Lookin for some examples of coupe headliner installation

Once it's all glued together, follow up by pushing a dull puty knife into the core. this will really tighten the windlace up for a tight, clean look...

 

To install the stuff, hold it into the door opening. Make sure the crotch of the lace is seated against the door edge and staple in place. Stretch it slightly as you go to keep it looking tight.

NOTE: If your car has metal door openings, glue the lace tightly in place with contact cement and then pop rivet in about every 1 1/2" to insure it will stay put...

 

Next it's time to install the grip strip... Upon holding ours up, we noticed it needed an 1/8" spacer on the back side so it wouldn't crush the teeth when screwed in place. The simple solution was a piece of 1/8" luan stapled above the ply-grip to hold it out....

 

Finally land the grip strip above the lace edge and screw it in place. You can see here why it's crucial to have a smooth bottom edge... Your headliner will eventually wrap around this edge...


There's secret #1... But I have one more for tonight....

 

Now, I don't have a pic for this...but you'll need a piece of thin upholstery cardboard (auto trim shop available), sometimes called chipboard or package tray board...

Cut it to the exact measurements of the 1/4" luan in the second step. Round the rear corners with a large coffee can and the front corners with a spray paint can. Mark a center line on the front and back sides it.

 

Next up, you'll need to decide how far in you want the stitch line to be on the final headliner. Go in the car and take measurements of how far the stitch will land.... start with 1" in from the edge of the 1/4" luan. When you measure from that line to the door edges/ windshield edge/ rear quarter edges, the distance should be similar...


For example... Mark a line one inch in on the front edge of the headliner board. From that point, measure forward... if you hit the windshield at 6"... then all side should measure in on the board to create the same distance.

On our 'liner. The measurements were 1"front and rear and 2 1/2" on both sides to keep a stretch 6 1/2" all the way around.... Hopefully that's as clear as mud...

Transfer those measurements to the backside of your thin cardboard and round the corners as before. Draw them as dark as you can with a pencil and with a straight edge.....

 

Then transfer the same perimiter stitch line to the front of the cardboard...

 

And mask it off from the line out... Spray glue on the center (three coats) and spray glue on a piece of foam larger than the cardboard (not pictured). You can use any thickness of foam up to 1/2". We choose 1/8" closed cell for that crisp tight look. It's very, very important not to get glue outside of the stitch line!!!

 

Remove the tape and once dry, flop your foam over on the cardboard. Flush cut the foam with the cardboards edge (NOT the STITCH line) to get rid of some bulk. Then transfer that line a third time to the top side of your foam... seems like over kill but in the end it'll make sense....

 

Here you can see ...this far... why it's important not to glue anything outside of the stitch line...

 

Here's a pic of our foam attached to the cardboard, a sew line marked around the outside and a depressed area in the center for design around our dome light....

 

Now, flip the cardboard/foam piece over on your material and center. Be sure to allow a plenty of flap around the edges to stretch with... You would hate to install this much work in the car and find out a corner is too short!!!

Trace around it with chalk or a grease pencil and mark a center line...

 

Flip board back over and as before mask off outside the sew line. Glue the center of the foam and your material....

 

Allow to dry, unmask, and flip the board over on the material. Turn upright and smooth the material out, workin' it into any design you have cut....

 

Now for the top secret blood oath stuff #2...

Turn the entire piece upside down and place it under the sewing machine. Starting at the rear center of the headliner, line your needle up with your pencil drawn stitch line. I sew from the back side to keep from trying to follow a 1/4" wide chalk line on the material side. It's much easier to follow a line as wide as the needle..... And as a beginner, you can turn the machine by hand one stitch at a time to keep straight!!! Takes awhile, but trust me I've done it (about 10 years ago!!!) and....SHHHHH...don't tell anyone... it's how I still turn the corners for a clean look

Also be sure to keep the tail pulled from under the headliner as you stitch. You don't want to sew it under the sew line!!! (also from experience)

 

Once sewn, turn it over and pull all the flaps in....

 

This one isn't for the faint of heart... take a razor blade and cut the foam off out side the stitch line.. BECAREFUL not to cut the stitch or the flap....

 

This will leave the cardboard beneath exposed... This will come into play later....

 

Finally, you can flip the entire piece over. It's startin' to look like a headliner.

That's it for tonight....

Next we'll head into the car for a bit more prep around the rear quarters and back window...then it's installation time....

 

I smell Tech O Matic

 

That is so COOL! I can't wait for the next installment. You are my hero. Gene

 

Great presentation!! Since you are in the business, would know, we have been trying to find the "new" replacement for the paper panel board we use for door, kick, quarter panels, etc. It is some type of plastic/polyethlyene or something like that. Have seen a couple of upholstery articles in car mags that used it however they always fail to say what it is or where it may be obtained. Hopefully you will have the info. Thanx, Dave <font color="red"> </font>

 

The pics are great, but still a lot of skill involved there..What would a typical upholtstery shop charge to fab a headliner from scratch like that?

 

Hey Davey, I'll guess you're talkin' about abs plastic??? We use 1/8" luan for all our door/ kick/ trunk panels. In some roadsters I'll use ABS. It's available from a place called Columbus Plastics around here. I'd check your area for plastic manufacturers.

That's a great question 31/37.... We don't do "piece work"...but I'd have to say with all the prep I'll have about 10-12 hours in it plus materials... Maybe $450-$1000...but that's a guess. I know that sounds funny for someone who does it. But we only do full interiors.

 

Great post but I think I will leave this kind off work for yall to do. Great work. Thanks for sharing the talent

 

here's the headliner i built in killer ridez 37 rod. it's built out of fiberglass, and fits like a big plug. slide it thru the door and up into place. i molded handmade opera lights just behind the heads of the pass. and driver. we also removed the center section for more headroom. (jim's a big guy, and the truck is real small!!) the peak at the front matches the air cleaner that you can see thru the windshield when you're riding in it. it's all wrapped in optima leather, and suede. not traditional, but a different take on an old theme.

 

Damn, I go out of town for a few days and miss all the good stuff...

Skipstitch is the man!!

 

You could also try your local sign shop or sign supply for ABS plastic sheet. There are also some other plastic products that would would work well for panels, such as HIPS (high impact polystyrene).

Great post!

 

Thanks for taking all the time Skipstitch! What a great post. Im gonna be starting on mine this afternoon.

Like Bass said, the local sign shop or plastic supplier should have 1/8" ABS. If not, it can be odered from McMasterCarr on line. I started working with it, but found that it was not very flexible.

 

Glad you guys are enjoyin' it!!! It's been fun to do! Kustomcarsaudio, that 'glass liner looks great. The raise in the center is a wonderful idea to use up unused space..

Now here we go for the last installment (Pun Intended)

Our first job for this morning was to cut a couple of 3/8" wide strips the length of a piece of thin cardboard. Here they are simply marked up for reference...