Has anybody redone an early style headliner?

[Dr. Marneaus]

My now style headliner was trashed when I bought the truck 4 years ago and has been getting progressively worse. The rate of failure has accelerated greatly this last moth or three and I have hit my breaking point. Time to address some interior crap (as has been evidenced by my threads on carpet).

Has anybody had one redone by an upholstery shop? I need to know what rough costs would be.

I got a quote and while I can sorta understand the price (apprently he exhausted his resources trying to find a headliner for this thing) it was still a few hundred bucks more than I expected. I figured maybe like $300 or so but I have no idea in reality. Needless to say it was a lot more than $300.

Can Anybody give some insight to this?

[Dr. Marneaus]

I'll take that as a no lol

[SJTD]

Seems I've seen a link, prolly on IFSJA, to a site that had the old style of liner. I wondered about using it on the later models.

[Escondido]

I have a '78 waggy, with headliner going in now. Cost quoted is around 400.

[HOOT]

Isn't there a guy that makes them ... S&M Headliners or something like that...

[Tad]

Old style bow headliners are a pita.
I converted mine to new style and never regretted it once.

[Jeeptchr]

I have one of the SMS headliners, honestly I haven't even unboxed it yet, but it seems to be great quality, I think it was 330 or so shipped. What is different between the retaining rails on the early box style and later cardboard style?

[rstep]

If it's a bow style ,I ordered a head liner from these guys Automotive Interiors ,and Accessories , Inc. It was around 180.00 shipped.

[SJTD]

That's it! Couldn't find the link. http://www.automotiveinteriors.com/Read ... liners.htm

Howzit fit. Got pics?

[kyamcalvert]

Dude...that is expensive. Get some really good spray adhesive, some 1/4 inch foam, and your choice of material and do it yourself. Just go slow and be careful. The fabric stores in my neck of the woods charge like 6.99/yd for felt. No way I'd spend more than 50 bucks doing a headliner...

[rherndon]

I just started this process on my 76 wagoneer. You should be able to get foam backed vinyl, adhesive and sound dampener from auto interiors for about $100. Question is: how is your board? Below is a pic of my front board section and my roof. If your board is severely damaged/unusable, then maybe I could take detailed dimensions. You can purchase sheets of 1/8" ABS Plastic and cut to fit.

I have my interior fully disassembled but am waiting to reinstall after body and engine work, unless I get very impatient and want to see progress sooner.

[haminawag]

Two things:

Early style bow headliners can be expensive to replace, but if you can remove the headliner while keeping each of the panels intact and together (more or less) the upholstery shop won't have to nearly as much work to reproduce the size and shape of the individual panels. So depending on the shop it can add up to a considerable savings.

Bow headliners are only hard to do if you've never done one before, the installation process is fairly easy, it just takes time to be sure everything is wrinkle free. In fact if you have access to a sewing machine, and have your original panels, you can make your own pretty darn easily, and save yourself a ton o' money. If you convert to a board headliner you'll have the fabric in your face in a few years after the glue fails from the LV heat.

[FSJunkie]

Two things:

Early style bow headliners can be expensive to replace, but if you can remove the headliner while keeping each of the panels intact and together (more or less) the upholstery shop won't have to nearly as much work to reproduce the size and shape of the individual panels. So depending on the shop it can add up to a considerable savings.

Bow headliners are only hard to do if you've never done one before, the installation process is fairly easy, it just takes time to be sure everything is wrinkle free. In fact if you have access to a sewing machine, and have your original panels, you can make your own pretty darn easily, and save yourself a ton o' money. If you convert to a board headliner you'll have the fabric in your face in a few years after the glue fails from the LV heat.

Yup.

The early headliner is just a few panels of vinyl sewed together with some loops on the back for supporting bows to attach to and those bows are tensioned in place to keep the fabric taut. Not hard to replace.

I'd do it myself with a sewing machine and a few yards of vinyl bought at Jo-Ann's.

[haminawag]

Two things:

Early style bow headliners can be expensive to replace, but if you can remove the headliner while keeping each of the panels intact and together (more or less) the upholstery shop won't have to nearly as much work to reproduce the size and shape of the individual panels. So depending on the shop it can add up to a considerable savings.

Bow headliners are only hard to do if you've never done one before, the installation process is fairly easy, it just takes time to be sure everything is wrinkle free. In fact if you have access to a sewing machine, and have your original panels, you can make your own pretty darn easily, and save yourself a ton o' money. If you convert to a board headliner you'll have the fabric in your face in a few years after the glue fails from the LV heat.

Yup.

The early headliner is just a few panels of vinyl sewed together with some loops on the back for supporting bows to attach to and those bows are tensioned in place to keep the fabric taut. Not hard
to replace.

I'd do it myself with a sewing machine and a few yards of vinyl bought at Jo-Ann's.

That's right, just don't choose a material that's so heavy that it'll put a strain on your sewing machine, also don't choose a material that'll turn to dust after a few seasons in the heat.