Let’s talk about headliners

[Retoxtony]

It looks like I’m going to have to replace my factory headliner. Last winter when I started to work on my interior I recovered the original with the same plaid material that was used for my seat. I love the way it looks but it’s starting to sag a little in a few places already.

The question is who makes a good quality one that fits nice and will hold up? LMC seems to have them but some of their parts don’t seem to have the best fit.

Theres a parts place a few hours from me that sells just the plastic headliner and you have to cover it yourself. I’m tempted to go that way so I could use the plaid material again but I’m not sure if that will last or it’ll be sagging again.

 

[SirRobyn0]

Other guys with more headliner experience will likely come along after me, but I'll tell you what I know and hopefully it'll help.

The most common reason a new headliner sags, when reusing the old board, is to much "loose stuff" old glue padding ect still on the board. You may have done a good job gluing up the new fabric but that "old loose stuff" doesn't hold and pretty soon it's sagging. It's the same reason why regluing a headliner while it's still in place is typically only a temp fix.

So what you need is either a new board or to get the old one clean. For glue your going to get mixed advise. I like to use a brush on contact cement I don't care about brand, as long as it'll take heat and moisture after it's dry. Last time I used plain old DAP brush on contact cement from HD because it was what I had on hand and it's holding just fine. I never seem to be able to get enough spray glue in place, so for me brush on.

That's it. There is no reason you can't get the plaid material up there if you glue it good and have a good clean board.

Now I will also say most of my experience involves gluing carpet to things not actually headliners so take it for what it's worth. I have no doubt the plaid stuff will work just fine though.

 

[Retoxtony]

When i did the plaid material on mine I spent hours scraping old glue and material off the old one but I know I didn’t get it all off, which is what I assume caused the sagging I’m starting to see now. I did use some stuff that is sold as headliner glue and is meant to hold up to the heat it sees. I always knew it would be a temporary thing but I was hoping it would last more than a year.

The easy thing and what I’ll probably do is buy a new headliner thats already covered.

 

[FireTruck1984]

It looks like I’m going to have to replace my factory headliner. Last winter when I started to work on my interior I recovered the original with the same plaid material that was used for my seat. I love the way it looks but it’s starting to sag a little in a few places already.

The question is who makes a good quality one that fits nice and will hold up? LMC seems to have them but some of their parts don’t seem to have the best fit.

Theres a parts place a few hours from me that sells just the plastic headliner and you have to cover it yourself. I’m tempted to go that way so I could use the plaid material again but I’m not sure if that will last or it’ll be sagging again.

Read the thread ”LMC Headliner question” theres a lot of good information there
@Albrigap posted this reply

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[ulm4lyf]

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[Scott91370]

I have the LMC and it fit great! The only issue I had with it was my fault (mostly). The holes for the visors and interior light are cut in the plastic backing but not in the liner material. Not thinking I matched the cut out that was already there. Well, the hole for the light was WAY TOO BIG. Luckily I was covering it with another material to match my seats so it wasn't a huge deal. Using the gorilla headliner glue (and instructions) I just put a layer over the faberic and it has been good for over a year now.

 

[midwest]

I too just got around to installing an LMC headliner I bought last year. The first one I bought, the factory holes in the plastic for the visors was way to small. I didn't want to try to cut them out so I called them and they sent me a new one after seeing the pictures. The opening for the doom light was a fraction of an inch too big. Enough to bother me but most wouldn't notice it. Other than that it went in fairly easy. I had also ordered all new interior trim from LMC and a new dash, it cam from California not LMC, and new carpet from Rock Auto (ACC carpet). Overall everything went in pretty smooth considering it's all aftermarket. I only had to drill a couple new holes for the trim pieces, most lined up perfectly.
In this pic you can see the area in the front of the dome light were it didn't quite match up. Other than that it seems to be good quality.

You must be registered for see images attach

Here is an overall shot after I got everything done.

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[Retoxtony]

That looks really good. I think I’ll be ordering a cloth covered one from LMC and hope it fits. I have some other interior pieces I need that I can only find at LMC so I might as well get it all in one place.

 

[FireTruck1984]

That looks really good. I think I’ll be ordering a cloth covered one from LMC and hope it fits. I have some other interior pieces I need that I can only find at LMC so I might as well get it all in one place.

TruckShop has them Covered or Uncovered

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[BMac Attack]

I just replaced my headliner. I used the old board as it was in decent shape. I spent time getting all the old crud off the board so the glue would have a solid surface to stick to. I used 3M 77 spray on adhesive from Lowe’s. I used a whole bottle which felt like too much but I’m glad I did because it didn’t soak through. The only cost I had was the adhesive. Had this fleece blanket in the house. Absolutely love it. Oh yeah, I put killmat on the ceiling first.

 

[Ontheboulder]

I just got done re covering mine in my 87.I used the permatex headliner spray glue,used 2 cans,cleaned and scraped all the old stuff off then shop vac any dust off. I used 3 coats of glue on both the backing and the fabric.after it dried I used upholstery pins to put thru the fabric and the backing to make sure it won't sag

 

[midwest]

I ordered my dash from the truck shop, just make sure you call them. Their online catalog prices are not real accurate, I don't think they update it too often. If you search on line for the 81-87 dash pads, they still show 239.00. They are 350.00 when you go to order one.

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[Rickf]

My plastic/ABS headliner w/o any fabric came from LMC, fit was ok. The holes for visors were a little small, nothing a dremel couldn't fix. I used a dynamat type insulation and gorilla double stick tape, Six years later it's still up.

 

[waterpirate]

I ordered my dash from the truck shop, just make sure you call them. Their online catalog prices are not real accurate, I don't think they update it too often. If you search on line for the 81-87 dash pads, they still show 239.00. They are 350.00 when you go to order one.

You must be registered for see images attach

Keep us posted on the fitment of that dash pad. Everyone seems to have the dreaded issue on the drivers side corner.
Eric

 

[midwest]

Which drivers side issue are you talking about. Overall I am very happy with the fitment of mine. Took some trimming which I expected after watching some videos...