Pilothouse Headliners

[grey beard]

Have any of you - other than Alan Parkhurst - replaced your Pilothouse headliners? After speaking with several who used them, I am committed to avoiding the Roberts kit because of quality and fit issues. I have an original headliner that is good enough for patterns. Just need to find some material that can be bent for the rear of the top panel down to the back cab window like the original cardboard was. I have found 1/8-inch fiberglass panels at Lowes in white that can be painted and have one smooth and one pebbled side for a finish. Or you could cover this with vinyl material.

Any other good ideas? Have any of you read the aticle in Automotive Restorer magazine where the project car headliner was made from scratch in a Ford coupe using upholstery cardbboard and glue, laminated to shape with several layers, then foam attached with adhesive and finally vinyl over the roam? Might e worth trying.

Any other suggestions? Just lay it on me . . . . . . :)

[Bob_Koch]

If you want patterns of the headliner and side panel pieces for your truck give Reg Evans a holler. He has blueprints of these available

[Dodgeb4ya]

I made my own custom headliner for my Dodge truck with modern headliner material in a red/maroon color. My truck is red. It has lasted for over 20 years and does not droop/sag and also is a good sound deadner. Above the headliner retainer is a waterproof sweating barrier. I`ve seen the after market headliners and they seem to warp and look kinda cheap. The original factory headliners were of good quality card board though and looked great!

Bob

[DanOlson]

I was talking to a friend whose company primarily does interiors for street rods. He was saying that they now use 1/8" ABS that comes in 4' x 8' sheets and covers it with head lining material. I'm going to be getting some soon as I've got the patterns and material.

Dan

[grey beard]

Dan,

Pleasd let us know how the project goes and give us any advice you learn in he process. This will be my last job to tackle on my own Pilothouse.

Thanks

[MBF]

GB-let me know how the LOWES material works out. I bought some 1/4" foam board last year and glued some vinyl material to it for the surroung around the rear window across the back of the cab all the way down to the floor. This was for noise reduction more than appearance. Now that I can hear myself think while driving, I'm thinking I'd like to finish it off the rest of the way and complete the headliner. To get the foam to flex around the corners of the cab I cut some vertical slits in the backing, and the after making the bends, put duct tape (what else) over the slits to add some stegnth to the foam for longevity. I'm obviously not an automotive upholsterer, but I have stayed at a Holiday Inn a time or two! You say Reg has patterns?? hmmmm-may have to drop him a line. Mike