1956 Headliner Replacement - Do it Yourself and Get It Right
January 9th, 2014, 03:02 PM
#1
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1956 Headliner Replacement - Do it Yourself and Get It Right
I have moved this topic here to keep it compact-nothing personal.
Hopefully this will help someone down the road.I had been trying to get this underway for some time. The hold-up being my refusal to pay 40 bucks a yard for the correct red perforated vinyl from SMS auto fabrics,plus shipping of course. If you are a stickler for originality like me, then you will understand all the fuss. Try searching the web for perforated vinyl with the correct size and shape holes that doesn't cost a fortune - good luck. But I have found the solution. Defender Marine in Conn. has a good selection of perforated vinyl that is correct at a fair price but unfortunately it is all in white or off white. This is where vinyl spray comes into play. Anyone that has used it know that it works well. The lowest priced vinyl was $ 7.99 a yard and the next up was $12.99 a yard, the one I chose as it was lighter,identical to the original and UV treated. Total needed is 3 yards, which hopefully should leave enough for sunvisors ,should I choose to do those also. There are headliners for sale on ebay for just over 200 bucks. The vinyl doesn't match the original and I would be wary of any headliner that may or may not match up. Its a lot of dough to waste. If you can't sew, find someone who can and get it done right.
So here you see I have un-stitched all the panels,and also ironed all the edges flat using a wet cloth. Not all the panels are cut straight and I am right now trying to figure out which are cut straight and which are distorted. Numbering the panels is essential. In the last photo,you can see the panels laid out on the 3 metres of vinyl. Not much room for error. Buy an extra yard if you are worried. More to come.....
Well,I managed to poke away at this a bit at a time and finally have a finished product,but unfortunately I will not be able to see how it fits until the weather warms up a bit(Jan 2014 now). I took more pictures but they may not help much. I will try to describe as much as possible a few tips that may help someone else do this.
Getting the patterns exact was a challenge. Since it is perforated vinyl, you can follow straight lines via the hole pattern but you will realize the panels are distorted and stretched at the ends. You are then trying to find the balance of what was originally sewn vs. what the panel looks like now. Not all the panels are straight cuts. Since the inside roof is egg shaped at the front and back, curves have to sewn in the most front and back panels. I had to, after much head scratching for direction, iron steam the seams from the old panels back down in these areas to trace a line on the new material, yet still measuring by counting the perforated dots to get a general sense that I was in the ballpark. The original manufacturer was very exact in sewing these-hard to explain but I took so many measurements and counted so many dot holes,yet no sloppy variations from side to side.
One spool of heavy upholstery thread should do the job with some left over.
Here,you can see me working on the floor,sewing a seam that I have used pins to align first. I have chosen not to sew on the rod holder material-called listing until later and advise you to also.Notice the lines I have drawn on the backsides. Most of the time was taken up by getting the lines right. Maybe you can fake it a bit,I didn't chance it.
This picture illustrates two curved end panels-either front or back. It would be simple if they were all straight cuts!
Another seam- pulling the pins away as I sew along.There are 7 seams. Take your time. It is a real pain to cut a seam apart plus you could damage the vinyl.
Now about the listing material the the metal rods will slide easily through hopefully, and attached to the headliner. I used a drapery backing material found at the local fabric store,very inexpensive, not prone to unraveling and tough and slippery. Not all are the same length, and the longest length expected at about 70 inches. I had to sew two pieces together not realizing this-no big deal.Folded over and sewn up the middle,my listing was 1 inch wide with a half inch pocket being plenty. So I chose to sew all the listings after cutting them out from material using a straightedge and then sew them onto the headliner. Maybe if I had a little more experience,better sewing machine with a better walking foot and a wide work table I would attempt it all in one. So that makes three passes now for every seam . Whew! Don't sew over the line into your headliner seam when sewing on the listing.
I did make a potential mistake-remains to be seen,but I cut my listing to the length of each rod. This could result in a shortage when trying to align the headliner. I suspect the headliner you would buy from one of the retailers would have super long listings and you would just poke a hole where you needed the rod to come through.Also something else I realized that in my Oldsmobile,my headliner had "dimples" in the corners where the headliner was hanging from a point on the rods. I thought this was normal but I think now it would be a sign the a headliner is pulling away from the listing. The rods are perfectly curved-so should the headliner be. Something to watch for in old cars.
Finally finished with all the rods inserted, front and back views with the headliner taped to the wall. Thank goodness I didn't use the heavier material because there is a fair weight here-keep that in mind always.Using that thick vinyl would be brutal. I have two cans of vinyl spray-red, but may need a third. Should look very nice. Total cost about 90 bucks w/o the spray. Oh yes a note about the rods. Yours will be rusty.So will the inside of your roof. Guaranteed. I used a wire cup brush on a grinder to clean the rods. It was painfully slow because of rotating the rods up and down, but must be done. I used a grey oil garage floor paint on the rods. Better than original since they were never painted in the first place. I used acid to clean the underside of the roof-the interior was out,what the hell and it worked well since it was surface rust. Then that grey enamel floor paint. Better than original.Haven't decided about the insulation pads yet. The originals were tar sheets.Lots of options these days that are better.
I find it hard to believe that you could buy a headliner with the proper material for 200 bucks or so. Perforated vinyl, the light stuff with no backing is what Oldsmobile used. I'm not aware of other patterns. If you use different material, every Olds person will know. That was the point of all of this.
Afterthought. I went to an auto upholsterer and he was quoting me 5 yards of material to make my headliner and got testy when I said three would do it. I get it, that it is good insurance to have extra material, but you pay for it, and it ends up making someone else stuff,extra cash profit for the shop.
Well, if you are lucky enough to have dry storage, then you won't be experiencing this problem,but if your car gets a taste of the outdoors or enough that the water will condense on the inside of the metal roof, you are guaranteed to get this.....
January thaw here in Eastern Atlantic Canada means I can give the headliner a test fit just to see what's what. I can see the possibility of cutting back the lasting sleeves to get some of the wrinkles out. All in all though,looks like I can make this work.
Looks like I have to sew on some wings to finish off the back.
Hopefully this will help someone down the road.I had been trying to get this underway for some time. The hold-up being my refusal to pay 40 bucks a yard for the correct red perforated vinyl from SMS auto fabrics,plus shipping of course. If you are a stickler for originality like me, then you will understand all the fuss. Try searching the web for perforated vinyl with the correct size and shape holes that doesn't cost a fortune - good luck. But I have found the solution. Defender Marine in Conn. has a good selection of perforated vinyl that is correct at a fair price but unfortunately it is all in white or off white. This is where vinyl spray comes into play. Anyone that has used it know that it works well. The lowest priced vinyl was $ 7.99 a yard and the next up was $12.99 a yard, the one I chose as it was lighter,identical to the original and UV treated. Total needed is 3 yards, which hopefully should leave enough for sunvisors ,should I choose to do those also. There are headliners for sale on ebay for just over 200 bucks. The vinyl doesn't match the original and I would be wary of any headliner that may or may not match up. Its a lot of dough to waste. If you can't sew, find someone who can and get it done right.
So here you see I have un-stitched all the panels,and also ironed all the edges flat using a wet cloth. Not all the panels are cut straight and I am right now trying to figure out which are cut straight and which are distorted. Numbering the panels is essential. In the last photo,you can see the panels laid out on the 3 metres of vinyl. Not much room for error. Buy an extra yard if you are worried. More to come.....
Well,I managed to poke away at this a bit at a time and finally have a finished product,but unfortunately I will not be able to see how it fits until the weather warms up a bit(Jan 2014 now). I took more pictures but they may not help much. I will try to describe as much as possible a few tips that may help someone else do this.
Getting the patterns exact was a challenge. Since it is perforated vinyl, you can follow straight lines via the hole pattern but you will realize the panels are distorted and stretched at the ends. You are then trying to find the balance of what was originally sewn vs. what the panel looks like now. Not all the panels are straight cuts. Since the inside roof is egg shaped at the front and back, curves have to sewn in the most front and back panels. I had to, after much head scratching for direction, iron steam the seams from the old panels back down in these areas to trace a line on the new material, yet still measuring by counting the perforated dots to get a general sense that I was in the ballpark. The original manufacturer was very exact in sewing these-hard to explain but I took so many measurements and counted so many dot holes,yet no sloppy variations from side to side.
One spool of heavy upholstery thread should do the job with some left over.
Here,you can see me working on the floor,sewing a seam that I have used pins to align first. I have chosen not to sew on the rod holder material-called listing until later and advise you to also.Notice the lines I have drawn on the backsides. Most of the time was taken up by getting the lines right. Maybe you can fake it a bit,I didn't chance it.
This picture illustrates two curved end panels-either front or back. It would be simple if they were all straight cuts!
Another seam- pulling the pins away as I sew along.There are 7 seams. Take your time. It is a real pain to cut a seam apart plus you could damage the vinyl.
Now about the listing material the the metal rods will slide easily through hopefully, and attached to the headliner. I used a drapery backing material found at the local fabric store,very inexpensive, not prone to unraveling and tough and slippery. Not all are the same length, and the longest length expected at about 70 inches. I had to sew two pieces together not realizing this-no big deal.Folded over and sewn up the middle,my listing was 1 inch wide with a half inch pocket being plenty. So I chose to sew all the listings after cutting them out from material using a straightedge and then sew them onto the headliner. Maybe if I had a little more experience,better sewing machine with a better walking foot and a wide work table I would attempt it all in one. So that makes three passes now for every seam . Whew! Don't sew over the line into your headliner seam when sewing on the listing.
I did make a potential mistake-remains to be seen,but I cut my listing to the length of each rod. This could result in a shortage when trying to align the headliner. I suspect the headliner you would buy from one of the retailers would have super long listings and you would just poke a hole where you needed the rod to come through.Also something else I realized that in my Oldsmobile,my headliner had "dimples" in the corners where the headliner was hanging from a point on the rods. I thought this was normal but I think now it would be a sign the a headliner is pulling away from the listing. The rods are perfectly curved-so should the headliner be. Something to watch for in old cars.
Finally finished with all the rods inserted, front and back views with the headliner taped to the wall. Thank goodness I didn't use the heavier material because there is a fair weight here-keep that in mind always.Using that thick vinyl would be brutal. I have two cans of vinyl spray-red, but may need a third. Should look very nice. Total cost about 90 bucks w/o the spray. Oh yes a note about the rods. Yours will be rusty.So will the inside of your roof. Guaranteed. I used a wire cup brush on a grinder to clean the rods. It was painfully slow because of rotating the rods up and down, but must be done. I used a grey oil garage floor paint on the rods. Better than original since they were never painted in the first place. I used acid to clean the underside of the roof-the interior was out,what the hell and it worked well since it was surface rust. Then that grey enamel floor paint. Better than original.Haven't decided about the insulation pads yet. The originals were tar sheets.Lots of options these days that are better.
I find it hard to believe that you could buy a headliner with the proper material for 200 bucks or so. Perforated vinyl, the light stuff with no backing is what Oldsmobile used. I'm not aware of other patterns. If you use different material, every Olds person will know. That was the point of all of this.
Afterthought. I went to an auto upholsterer and he was quoting me 5 yards of material to make my headliner and got testy when I said three would do it. I get it, that it is good insurance to have extra material, but you pay for it, and it ends up making someone else stuff,extra cash profit for the shop.
Well, if you are lucky enough to have dry storage, then you won't be experiencing this problem,but if your car gets a taste of the outdoors or enough that the water will condense on the inside of the metal roof, you are guaranteed to get this.....
January thaw here in Eastern Atlantic Canada means I can give the headliner a test fit just to see what's what. I can see the possibility of cutting back the lasting sleeves to get some of the wrinkles out. All in all though,looks like I can make this work.
Looks like I have to sew on some wings to finish off the back.
Last edited by pete324rocket; January 12th, 2014 at 11:26 AM.
January 17th, 2014, 06:56 AM
#4
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Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Camdenton, MO
Posts: 345
Nice, be sure to post pics when done.
Good tip on alignment of the perforation, same is true with the weave/grain in fabrics.
FYI, basting tape works better than pins, especially on vinyl. No worries about poking extra holes.
Good tip on alignment of the perforation, same is true with the weave/grain in fabrics.
FYI, basting tape works better than pins, especially on vinyl. No worries about poking extra holes.
July 2nd, 2014, 05:36 PM
#5
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Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 71
Update: I am on the home stretch of installing this, and would have to be one of the toughest jobs I've tackled in some time - I think I'd rather pull the motor instead any day. There is a lot to learn about sewing up a headliner, let alone installing it to be wrinkle free like it came from the factory. I will take some pictures and offer some tips that will surely help the next ambitious person when I get a few loose ends tied up. One tip I will offer for now: If you are using replacement perforated vinyl as was original, DO NOT take the exact measurement of spacing of between the bows from the old headliner-it will be too loose! Perforated vinyl will stretch, and you really need that thing tight, so cut back one or two rows of holes. And don't worry about remembering which holes the rods were in( there are upper and lower positions for rod holes). It just don't matter and you makes the rules up as you go-whatever fits. Look, this was so difficult to install, especially working over your head, etc, a guy would have to offer me at least $1000.00 before I'd consider doing it all again.The sewing was easy. Install was hell. Pictures soon....
July 7th, 2014, 05:21 PM
#8
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Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 71
Sorry you will have to click on the thumbnails to see the big pictures - was using imageshack and now they are not free anymore for large forum pics.
Anyways, these are from today, I trimmed some of the excess material with a brand new razor knife (a must) and seem to have an acceptable tight headliner. I have sprayed the white perforated with red vinyl paint, which matches everything else in the car. I did it while it was on the ground and it took nearly two cans. With stretching at the seams, I will have to touch up while in the car -lots of drop sheets and masking, should be no problem. I decided after some thinking not to replace the sound deadener material. It always has the potential to cause more problems than it helps,especially if it decides to drop. My roof had some rust issues under the braces. I couldn't live with ignoring that as well as in the roof rail area so I sprayed oil on all those surfaces. Some got on the back of the vinyl, no big deal since it is an oil product and it didn't stain through.
I had to cut the end off of one of the rear battens because I could not take up enough slack to stretch it, a bold move but it is supported by all the other tension and there was no other way. I had the same slack problem in the front. In this case, I hand sewed a new seam one or two rows of perforations (can't recall which) but the holes lined up and it was a straight seam , no curves like in the back. You can see some puckering in the pictures because of fewer stitches but it got me out of a jam.I doubt anyone would ever notice much. I still have to deal with the rear corner window area as a piece needs to be sewn in there to wrap around.More text in the next post....
Anyways, these are from today, I trimmed some of the excess material with a brand new razor knife (a must) and seem to have an acceptable tight headliner. I have sprayed the white perforated with red vinyl paint, which matches everything else in the car. I did it while it was on the ground and it took nearly two cans. With stretching at the seams, I will have to touch up while in the car -lots of drop sheets and masking, should be no problem. I decided after some thinking not to replace the sound deadener material. It always has the potential to cause more problems than it helps,especially if it decides to drop. My roof had some rust issues under the braces. I couldn't live with ignoring that as well as in the roof rail area so I sprayed oil on all those surfaces. Some got on the back of the vinyl, no big deal since it is an oil product and it didn't stain through.
I had to cut the end off of one of the rear battens because I could not take up enough slack to stretch it, a bold move but it is supported by all the other tension and there was no other way. I had the same slack problem in the front. In this case, I hand sewed a new seam one or two rows of perforations (can't recall which) but the holes lined up and it was a straight seam , no curves like in the back. You can see some puckering in the pictures because of fewer stitches but it got me out of a jam.I doubt anyone would ever notice much. I still have to deal with the rear corner window area as a piece needs to be sewn in there to wrap around.More text in the next post....
Last edited by pete324rocket; July 7th, 2014 at 06:06 PM.
July 7th, 2014, 05:25 PM
#9
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Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 71
There is a tacking strip all along the sides and hopefully yours is in good shape as was mine. I used a hand stapler to fasten as I stretched, pulling probably every staple out three times or more to get it right. Originally it was tacked with tacks and so I went after and did the same. It only takes one wild punch to the roof to ruin all your work so best to secure it well. An air brad nailer would have been nice, I did not have one. Of course contact cement in the front and back. It will eat perf. vinyl so be careful. Also it will not stick to smooth paint so sanding to metal may be needed. The chrome and other moldings are plenty wide in this car and will hide lots of the shortcomings.
Last picture....A request. I am in need of the rear spear stainless for this car , where you see on the passenger side. If any of you have a spare to sell at a reasonable price or trade,I have some nice spears for other models and other trim. Desert Valley Auto Parts wanted 120.00 for it which is pretty steep I figure unless it was perfect. Please check your collection...Bodywork on the list to do next after interior.
Last picture....A request. I am in need of the rear spear stainless for this car , where you see on the passenger side. If any of you have a spare to sell at a reasonable price or trade,I have some nice spears for other models and other trim. Desert Valley Auto Parts wanted 120.00 for it which is pretty steep I figure unless it was perfect. Please check your collection...Bodywork on the list to do next after interior.
Last edited by pete324rocket; July 7th, 2014 at 06:05 PM.
July 8th, 2014, 02:20 AM
#10
Frank Ignachuck
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Maynard, Massachusetts
Posts: 1,293
Just curious- My 56 Super 88 has a cotton nap headliner. The replacement that I bought was relatively easy to install (compared to the windlace). What models had the perforated vinyl? Was the vinyl an option?
July 8th, 2014, 03:51 AM
#11
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Posts: 71
Good question and I thought all the headliner material was perforated vinyl, but I suppose there might be other variations possible, but none that I have ever seen come to mind. I used to have a copy of a brochure that had swatches of all the materials available for the interior, but it went down when the hard drive it was on failed. Maybe someone has a copy. I just don't recall headliner material as being an option. It may not be original. To have a headliner last 50 years is pretty good considering the bows are bare metal and it rots the cotton sleeve that holds to whole issue in the air. And the only protection from rusting of the underside of the roof are those asphalt pads stuck there, that can fall down and rest on the bows.
July 8th, 2014, 05:21 AM
#12
Collector of Stray 55's
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: RI
Posts: 1,015
I have four '55s
Super 88 4 door sedan = cotton
Standard 88 2 door sedan = cotton
Standard 88 4 door hardtop "Holiday" = cotton
Super 88 4 door hardtop "Holiday" = Perforated vinyl.
Of these, the one with the perforated vinyl also has the chromed header bows on the inside while the rest have the regular hidden bows.
I think the ones that had the chrome bows (Super 88 two and four door hardtops) had the perforated vinyl headliners...at least that's what my sample size shows.
Super 88 4 door sedan = cotton
Standard 88 2 door sedan = cotton
Standard 88 4 door hardtop "Holiday" = cotton
Super 88 4 door hardtop "Holiday" = Perforated vinyl.
Of these, the one with the perforated vinyl also has the chromed header bows on the inside while the rest have the regular hidden bows.
I think the ones that had the chrome bows (Super 88 two and four door hardtops) had the perforated vinyl headliners...at least that's what my sample size shows.
July 8th, 2014, 10:16 AM
#13
To add to your sample size my '56 Standard 88 Holiday Coupe had perforated vinyl in it. If it had chrome bows they were taken before I became the owner. This car did spend some time in the junk yard. What holds the chrome bows in place? Maybe I can tell by the hardware? Also, my '56 Super 88 4-door sedan has cotton.
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