1966 coupe headliner

[Donald H.]

I though my headliner was original to my car. The headliner is glued to the roof and does not have a molded shell between it and the roof. It looks very good and I was planning to just leave it alone during the restoration.

A friend says that it is not original and should be glued to a molded shell and held in place by tension and the molding clips along edge of the roof line above the door windows.

The TIM&JG says they were glued.

Which is correct?

Thanks,

[Mike T.]

Re: 1966 coupe headliner

Don - Are you positive your headliner isn't glued to a shell and it's just 'stuck' up against the roof of your coupe? The 65 Coupe headliner is just a textured shell, in 66 the shell had a vinyl over foam cover that was glued to the shell. Typically the original foam lets go and you'll start to see the vinyl sag. Your friend is correct, it's supposed be a shell up there. If there was no shell used, you should see that fore/aft 'V' depression in your headliner which corresponds to the raised 'V' rib on the top of your Coupe roof. Hope that isn't too confusing.

[Donald H.]

Re: 1966 coupe headliner

Yes, we looked closely. I'll look along the center line again to see if there is any telegraphing of the the roof ridge.

By the way, both the 66 and 67 TIM&JG read as follows, "Original headliners are constructed of soft padded vinyl with a smooth grain, color matched to the seat and glued to the roof."

This comment lead me to believe mine was possibly original. But I'll check closer.

Thanks,

[Mike T.]

Re: 1966 coupe headliner

Don - This is a pic of the roof of my 65 Coupe. The headliner 'shell' fits inside that outside raised steel ridge. Adding a vinyl covered foam material without the shell would mean it had 'steps' and wouldn't look flat.

Here's a shot of the roof in my 66 Coupe after I added the Dynamat. You can just make out the crease of that 'V' in the center. Once the headliner shell is in place, there's actually a gap between it and the actual underside of the roof on a Coupe.

[Donald H.]

Re: 1966 coupe headliner

Thanks Mike,

Mine is definitely glued to the room. Attached a picture, but it's was hard to get the camera to focus on the headliner. I can see the room ridge reflected in the headliner.

Oh well, another interior piece to order. My car was dark blue interior per trim tag. Someone in the past had converted to black, mostly. Rear carpet was still dark blue and the kick panels. So I'm having to purchase complete new interior. Quite expensive!!

[Mike T.]

Re: 1966 coupe headliner

Don - Looks like it's glued where you'd expect the shell/foam vinyl to be. Can't tell for sure but is that material sorta fabric looking as opposed to shiny/smooth vinyl? This isn't a very good pic but maybe it'll show the 'glossy-ness' of the original style vinyl for a 66.

[Steven B.]

Re: 1966 coupe headliner

I'm not sure about the earlier headliners, but the 67 (and I believe 66) were a shell with about an 1/8 inch foam between the headliner material and the shell. The common problem is for the foam to deteriorate over time and let the headliner material fall away from the shell and sag. Someone may have a more definitive answer but I believe that earlier headliners were similar except they did not have the foam and the 67 shell is molded to fit the shape of the sunvisors. Replacement is fairly easy although I know of some who have had to make some slight cuts to the edges above the door. Reason being is that the headliner was not glued to the roof. It was initially held loosely in place with four small sheet metal tabs welded to the cage until the interior trim pieces were screwed into place. The trim pieces are what actually hold the headliner in place. What was done prior to 67, I am not positive about but I do know that my headliner was original to the car and needed replacing due to foam deterioration. It was easy and I did not have to trim the shell or liner to get it up and on top the the tabs as some have had to do.

Steve