Headliner Material

[grey beard]

Over the past year I have read MANY threads about headliner material. All of them agree on the point that the stuff from Roberts is gonna' sag and react to moisture. Guru Reg has neat patterns, etc. Yet in none of these past threads has anyone divulged a good workable solution for a viable alternative to the old cardboard, 'er whatever you call the original type stuff.

Given all the great photos in the gallery section of this web site, and in view of the tremendous accumulated mental horsepower represented by those whose noses regularly sniff at this trough, would one not think that someone of our group would have come upon a nice, available material that we could all go out and buy locally. Then we could each get a pattern from Reg, send our donation to this web site, and everyone would live happily ever after . . . well, at least for a little while.

How about you gents with finished Pilouhouse restorations . . . Are you all sporting Roberts cardboard interiors? Do none of you have nice workable alternatives to share with us? Or, if Roberts interiors are really the only act in town, how about some suggestions from knowledgeable people for a material we can paint on the back side to keep moisture out of them? How about shellac, polyurethane, paint, glue-on vinyl, adhesive insulation, Great Stuff, just for openers? Huh? Waddaya all thinkin'?

Surely to goodness if a lot of us are going to all the work of restoring these fine vehicles, there must be within our midst the answer to this problem. It's a lot of work to make patterns, and to transfer them to material and cut out all the pieces. If we are all going to be doing this, would not wisdom dictate that we use a better medium? JMHO:) :)

[Young Ed]

Dave if I were working on a pilot house I'd be trying to talk that quiet ride place into making the headliner out of plastic. This spring I will be installing one in my WC so I don't have personal experience with it yet but the 39-47 group seems to love them.

[Reg Evans]

Dave, I'm no guru but here's how I made mine. I just went to my local upholstery shop and purchased board made for automobile door panels. Cut the stuff out using the patterns. Glued the vinyl on the board and wrapped it around the back side about 1 " and then took all the pieces back to the upholsterer and had him stitch around the edges to make sure it would stay in place. I had to take the headliner to a show repair place because the upholsterer's machine didn't have a deep enough throat to sew the piece above the door to the horizontal headliner piece. I have had this interior in this truck for ~10 years and removed it from the "Gray Mare" before I sold her for another couple of years. I made the door panels longer for sound deadening and had the upholsterer sew some piping around them just for kicks.

I wasn't able to tuck the material behind the corner window rubber on "Ole Yeller" because it was too stiff but it went in just fine in the Gray Mare because the rubber was still soft.

I also covered a strip of sheet metal to to act as a bow to keep the headliner in place.

[Merle Coggins]

Reg,

If I can make a pattern from my one piece rear panel you could add that to your's. Any suggestions on making a pattern from the original? Do I just trace it out on a large piece of paper? Any thing else that I need to take into consideration?

Merle

[Reg Evans]

Merle,

Yes,you can trace around your original on to some butcher paper or anything really as long as it it large enough. I have the rear piece in my patterns but I elected to make it in 2 pieces in order to make the installation easier. Maybe with new window rubber a 1 piece panel would work ok. Make sure your original hasn't shrunk over the years before you use it for a pattern. I had to do some adjusting on my first patterns for a better fit with the ones I have now. Wow ! That's rare to find that piece you have in tact !

[grey beard]

Reg, Merle

My Pilothouse still has all the original interior pieces with the exception of the two kick panels, both of which are missing. However, the headliner is badly sagged and is now beginning to tear, and the drivers' side door panel is pretty badly worn, but good enough to serve as a pattern.

Reg, your panels all look great to me. What you have done is likely as good as can be accomplished. My only reservation with using the material is that it may tend to have the same problems as the original stuff - moisture getting to the back side, especially on the headliner. Now if we could just put our collecrtive heads together and come up with a product that would seal the back side of the fiberboard from moisture, I'd call it a perfect "ten". JMHO:)

[Merle Coggins]

Merle,

Make sure your original hasn't shrunk over the years before you use it for a pattern. I had to do some adjusting on my first patterns for a better fit with the ones I have now.

How would I know if it shrunk? It was still installed in it's original location. I would have to assume that it is still the original dimension. But I've been wrong before.

"I once thought I was wrong, but I was mistaken."

[Young Ed]

Dave The heater duct under the hood on 49-52s is that same kinda cardboard stuff. Pete on the car side coated his in POR15. Sure seems like that stuff would soak in and protect. I would suspect any paint would soak into cardboard and protect it then. Just dont get it too heavy

[Reg Evans]

I would just spray the backs when done with urathane,laquer,or anything that would help make it water proof. I think the board I purchased from the upholsterer is already treated with something to keep out moisture. I just sprayed an insurance coat on before installing.

I have sagged more in the last 12 years than the headliner has.