from the fact you'll have to figure out some way/new area of gluing it down and that may be the big problem as the glued area is sure to show thru the fabric. Not what you wanted to hear I'm sure. If I were you I'd be ordering a new back window seal to replace your old one when you put the gl*** back in. PS...I've got a friend in Mesa with a flat black '57 wagon...ever see it running around? Rich
According to the Ford Shop Manual you do have to remove the back gl***,I have talked to four different shops in Phoenix about having the pre-sewn one I have installed all of them have a gl*** shop come to do that part so that has to be arranged in advance and you need to order a new rear seal and have it on hand when it is done,This video is about the best to show how it's done: Not something I would do DIY,best local estimate was here:http://www.yellowpages.com/tolleson-az/mip/simons-auto-upholstery-3912704 I saw a '55 Ford there they had done,two thumbs up.
I need to change my headliner and have looked around the edges to see how it was fastened. It clearly was installed with the back gl*** already installed. It also appears to be original. For what it worth I fully intend to install mine without removing any gl***.
I have installed these more than several times, and only tried once without removing front and back gl*** which ended poorly, To get a nice job in my opinion it is necessary to remove the gl***.
I choose to disagree with what seems to be the majority. Have done 2 headliners ( 73 datsun pu, 51 Ford coupe) without removing any gl***. Both came out drum tight and stayed that way.If the gl*** is out then that would be ideal but not necessary. And yes as you remove the bows be sure and label them, no 2 are alike. Funny how everyone mentions removing the back gl*** but no one seems concerned about the windshield, go figure. And as an aside I used no adhesive ,yes no, of any kind. Am convinced that for some reason this job is made out to be a lot worse than it really is. Maybe I was too dumb to know any better on my first one and it carried on to my second one.
The windshield area has a tack strip along it that the garnish moulding covers...the back window doesn't. It is only the back window rubber that covers the end of the headliner. Without a tack strip, the only thing that's holding the fabric in the back is the gluing tight against the flange that the rubber seal has to be pulled over.
Tex, here's what did on both. for a tool imagine the head on a hammerhead shark. made it out of a piece of s**** aluminum on hand. the edge profile was not square to the handle but more crescent shaped and roughly 2'' across. spent a lot of time rounding the edge (lip) so it was smooth and burr free, didn't want it catching on the fabric. on the datsun the only tack strip was on the b-pillar, front and rear held by rubber and sides by a pliable door seal that wedges over the upper cabin seam where the inner/outer skins come together.hung the front bow and used a few spring clamps to hold it in position ( both sides of the bow) then started to pull the front flap forward and marked it with a chalk stick to give me an idea where to fold it and start to push it under the windshield rubber. tucking the tool into the fold so it was double thickness making it snug, once it was tight and wrinkle free started to work my way back one panel area at the time till i got to the back window and used the same process and tool to tuck it in. Could have pulled the back window easy enough it had fresh rubber as had a bit earlier pulled the a sliding back window and installed a stocker one piece gl***. the b-pillar area was probably the hardest area to pull wrinkle free as it pulls several different ways but having a saw tooth gripping bar made for a firm hold and then a simple factory trim piece held it in place. once hung went back and with a pair of curved bandage scissors ( nurse wife supplied ) slipped it under the rubber and cut off the excess. installed the door seal strips, screwed on the garnish moldings and was done. like i said before maybe it was dumb luck on my part but it worked out just fine. did the datsun all by myself one afternoon on the 51 realized halfway thru it that a second set of hands was needed and a good friend came over to help. he couldn't believe that i was doing it w/out pulling gl*** or glue. am guessing that if it was a fabric (not vinyl) headliner a guy could use a tube of adhesive slip the end in between the folds after it was installed and it would soak thru the fabric unto metal and rubber and stick in place. did not do that on either one. the datsun headliner was sewn by one of my sisters from material bought at a fabric remnant store. cost me around $15- and she used the stock one for a pattern sewn on her regular sewing machine. the 51 was a JCWhitney one that I found on the newspaper cl***ifieds, guy had bought it to use on his coupe but his upholsterer did not want to use it. odd thing to buy at a lawyers office. cost me $50 and it was one of those lucky finds that worked out very well being as it was grey and worked well with my already grey upholstered seats. Sure was glad that help was needed on the 51 as had someone to confirm it was installed without pulling the gl***. As no one else believed it then or to this day. but it was true then and its true today.
FWIW, my dad did the headliner in my '54 without removing any gl***. It was also a JC Whitney one. This was almost 20 years ago, and it was still in great shape until I accidentally burned a few holes in it while using an angle grinder on the floors. Whoops. I actually just pulled it out the other day - I'll be installing a new one some day, and I'll try to do it when the gl*** is out. But I know I can do it with the gl*** in there if I need to.
I should add that my headliner was cloth, not vinyl. I didn't pull the bows out of the headliner, just bundled the whole ***embly up and put it in the attic. That way I can't screw up or forget the order. I should also add that I don't know how my dad installed it. I was just a dumb teenager who found something else to do that day instead of helping him.
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