Headliner ideas

[ECU PIRATE]

Any of you guys have any ideas on a homemade headliner? Can't find one @ the pick and pull and don't feel like spending $ 200 on a new one. I know somebody out there has made one from scratch. If only I could flip my cab upside down I would make one out of fiberglass.............

[Chris Guthro]

I always wanted to try and modify one out of a peterbilt or western star into fitting into a square body, then put the matching bucket seats in it

[kikkegek]

I am thinking about giving this huys solution from youtube a try.

deadcheap and easy I guess.

Some guys from a Dutch forum I visit already confirmed they did their caprice estate like that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gECXDf429ws

[76stepsidechevy]

Some genius glued some house carpet to the inside of mine using some nasty glue or construction adhesive. I cant get the glue off without sanding so I guess im just going to clean it up the best I can and do the same thing except with some auto grade carpet and headliner glue. At least it will get rid of the stinky rotten 70s shag carpet.

[Stitch]

I'm not gonna comment on the house carpet padding for insulation or the house carpet, but I will say that you can go to any reputable auto upholstery shop and buy factory headliner from them...then you can scuff up the metal roof with a scotchbrite pad or some 200 grit sand paper and glue the headliner material to the metal roof and install the factory trim back up...noone will notice that the headliner is glued to the metal roof instead of a headliner board...please don't put house materials in your vehicle...for one, they are not fire rated for use in vehicles...

[tucsonjwt]

My 83 has a soft fiberglass insulation type backing - it just slips out of the trim areas, not glued in at all. I took it out and had a local upholstery shop recover it in stock like fabric for $40. I have not seen this type of backing in the catalogs, but it seems like a better idea than cardboard, plastic, etc.

[Stitch]

The fiberglass boards are alot more susceptible to tearing up when you recover it. The new cardboard and abs headliner boards are alot more durable than the fiberglass ones.
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[ECU PIRATE]

Originally Posted by Stitch

The fiberglass boards are alot more susceptible to tearing up when you recover it. The new cardboard and abs headliner boards are alot more durable than the fiberglass ones.
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Good hear from you man...........how are things holding up for you down in SC? I wish I had more time and more money to play with my truck but, I am making some head way. I would like to get my interior buttoned up so I can focus on motor / tranny issues. With my 39th around the corner, I doubt my old lady is going to get me anything that I really need.

I knew I should have keep the headline that I pulled out of Blazer!!!!!!!!!!!! I could have modified it to fit. I guess I will be hitting the junkyard next week and see if the 88' Jimmy is still there and take that one. That is after I pick up my smoker from my buddy's house. My youngest's 1st birthday is soon approaching (Jan. 25th) and daddy is trying to smoke a brisket and a couple of rabbitts.............

[DetroitDan]

Everytime I've looked in LMC Truck or JCWhitney I can't find anything for a crewcab. If it was a regular cab I don't think I'd mind not having one, but I want something in the crew. Right now I have a whitish cottony cloth hanging down all over the place. Not sure where to start to remove it. Dont want to wreck the backing if there is one.

[ECU PIRATE]

[QUOTE=DetroitDan;4383972]Everytime I've looked in LMC Truck or JCWhitney I can't find anything for a crewcab. If it was a regular cab I don't think I'd mind not having one, but I want something in the crew. Right now I have a whitish cottony cloth hanging down all over the place. Not sure where to start to remove it. Dont want to wreck the backing if there is one.[/ QUOTE]

Pull it out and hit it with the fiberglass. Should solve all of your problems and make it stronger to boot........

[76stepsidechevy]

Originally Posted by Stitch

I'm not gonna comment on the house carpet padding for insulation or the house carpet, but I will say that you can go to any reputable auto upholstery shop and buy factory headliner from them...then you can scuff up the metal roof with a scotchbrite pad or some 200 grit sand paper and glue the headliner material to the metal roof and install the factory trim back up...noone will notice that the headliner is glued to the metal roof instead of a headliner board...please don't put house materials in your vehicle...for one, they are not fire rated for use in vehicles...

Thats the plan, My truck didn't have a headliner from the factory so I don't even have the trim. They carpeted everything except the front pillars. Ive wanted to tear it out ever since I got the truck this summer but most of my budget has gone to maintenance so far. I really wish they would of just left the bare painted steel in there.

[DetroitDan]

Originally Posted by ECU PIRATE

Pull it out and hit it with the fiberglass. Should solve all of your problems and make it stronger to boot........

not sure what you mean. pull what out and hit what with the fiberglass?

[Stitch]

Dan, you need to take the factory headliner trim down around all he sides of the headliner, and the sunvisors, and the dome light. Once everything is down, you should be able to pull the headliner board down easily. Actually the headliner board will probably come down on it's own on your head if you're not careful.
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[Stitch]

Originally Posted by ECU PIRATE

Good hear from you man...........how are things holding up for you down in SC? I wish I had more time and more money to play with my truck but, I am making some head way. I would like to get my interior buttoned up so I can focus on motor / tranny issues. With my 39th around the corner, I doubt my old lady is going to get me anything that I really need.

I knew I should have keep the headline that I pulled out of Blazer!!!!!!!!!!!! I could have modified it to fit. I guess I will be hitting the junkyard next week and see if the 88' Jimmy is still there and take that one. That is after I pick up my smoker from my buddy's house. My youngest's 1st birthday is soon approaching (Jan. 25th) and daddy is trying to smoke a brisket and a couple of rabbitts.............

Hey buddy. Everythings doing pretty good down here now. About three weeks ago my mother in law passed away and we were dealing with the services and the estate for a while but now everythings settling back down.

On a side note, I'll be breaking ground on my new building for my new business here soon. I was gonna buy a building down the road but Laura and I decided to build instead. That way it'll be setup like I want it to be. I can built it how I want. And it'll be on our property. We have a few acres so it'll be close to home but not too close. The shop will have it's own driveway so hopefully I won't get too much traffic to the house lol. Also hopefully I'll be able to spend more time with my family being it'll be right there.

If you have any questions fell free to ask man. I'm here for y'alls questions lol
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[flamingbig10]

no head liner just a glossy paint roof with head liner trim

[sixshooter798]

My buddy and I re-covered the cardboard in his Blazer with some black vinyl from the local fabric store. They had "headliner material" there as well, in blue, grey, and tan.
Although we felt a little fruity at the fabric store, it was cheap and easy to do. We laid the vinyl in the sun for a bit, then used headliner spray adhesive to attach it to the cardboard. There were a trillion bubbles at first, but after letting it sit for a while they all disappeared. Its been about 4 months and theres no sagging and the bubbles have not returned.

[mcbassin]

I have done several of these with pretty good success. Find a good backer this one is original fiberglass. You have to scrape all that gummy glue and foam off and get it really clean. I like to use plain old elmers wood glue.
I purchased fabric at a local fabric store that was perfect, I got enough for two headliners for about $12.
Here is how we did my son's headliner:

[Magnimike1]

Buy headliner material from Jo-ann or Hancock Fabrics etc. Buy Super 77 3M Spray adhesive from Homer Depot. Have fun.

[Stitch]

Mike never seen anyone use Elmer's wood glue for a diy headliner...how long has it been since yall did your son's headliner...I know that the can spray glues never really dry, they just stay tacky and that's why they have a tendency to sag over time...I know the wood glue will actually dry and not stay tacky...the wood glue may actually be the key for do-it-yourselfers to do this successfully...

[mcbassin]

Originally Posted by Magnimike1

Buy headliner material from Jo-ann or Hancock Fabrics etc. Buy Super 77 3M Spray adhesive from Homer Depot. Have fun.

I actually have tried the Super 77 and it didn't work at all. It looked real good until I hung it and it got good and hot for a few days. It started falling.

Originally Posted by Stitch

Mike never seen anyone use Elmer's wood glue for a diy headliner...how long has it been since yall did your son's headliner...I know that the can spray glues never really dry, they just stay tacky and that's why they have a tendency to sag over time...I know the wood glue will actually dry and not stay tacky...the wood glue may actually be the key for do-it-yourselfers to do this successfully...

We did the headliner back in August and it's still tight. I did one on a 79 Monte Carlo that lasted a few years and my 77 that lasted 3 years. It actually works better on the old styrafoam style backer boards.

[tucsonjwt]

You are right about the fiberglass being more delicate to work with. The upholstery guy who redid mine said not to try and remove the remaining bits of fabric that were still adhering to the fiberglass since that might take chunks of fiberglass with it. I guess he built up some glue around those areas and just covered over them. Most of the original headliner had come down on its own, and I had previously picked away some of the loose pieces remaining. Too bad you cannot get a new virgin fiberglass backer - seems like it should be cheaper than the plastic or cardboard ones.

[Frozen001]

I just redid my headliner in the 'burb... pulled the old out, and removed the cloth. Then used a wire brush to get as much of the old foam off the cardboard backer, and put the new headliner on with spray on contact adheasive. Looks pretty good. The old cardboard still sags a little, but I am going to make some additional braces, or try and fine some additional factory ones.

[rct1969]

I am trying to figure out what to do with my 82 headliner. The fabric was sagging from the backer, so I pulled it and used the 3m spray adhesive. Within a week the fabric started to sag again. So no luck with the 3m. The wood glues looks like a great idea, but I wonder what will happen with humidity/condensation? I have a unique color fabric (reddish brown) and I am afraid that locating a match will be hard. I might have to hit up a upholstery shop for help on this one. any other ideas out there?

[Chris Guthro]

The way i see it tho, is these trucks look way better with the body colored roof. Looks more like a truck

[80chevyshortbox]

just use automotive carpet and glue it to the roof lol thats what i did easy.