As far as fiberglass body manufacturing has come in the last 20 years, there is still one area that leaves something to be desired. Where steel bodies have all the tack strips and headliner bows for the upholstery to attach to, most fiberglass bodies do not. How to attach the material to the body is usually left up to the upholsterer and not something the average builder can do in their home garage. It involves a lot of measuring and planning and also requires quite a bit of experience to get the job done right. We recently followed along as Lance Troupe installed a headliner in a '36 Ford three-window coupe, starting with the bare shell of a body, installing all the required headers and bows to attach the material, and then the material itself. Follow along and learn how the pros stitch a truly custom headliner.
The first step in installing...
The first step in installing a headliner in a car with no provisions for attaching material is to build the header and attach panels...
...Here, Lance is starting...
...Here, Lance is starting with a rough template and is tracing the outside contour of the door opening.
Once the rough shape is traced...
Once the rough shape is traced out, it can be cut from the rest of the material and further shaped inside the car.
With the template in place,...
With the template in place, Lance trims the top parallel with the bottom...
...and trims a bit away from...
...and trims a bit away from the bottom to clear the windlace.
Once the fitment of the template...
Once the fitment of the template is sufficient, it's traced onto a piece of 1/8-inch Baltic Birch and cut out on the band saw.
The wood panel is then checked...
The wood panel is then checked for fitment over the door, with the area in the A-pillar and the curvature of the window carefully scrutinized.
Notice how the arch in the...
Notice how the arch in the panel follows the door perfectly. This will ensure a tight seal between the headliner, windlace, and door panel.
Since the body isn't flat...
Since the body isn't flat behind the panel, wooden blocks need to be affixed to the body so the panel has something to attach to. Again, Lance made a cardboard template and transferred the shape to a piece of wood to be cut to shape on the band saw.
Since Lance will be using...
Since Lance will be using fiberglass resin to attach the wood blocks, the area needs to be clean and free of foreign debris to allow the two surfaces to adhere correctly.
A small batch of resin was...
A small batch of resin was made up and the blocks glued into place.
After the blocks were allowed...
After the blocks were allowed ample drying time...
...they were sanded perfectly...
...they were sanded perfectly flush with the doorjamb so the headliner and door panel meet evenly.
Next, the panel is checked...
Next, the panel is checked once again for fitment and a little trimming was needed out of the A-pillar area.
A quick hit with the air ...
A quick hit with the air sander...
...and we're back in busi...
...and we're back in business.
Once the fitment of the panel...
Once the fitment of the panel is acceptable...
..it is drilled out to accept...
..it is drilled out to accept countersunk screws and attached to the wooden blocks.
With the foundation in place,...
With the foundation in place, now it's time to attach the tack strip that will ultimately hold the headliner in place. This piece replaces the perforated steel strip that would normally be found in gennie steel bodies.
Small staples hold the tack...
Small staples hold the tack strip in place along its entire length from one end of the panel to the other.
Here's the finished header...
Here's the finished header panel that will go over each door. The headliner will attach to the tack strip, while the wind lace will attach to the inside curve. A panel almost identical to this one will get covered in the same material as the interior and will cover the entire area to provide a seamless transition from headliner to door panel.
To ensure the shape of the...
To ensure the shape of the bottom of the headliner flows with the rear quarter of the roof, Lance made a lower panel for the headliner to attach to. This is where the headliner will meet the rear quarter-panels on each side and the carpet at the rear.
The other area that needs...
The other area that needs attention is around the rear window. The same approach used for the header panels over the doors will be used here. Wooden blocks are trimmed to fit and then glued into position.
Since the panel around the...
Since the panel around the rear window will be one piece and will completely surround the window, the blocks need to be parallel from one side to the other. This keeps the panel perfectly flat and prevents any twisting and cracking from occurring.
A cardboard template is made...
A cardboard template is made around the window opening and traced onto the same 1/8-inch Baltic Birch that Lance used over the doors. From there, it's cut out on the band saw and sanded smooth.
This time, instead of screwing...
This time, instead of screwing the panel to the wooden blocks, staples were used to ensure that they did not puncture the outer surface of the body.