40 Special sedan headliner

[RiKi5156B]

Hi gang. Got an issue with an interior I had installed in a 40 special 4dr sedan. The upholstery guy did the job in black/red vinyl in a very nice rolled pleated pattern of my choosing. Everything is done up to the point where the headliner tucks into the area just above the doors. The shop guy got to that point and for some reason got drunk and told me my car was at the curb come and get it! I still owed $1550 but he said and signed my receipt paid in full. So now the headliner is in with all the bows and needs to be fastened around the perimeter. I can figure out the area at the front and rear windows but over the sides above the doors I’m not sure. There has to be a way to staple or nail it so the nails/staples don’t show. Anyone do this before? This is the last area to finish and the interior will be done. Thanks.

[Bloo]

It is probably one of two methods.

 

In the first, the windlace and headliner are tacked down. and then a piece of "wire-on" is tacked on, The wire-on folds over and covers the tacks. The end result looks like the car has two pieces of windlace running parallel.

 

In the second, there would be toothed metal strips that the edge tucks under and gets caught in the hooks. The windlace tacks on, the metal strip screws on (a little further up), and then the edge of the headliner gets stretched/hooked under and tucked with a headliner tool or a broad flat knife.

 

Find some pictures of cars like yours, and see whether it looks like one piece of windlace or two.That will tell the story.

Edited January 27, 2020 by Bloo (see edit history)

[Bloo]

In this 41 Limited, you can see the two parallel pieces of "windlace" over the door. The lower one is actual windlace, and the upper one is wire-on. The windlace continues around the door, while the wire-on diverges and stays along the edge of the headliner.

 

 

 

Wire-on is tacked in place, then folded over on top of itself to cover the tacks. The wire makes it stay folded. PFitz posted a bunch of pictures of wire-on in this thread:

 

 

Edited January 27, 2020 by Bloo (see edit history)

[39BuickEight]

Hopefully he already has the materials for it.

 

The windlace was originally stapled to a cork-like strip that has likely, and hopefully, been replaced.  That runs the entire length of the roof.

 

All that said it sounds like your interior is customized.  In that case, you can of course use whatever you like in place of the wire-on windlace.  Hidem is a cheap alternative than comes in all colors.

 

 

[RiKi5156B]

The cork type strips are all new. I got a reel of barbed type material that will screw to the roof rail. Looks like a fold under type which will hide itself with headliner. Giving it a test try today.