Me and my wife are working on a 1953 Super, we are doing the interior right now and got stuck on the headliner. We will craft the headliner ourself, the problem is that when we got the car last year there wasn't a headliner in the car, we only got the bows taped together. I have not seen this type of bows before, they are curved like an "S" in one end like they always are but in the other end they are just flat. If anybody has info on how the headliner i supposed to be mounted we would really appreciate the help. And also if someone has any pictures of how it should look around the edges with trim and such, please post them here
The straight end goes toward the passenger side. It originally had clips that screwed to the car holding the end. There should be one bow with no bends that goes onto teeth that are on the center roof support. How many bows? My 54 belair that I am doing now has 8. It is a 2dr , I made the patterns because I also got it without a headliner. I sewed it yesterday and will put it in today . It should work , I have 50 years experience . If all is right, it won't take long. Let me know if you could use any help.
Aha, so there should be clips on one side, that explains alot. I was worried that it was the wrong bows for this car. I have 7 bows for this car, also have 4 thinner bows that are wavey and 4 bows that are half the width of the other 7 and much thinner that i have no idea what its for but that might sort itself out when mounting. Thanks alot! Now i just have to find a descent picture of a complete and mounted headliner and im good to go
I cannot speak for the 53 but my 51 Special 2 dr bows had a curl at one end of the bow that resides in holes drilled on one side. The other side of the bows were round and made their way into a clip that allowed for the bow to be moved up or down for adjustments. That clip then received a screw to fasten and keep it in place. Make sure the material you use is light weight and is perforated. I found out the hard way that because I used a pleated vinyl that had a backing. I ended up needing to add reinforcement because with the windows down it acted like a large sail and the bows were not up for the weight.
Thank you very much for your answer. Your Pictures helps alot . Good tip, we were about to use a vinyl with backing that we had lying around the workshop but now we will order some perforated material instead . Do you have any idea if i can buy those clips somewhere or do i have to make them myself?
Not sure if you are aware or not but you will need to sew listings in to receive the bows. I went for a custom look but if I ever do it again I will choose an interior color combination that allows me to use a pre-made headliner. There is a company called Bob's Automobilia that carries headliners for Buicks. You may want to check it out and see if there is a color that works with your interior. The hassle of the pattern, listings, and not having a template was the hardest and most time consuming part of the interior for me. It also is the part that has the most flaws. I had never done it before so I am sure you will get through it. I made the mistake of ripping out the headliner (or at least what was left of it) and so had no pattern to work with. I did take photos and saved the bows and recorded their position front to back. In that regard I had it easier than you. Heat gun (but be very, very careful) and lots and lots of patience. As far as the bow clips I think they are the same as Chevy. Check out some of the old Chevy parts sites. I bet they have them.
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