Before I get st art e d h ere is something I neglected to mention. To attach the trim panels to the doors, qu art er panel structure, and cowl area I used plastic push in clips. These are the same style clips GM has used for years to attach door panels. These come from Crest Industries, # 15866, and are attached to the panel by drilling 5/16-inch holes in the panels (and the door frame) spaced about six inches ap art , then pushing the clips through the holes. 

Next on the list is the headliner. The important thing to understand is that this headliner isn’t like the one in your Toyota . It doesn’t fall down after removing a few screws. Once installed it is in the car forever. That means any wiring for a dome light, speakers, or anything else you might want overhead must be done beforehand.

Here is the completed frame work for the new headliner. Eventually this frame work will be covered with cardboard, foam and vinyl material to form the new headliner. Notice that the wires for the dome light have already been routed.

To make this frame work I st art ed by cutting new headliner bows from half inch plywood. Each one is cut about two inches wide an d h ave been shaped to fit the contour of the roof panel. Originally these bows woul d h ave been made of metal rods and woul d h ave extended across the width of the roof at various intervals. The original headliner woul d h ave been attached to the rods the same way curtains are attached to curtain rods and stretched across the roof panel. My headliner will be glued and stapled into place using these wooden bows as support.

Referring back to the first pic of the roof notice that I added qu art er inch thick plywood strips lengthwise on the roof to help position and secure the cross bows. Also notice the square piece of half inch thick plywood near the center of the roof. This is the mounting platform for the dome light. Finally, notice that I added additional qu art er inch thick plywood strips around the back glass opening and between the qu art er glass openings and the rear sail panels. I needed extra support in these areas to provide attachment points for the cardboard base panels to be added later. Everything you see here has either been glued (Eastwood # 520001zp) and stapled together using one inch long staples or screwed to the metal frame work of the car using one inch, # 8 sheet metal screws.

The next step is to add more insulation to the car. I’m using the same recycled foam rebond material I used to insulate the firewall earlier. It is glued into place on the roof panel using 3M # 8090 Super Trim Adhesive (520001zp).

Because I’m a novice at this I’m not going to attempt to install a full headliner. Most fabrics and vinyl materials come in fifty four-inch wide rolls and I need about eighty inches to span the entire width of my roof. In order to accomplish that feat I would need to sew two pieces of vinyl together.

To get around the need for sewing I’ll break this headliner into three separate sections, a left side, a right side, and a center section. The right and left sides will be covered with the light gray vinyl material and the center section will be covered with the dark gray vinyl. The result will be a somewhat dramatic effect and no one will ever suspect my inability to sew a straight line.

Project provided by:

Larry Lyles, owner

LPL Body Works

Amarillo, TX

www.LPLBodyWorks.com