Headliner - replacing the backer board

[marcd]

I know headliners have been talked to death, but i haven't been able to find an answer to this. Due to the PO leaving the roof rack holes exposed, my headliner is shot (the actual board, not just the fabric). I know I can get the material at any fabric store, but where can I get the actual board? I saw a post recently that said the dealers don't have them - Is this true? Others have talked about fabbing replacements, but has anyone actually done this? I want it to be as similar to stock as possible (So, NO, I am not going to put shag carpeting or mirrors on the ceiling)

[AMX factor]

As long as the backer boards are not in too terrible of shape so you can lay them onto new material and retrace the shape. Head to Home Depot or Lowe's and find yourself some cheap wood paneling, lexan or something to that effect. You just need something that will bend slightly to get up over the edges of the interior roof rails. While the headliner is out weld or fiberglass those holes up!

[shadowjeep]

hey marcd, i have a headliner from my 87GW that i dont plan on re-using. it has a little bit of a sag in the middle and no material covering it. its just gettin in the way right now. if you want it, we can work something out. let me know.

[marcd]

Thanks Rick, sent you a PM.

AMX Factor - Have you fabbed a new headliner yourself? The reason I ask is, it seems there are seams on each side of the board where the sides are almost folded down (hard to tell because mine is so fudged up). It might be that it is more like an arc, but mine is just collapsing from the water damage. But it seems like it is shaped like this:

`````_______________________________
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(Ignore the commas, they're just to make the drawing work)
as opposed to just an arc across the roof.

[Matthew W. Woodruff]

I am in the middle of the same project myself. On my '89 the headliner board is just corrugated cardboard; not particularly heavy-duty, but it does have creases molded into it in an arc-shape like you said.

If you want to get as close to stock as possible, I would go to an automotive upholstery shop and get them to make one from your old panels.

[marcd]

Took off the headliner today - Thankfully, the water only damaged the cardboard - no ceiling rust smile.gif I noticed the cardboard has a white layer sandwiched in between, so I don't think I can use plain cardboard. I saw some panel insulation at Home Depot, but it was 1/2 inch thick. Nice and sturdy, but don't think it will work. I'll probably use that poster board that is foam sandwiched between two layers of paper. I think I can score one side and fold it to make the crease without weakening the board.

By the way, I saw some foil backed fiberglass insulation I was thinking about putting between the headliner and ceiling. Can anyone think of a reason not to use fiberglass?

[wn]

Originally posted by marcd:
Took off the headliner today - Thankfully, the water only damaged the cardboard - no ceiling rust smile.gif I noticed the cardboard has a white layer sandwiched in between, so I don't think I can use plain cardboard. I saw some panel insulation at Home Depot, but it was 1/2 inch thick. Nice and sturdy, but don't think it will work. I'll probably use that poster board that is foam sandwiched between two layers of paper. I think I can score one side and fold it to make the crease without weakening the board.

By the way, I saw some foil backed fiberglass insulation I was thinking about putting between the headliner and ceiling. Can anyone think of a reason not to use fiberglass?The best reason not to use the fiberglass insulation is if it gets wet, it will be soggy (maybe put some plastic above it to keep it dry). I used old foam carpet padding on my 75 cherokee and it worked well. I used spray glue to secure it to the roof. My old headliner had mouse holes in it and I patched it with spackling compound and painted it with vinyl paint....Looks new. The trick to dealing with the sag, is to get the two pieces together with the strip holding them evenly on both sides.

I would find me an old headliner at a junk yard.

[Sbonley]

I haven't tried this yet myself but I was thinking of using foam core. a little more solid than cardboard but just as easy to form and handle.

[Sitting Bull]

These cardboard panels are easily repaired even with lots of water damage. As long as there are no signifigant holes in the cardboard, you should be able to repair it.

Just get some wooden lath strips at Home Depot. Glue these wooden strips to the back side of the cardboard at about 16" OC. Use a good glue like liquid nails and it will be fine. It's best to lay the headliner on the garage floor (previously fabric side down), add your strips, lay a piece of plywood on it, and weight the plywood. Just make sure you don't glue the "vertical" sides of the headliner to the lath.

Mine was in terrible condition, and this $10 fix worked perfect.

[River Beast]

Originally posted by Sitting Bull:
These cardboard panels are easily repaired even with lots of water damage. As long as there are no signifigant holes in the cardboard, you should be able to repair it.

Just get some wooden lath strips at Home Depot. Glue these wooden strips to the back side of the cardboard at about 16" OC. Use a good glue like liquid nails and it will be fine. It's best to lay the headliner on the garage floor (previously fabric side down), add your strips, lay a piece of plywood on it, and weight the plywood. Just make sure you don't glue the "vertical" sides of the headliner to the lath.

Mine was in terrible condition, and this $10 fix worked perfect.AWESOME IDEA!!! I wish I thought of that before I trashed the boards.. :mad:

[Matthew W. Woodruff]

Does anyone know if the hole for the cargo light on a 1989 is the same size/shape as on earlier models?

In other words, can you use a 1988 and earlier rear headliner board in a 1989 and later?