lonestarjarhead

I'm building a 55 S-88 coupe that came to me with no headliner, bows or anything else in the top of the car. My question concerns installing a new headliner with the chrome top bows. Do all of the bow rods that are normally in the coupe go in, plus the chrome bows hold up the fabric? There is a cardboard strip in some of my chrome bows that appears to have been sewn onto the headliner, then slipped into the groove on the bows. anyone have experience with this part of restoration. Thanks.

Rocketowner

There's a You Tube Video from Ciadella Interiors that shows the basic of headliner installation on a '56 Chevrolet 2dr. Sedan that might be helpful. Of course it don't contain info about installing the chrome bows, because 2 dr. Sedans didn't have them.
Maybe you can find that information for('55-'57 Bel Air) on one of the Chevrolet forums. Just read on Tri Five Chevrolet forum that you order your headliner for one with chrome bows and it comes with cardboard strips attached to the lower side for the chrome bows to attach to ,plus there are screws at each end that's covered by the wide chrome above the windows.

Larry

Andreas.Johansson

I did a new headliner in my 53 S-88 coupe lastwinter… it’s pretty straight forward and as you write both the bow rods and thechrome bows are slipped in.
The new headliner comes with a cardboardstrip sewed in were you slip in the chrome bows before you start theinstallation.

Eightbanger

I need to do this in mine also, did you have someone do it for you, or was it something that you were able to do yourself ?

And by the way Andreas, I had my sons girlfriend translate something for me
Jag gillar verkligen stilen på din Oldsmobile

Andreas.Johansson

Hi

I did the installation of headliner by myself actuallywithout any helping hands except for some 20 binder clips. You need a lot of patient and a strong back but mine ended up almost 100% wrinkle free.
On the coupe there is long chrome trimsgoing along the hole side of the headliner, the trim covers a couple of inchesso you can “hide” some material in there, on a four door I guess it sitstogether with the door lining? I believe the sedans are harder to get nice and wrinklefree due to these liners?

You really surprised me with some Swedishwords, sometimes the world is a lot smaller then you think…
Jag blir glad att se att detfinns flera 53års modell av Oldsmobile, I Sverige kanske vi har ett tiotaltotalt.