bartenderfloyd Posted January 18, 2022 Report Share Posted January 18, 2022 I'm getting ready to install the headliner (I will update my build thread with detailed photos) and I'm having trouble understanding how to install the 6th bow. I can't find any youtube videos that deal with how the headliner is supposed to attach to that bow and where it lays exactly under the rear window. I see everything else I need to install (tack strips, metal teeth, etc) but without any references for the 6th bow I am a bit puzzled. Can someone point me in the right direction? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ194950 Posted January 18, 2022 Report Share Posted January 18, 2022 No bows on a 50 Ply.- 4 dr. -Under the rear window. I doubt there was any, as I have never seen one on any car of this age, but never know ,there is always an exception. DJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartenderfloyd Posted January 19, 2022 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2022 I could be mistaken as to where the hoop goes but the headliner came with 5 listings but I have 6 bows. I read the 6th holds the wings on the side of the rear window but I don't know what it should look like. The 6th bow is very different from the other 5 There are definitely 6 holes I assume the 6th bow goes in something like this but seems like it won't fit. Maybe it goes over the back window? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertKB Posted January 19, 2022 Report Share Posted January 19, 2022 (edited) I know that when I ordered a headliner it asked if it took five or six bows as I guess there was a change at some point. Hopefully you didn’t order the wrong headliner. I would go back to the company you ordered from and double-check to see again what they offered. If you have six bows there should be six seams to hold the bows. Sixth bow does not go as shown in my opinion. It should go up toward the roof I would have thought. Edited January 19, 2022 by RobertKB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harmony Posted January 19, 2022 Report Share Posted January 19, 2022 (edited) I agree with RobertKB I recently installed a headliner in a 47 Chrysler coupe. I had 6 bows and there were 6 pockets for them when the headliner arrived. If you've never done a headliner before. It takes a lot of patience and planning, and it's a killer on the neck. I'm assuming you got new windlace to do the job. As well as new gromets that the bows fit into. You'll need lots and lots of clamps and a steamer. It's really tricky when you get to the last part which is stuffing it up under the sharks teeth strip. Make sure you adjust each tooth and pull them out at about 50-60 degrees. You have to guess at how much to push up under it. If you guess wrong you'll have wrinkles. Too loose or too tight. Either way,,, wrinkles. Use a plastic putty knife for that part and round off the corners. The thing with that phase of the job is you don't get a second chance with those sharks tooth strips. Getting the windlace in the exact spot is also a bit of a trick or it won't look right. You might need nailer strips for the windlace as well. Use 1/4" staples and an electric stapler. You can put a few staples across the windshield and work your way back. Stretching, steaming, stretching, steaming, on and on. You'll find that you'll take out those first staples and pull it even tighter. Once you get one wrinkle out you'll discover another one just appeared, so you steam and stretch that one out, only to discover a new one, and that will go on for an eternity. Fit the bows in the pockets and them put the ends into the gromets and let the whole headliner hang with the bows upside down. Then start flipping them up starting at the front. For the stretching part. Start at the front and work back, then pull the sides tight. Then repeat the whole process, until you get it right. I was really disappointed with the company I got my headliner from because there was way too much material along each section where the sleeve is sown in at the edges. So I had to cut the stitching, and refasten it with CA glues. I took out about an inch off each section down to zero for a distance of about 2 inches. You couldn't determine how much needed to come out until it was installed, or I would have done it on my sewing machine. The other issue I had was too much material under the back window. So I had to cut it and make vertical seams. I thought it would look better and more professional if I had two seams, wide apart, as opposed to one seam down the centre under the window. I cut out about 6-8 inches. But all the pockets for the bows lined up perfectly with the gromets, so it seemed like it was the right headliner. The other issue I had was that the bow pockets were far too long. So I had to cut them back by a few inches on each one and on each side. That was another tricky part, because it I cut too much off, the headliner would sag,,, wrinkles again. If I didn't cut enough off, the headliner would bunch up,,, wrinkles again. Just a few things to be aware of in case it happens to you. I can add pictures here if you need them, or I can link you to a web page I made for the whole car and you'd just have to scroll down to find the headliner section, which might be better than posting pictures here. There are 16 pictures with a paragraph for each picture explaining what's going on. Edited January 19, 2022 by harmony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartenderfloyd Posted January 19, 2022 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2022 OK, looking at the car interiors for the two door here (https://classiccars.com/listings/find/1950/plymouth) I'm guessing at the very best they forgot to sew the 6th listing and at the worst they gave me the wrong top. I'll call them tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harmony Posted January 19, 2022 Report Share Posted January 19, 2022 (edited) 9 minutes ago, bartenderfloyd said: OK, looking at the car interiors for the two door here (https://classiccars.com/listings/find/1950/plymouth) I'm guessing at the very best they forgot to sew the 6th listing and at the worst they gave me the wrong top. I'll call them tomorrow. I didn't check them all out, but I did notice on that yellowish Plymouth for $14,500 that there are 6 bows. Edited January 19, 2022 by harmony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartenderfloyd Posted January 20, 2022 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2022 Update - I just got off the phone with Kanter. They told me I ordered one for the sedan, not the club coupe. But the sedans for sale online also have 6 bows so I think they just didn't want to replace the headliner and wanted me to buy a new one. Hopefully it will be here in a month. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harmony Posted January 22, 2022 Report Share Posted January 22, 2022 On 1/20/2022 at 9:09 AM, bartenderfloyd said: Update - I just got off the phone with Kanter. They told me I ordered one for the sedan, not the club coupe. But the sedans for sale online also have 6 bows so I think they just didn't want to replace the headliner and wanted me to buy a new one. Hopefully it will be here in a month. Keep us posted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joecoozie Posted January 22, 2022 Report Share Posted January 22, 2022 On 1/18/2022 at 7:51 PM, bartenderfloyd said: I could be mistaken as to where the hoop goes but the headliner came with 5 listings but I have 6 bows. I read the 6th holds the wings on the side of the rear window but I don't know what it should look like. The 6th bow is very different from the other 5 There are definitely 6 holes I assume the 6th bow goes in something like this but seems like it won't fit. Maybe it goes over the back window? Looking at the last picture I see a grommet just below the wiring. That is where the ends of that bow would go in and, after looking at the 50 Plymouth 2-door in the link above, the bow would be over the rear window. I have dismantled a few Chryslers and I am pretty sure there should be a tack strip under the window to "grab" the headliner - not 100% sure about that though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Fuller Posted June 5, 2023 Report Share Posted June 5, 2023 I’m currently doing the headliner on my 1950 Plymouth Business Coupe. The last bow locks into the dome light bracket and is pulled forward. The hardest part for me is the material beyond the last bow to the area around the rear window that hooks into the triangle shaped metal teeth. Getting the material to pull tight and not wrinkle is a challenge. I’m still trying to figure out where the material secures at each side of the package shelf . My guess is it gets glued to the underside of the shelf. I’m getting there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D35 Torpedo Posted June 5, 2023 Report Share Posted June 5, 2023 I'm in the process of having my headliner done. Two door sedan, five bows. The rear most is as john said, attached to the dome light. The 52 four door I had also attached to the dome. The rear window needs to come out so the headliner can be stretched onto the frame. I'm lucky to know an upholsterer, so I can't weigh in on technique. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bingster Posted June 5, 2023 Report Share Posted June 5, 2023 How much would it cost to have a headliner done? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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