'37 Chev coupe headliner ??????

[Wogden]

I am helping rebuild a 37 coupe and we are struggling with how to fasten the new headliner to the area above and around the door opening. There is an old tack strip there so that would imply that the liner is tacked to this area and then the windlace would be tacked on. This leaves an ugly area around the door with the tacks in sight. Later cars I have worked on had a pinch strip that you pushed the liner up into providing a smooth look from the outside. This car came to us completely apart and stripped so we did not have the ability to see first hand the old treatment.

Can someone tells us what is done today to hide the tacks from sight?

[poci1957]

Looks like you can buy a 1937 Chevrolet Fisher Body Manual for about $20 that would cover that, I just saw several on Ebay. There is no way they would have left exposed tacks originally, there may have been a metal garnish molding with little "teeth" for the windlace to grip to or something. Good luck, Todd

[jpage]

In most cases and I'm not real familiar with Chevrolet, the headliner was tacked to a tack strip above the doors and qtr. windows. The upholstered interior panels then met the headliner and was finished off with a "Hydem welt''. This welt is tacked on over the seam where the headliner and panels meet and then a flap is folded over to hide the nails. The windlace goes only around the door openings and the tack flap is hidden under the upholstered interior panels. Hydem is avail.from Hampton Coach in the appropriate colors for Chevy. In some early Fords upholstery panels were nailed directly to the tack strips with small head nails and the fabric was then pulled out over the nail head with a pin to hide the nail. Some cars will also have metal grip strips in places to hold upholstery.