Newbie - How I installed a headliner in my Bus...explained

[novetti]

Hi Guys.

First of all I would like to thank you all the people here, especially John Moxon who sent some pictures of his bus headliner when I asked for them. After studying those very carefully, I finally took the plunge to make my first ever, Headliner installation. Thanks John!!!
Also I gladful for Barry Lynn when we exchanged a couple e-mails a long time ago also regarding headliner install.

For those who are afraid in doing it, but are over the fence thinking if they should try or take the bus to a professional to have installed for few hundred dollars, this post may encourage them to take the plunge and try. You can get suprised and proud with your own results.

I made my headliner from scratch, not from a TMI, WW or similar. I bought the perforated fabric, measured, cut, sewn etc.

I made new cardboards for the bus front. This I carefully glued in the fabric in the exact place, from the measurements taken from the air vent in the roof. then I slid then in the slide pockets.

I wanted to have a full headliner, not sectioned in the edges of the cardboard. So in the back edge of the cardboard I left he fabric ungled, and screwed the cardboard in place with the panel screws ans washers. The fabric would cover those later on when the headliner would be brought and fitted in the back part of the roof.

From the pictures John Moxon sent to me, I took the decision to install a wood shim covered in fabric in both sides and rear edge, to hold the headliner ends firmly locked in the bus.

The back pockets sewn in the headliner are very important. They must have the same height as the traversal roof beams from the bus roof, so the headliner installed hides the roof beams and it`s not touching them either, and the headliner doesn`t get pulled up when installing later the courtesy roof lights.The pockets can be made in a lighter cotton/poly fabric, and are reliefed in the rod edges so the edge of the perforated fabric and be pulled down and locked.

When streching the fabric toward the back, It`s very important to make sure the ``pull`` is even in both sides, otherwise the fabric will get crumbled. I firstly locked it firm in the back, then I glued/installed the wood shim in both sides, one by one.

A heatgun is very usefull to remove the small wrinkles, and only the small one can be removed with this. If you got a big wrinkles, or the fabric is loose excessively, you need to stretch it more towards the back/sides.
In this picture is a good example a wrinkle size than can be removed with heating. Do take care to not overheat and burn/ruin the headliner.

That`s it. I`m very happy with the results. Headlining is very tricky, but if you have enough patience you can do it. Took us (me and my brother) about 12 hours to sew, measure, cut and install it. For newbies it wasn`t bad at all. A few other pictures in the Kombi galleries. Enjoy.

Cheers,
Julio

[Braukuche]

Making your own headliner? As if installing it isn't enough of a challenge. You, my friend, are a maniac and I say that with all respect due to someone who has taken on all aspects of reconstructing their Bus. It looks great, BTW.
--Dan

[VWBobby]

Awesome write-up! Looks pretty nice, especially for your first time! This comes at a perfect time because I'm getting ready to do my headliner sometime in the next month.

I have a couple of questions.. Did you use steel rods for the bows? I know it said you used a couple of wood bows, but I see a lot of the seams like the factory ones that have steel rods passing through the pockets... Just curious.

What did you use for insulation and how is it attached to the roof?

Thanks in advance!
-Bobby

[novetti]

Thanks Dan!

Bobby, I'm sure you can do it!
Actually I used brass tube of the bows, 1/4'' diameter. I couldn't find a steel tube with the same OD, that's why I used brass tubes. I think the correct bow OD is somewhere 1/4'', because anything bigger would be too hard for bending, and anything smaller would not be strong enough to support the fabric weight.
I made/used wood purflings wrapped in the same fabric (10x20mm) to fix the headliner edges in the rear and sides. I uploaded another picture that you can see it in detail.

WWest has a plasting beading that locks the headliner edges in the upper channel. As I couldn't get that beading for me (as I'm in Brazil, and I avoid to bring goodies from abroad because customs/duty here are terrible). I already some some buses when this plastic beading gets brittle and loose along time, so to avoid it I opted for those wood purflings, as the same solution in Moxon's Bus Headliner.

The insulation is glued in the roof with a professional automotive goop we have here in Brazil. Very strong stuff. This bus could flip that the insulation would reamain attached to the roof.

Julio

[zozo]

You, my friend, are extraordinarily talented. If you were in Texas, I pay you to do mine.

Very, very, nice job. You should be, and I'm sure you are, extremely proud of what you've accomplished.

Bravo!!

[Bryan67]

Very impressive!
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[_monkey_]

Where did you find the fabric? Did John provide you with a pattern to follow?

That is very nice work.

[novetti]

Thanks Bryan and Zozohead ! It would be cool if I could be around to help you out install a headliner.

There is an especiallized fabric retailer here in Sao Paulo, Brazil, where they have the most sought after materials for automotive upholstery. Most of them to newer cars. This perforated headliner fabric was used in all Beetles and some 70's and early 80's fords too. Actually it was quite cheap, about 2 dollars for a meter of fabric (width of 1300mm).

John only sent me pictures of his bus headliner. In his bus, the front section uses cardboards too, but is sectioned from the back. The back was installed first, with the fabric been glued up to the first roof beam right behind the air vent. So they installed the front cardboards wrapped in the fabric, screwing them in the roof beam (the screws are over the fabric in that section). For me this transition from the front section/air vent/back section was the most misterious thing, but from what I found it wasn't a big deal.

Cheers!

[EverettB]

First, awesome job detailing the process in the Gallery. Thanks for doing that and creating this thread. It looks like it came out great.

Looking at this photo:

[novetti]

Thanks Everett.

The internal deflectors are already screwed in. I'm only missing the middle mechanism, as I also need to buy a new adjust level because the original one is in terrible shape.

[jmo2255]

Hi all,

First of all bravo for tackling what seems to be the most intimidating job of doing your own headliner. Great results and great info, thanks.

I am planning to purchase and restore a 57' to 61' Kombi or Standard, havent found "the one" or decided yet but getting close.

Anyways my question is can a full headliner be installed in a Kombi or are the side flanges different and incompatable?

aloha, jmo

[EverettB]

Kombis don't have all the clamps on the sides and around the center air vent to hold a fabric headliner in place.
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[johnnyniceguy]

This is one awsome undertaking. Has anyone documented their installation recently that they could share? How about a video?

[davidmelton]

Fantastic!