Wanted - Headliner for 1947 Ford 5 Passenger Coupe

[dpeeler]

Looking for a source for a new, pre-sewn factory grey headliner.... or maybe an upholstery shop that could make one. We're located in the Charlotte, North Carolina area.

 

Thanks for any leads!

 

David

Waxhaw, NC

[19tom40]

Any competent upholstery shop can make you a headliner. You can also buy a pre-sewn headliner from many sources, just do a google search or look in Hemmings. Eckler and SMS fabrics are two suppliers. Some people are satisfied and others are not.

[dpeeler]

I have not tried Eckler or SMS but will. With the mixed reviews here, I was hoping for someone that seemed to be a "go to favorite". Thanks for the reply! David 

[Bloo]

Acme Headliner was the go-to for headliners when I was doing auto trim work in the early 80s. They were wholesale only at the time, but in the pre-internet age, so was everyone else. I have heard conflicting reports whether they will sell to end users now. I don't know. They are still in business, there was even a thread recently where someone located in Europe was trying to buy an Acme product. In the 80s, the cloth or vinyl used would have been generic, but a close match for many cars. If something was needed using specific cloth for a show quality restoration though, and they didn't happen to have it, it might still be worth exploring whether you could send them yardage. They seem to have patterns for *everything*.

 

 

[dpeeler]

Given the holiday weekend, I have sent emails to Eckler, SMS and Acme requesting info. I had hoped I could at least get the cloth fabric and have a local shop sew/install. Any suggestions are most welcome. Thanks!

[Bloo]

Oh you probably can, but it is likely to cost more and might not come out as well. Depending on the cloth you choose, it might be your only option. My experience is from decades ago, and it pales compared to some other folks in here. so maybe you'll get some different opinions. In my opinion though headliners are unbelievably annoying things to make. If I could get Acme to do it, I would be all over that. 

 

I don't recall ever putting one in a 46-48 Ford coupe, but most headliners of the era are held up with steel bows running through cloth sleeves. The seams are not only holding the 2 pieces of headliner cloth together, but also the 2 layers duck cloth that make up the sleeve. That's 4 layers minimum that you are sewing while keeping the line absolutely straight and the cross section of the sleeve absolutely uniform. Any teeny tiny miss, 1 or 2 mm in any direction on any of the pieces of cloth results in a wobbly line when installed. I'll bet Acme's machines have some kind of attachment on them that does it all automatically.