[drewhelm]

I need to put as headliner in my 69 firebird as there is not one now. I know first gen f-bodies came with header bows to hold up the headliner. How hard would it be to put in a customer headliner without bows?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

khelm@reliant.com

[horvath]

Usually the bows hold the headliner up, at the seams of the headliners panels. Without bows, how would you keep the headliner from sagging?

Alan Horvath
http://AlanHorvath.com/
Acoustic Rock ... for real.

[drewhelm]

That's why I asked the question......newer cars, trucks, and SUVs don't have headliner bows in them and the headliner stays up.

I'm looking for alternative methods for headliners......

Any help is appreciated.

[awsum34]

The new headliners are covered fiberglass material. There held up by the sun visor, coat hooks and dome light. and in the rear corners they have panels holding it up. Most of there wiring are taped or glued on top of the headliner.

[dk01_99]

putting in headliners is a very difficult task, i put one in on my 70 chevelle. i heard that if you do it on a hot day its easier, leave the headliner out in the open for a while so it gets warm and can stretch a little, or i suppose you can use a hair dryer or something to heat it, because you WILL need to stretch it

[horvath]

I installed a headliner on my nephew's '69 Dart ... some pro's saw it and said they'd never seen a better job done. It was the second time I had done a headliner ... first time was back in 1969 when I did my '54 Ford 2-door Ranch Wagon. It had bows. The original headliner was in total shambles ... I took it apart at the seams, numbered the pieces, and used them as patterns. Put in soft leather ... with "hem-pieces" sewn into each seam, I slid the bows (rods) into place and installed it ... then tucked all the edges under the moldings ... and presto! It came out gorgeous.

I love doing interiors. My present set of wheels (pictured in my avatar) is a '54 Chevy pickup I just procured 3 weeks ago! Man am I happy! Anyway, the interior surprised me because it's COMPLETELY covered! Roof, top-back corners, behind the seat - everywhere. It's all button-tufted, but old looking. I haven't dug in on it yet (waiting for Spring weather to hit) but it looks to me like it's all done with molded panels and I guess I'll just have to remove what's on those panels and put it all back.

I'm wondering if you can find a headliner panel for your project? Then all you'd have to do is cover it with whatever turns you on.

Alan