So last night i was wondering if i could make my own headliner, so this morning i went to Hobby Lobby and looked thru their fabrics and this is what i came up with. 4 yds of felt like fabrick one spool of heavy duty strength string some sidewalk chalk that the chillens spot me. Pie spatula contact cement some time, which i have lots of right now. (on leave) before: As you can see its in a pretty sorry state, got tired of it dragging on my head. it was just falling apart, it was bad. take your measurements of the space between your bows and write them down to sow later. tear it all down be careful of the 60 year insulation... wear a mask! Once you have your measurements get your material and measure off the distance between the bows and sow away. i made the space for the bow to go thru an inch. once you stitch them all up, to install start with the middle bow and work your way to the front then the back and then tuck the sides in install your trim, lights ets.. and your done!! this is the finished product...Perfect? no, but not bad for 25 bones!!! worst case scenerio i'm out 25. enjoy.
Looks awesome, you can't beat it for $25! This is what hot rodding is all about it...doing it yourself, for cheap!
Thanks for sharing. I tried that once. My seams looked like tracks left by a drunken spider. Too keep passengers from noticing, I drove like a maniac so they were too busy holding on and cursing at me.
great job indeed, I tackle all kinds of projects but that and automatic transmissions, you made it look easy and thanks so much for your service
Jajaja I figured no one would catch it.. good one. Thanks for the kind words all! No worries, this flag flies for folks like you that inspires us every day. Raf
Sorry thommyknocker, i dont, but its pretty standard, i just whipped out the old standard SEWing mochine and went to town. the process i used was 1. measure the length of bow 2. mark with with the chalk (obviously on the side you wont see) 3. iron the chalk line to keep it from moving 4.line it up with the 1'' line on the sewing machine 5 about every arms length do a few back stitches to re-enforce the stitching. repeat, in my case about 7 times!!! im telling you brudda, it was that easy. just take your time and get some sharp scissors and razor blades to cut the excess. easy cheezy yapaneesey! enjoy Raf
Raf, unbelievably good job. I guess if you're gonna work on a budget you gotta know how to do everything. The wife's gonna be pissed when I drag out her sewing machine, but it beats the hell out of $2-300 for a headliner guy.
thanks all just a few tips: 1.choosing the material is important, dont choose too heavy of a material. 2. choose a good thread, one of heavy doody. 3. make sure it's wide enough, and long enough. For a 50 ford 4 door i used 4 yards. 4. get some good contact cement, not the 3m spray any old brand liquid type will work. post your pics when you're done! good luck
The first headliner I ever helped with was a friend's 54 Plymouth 2door when I was in the Coast Guard. We went to the local Chevy dealer which had an in-house upholstery shop for materials and advice. The guy there supplied us with oem style headliner material, the bow loops, and a 30-minute rundown on removal and installation. My friend's wife sewed the 'liner with her home Singer and it went in just like yours. Cut from the pattern of the original too. Great job explaining and illustrating a job that is so simple, yet so important. SALUTE!
Now thats cool! I'm inspired to get crackin on my '49 project. Good memories for the little helper guy too. Thanks for posting.....
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