Willys Wagon Headliner Replacement Project

Ooo and it looks like you were able to update your tatoos at the same mall..

Looking forward to the finished pics.
 
I called the shop today and they said it won’t be ready tomorrow. I was a bit shocked. I absolutely have to have it Friday — there’s a drive to do this weekend; they promised I could get it Friday.

It shouldn’t take a week to install a headliner. The whole point of making an appointment weeks in a advance is to have it done at the time of the appointment. It was probably a mistake to let them know I couldn’t pick it up for several days, while I was out of town; it gave them a chance to set it aside and work on other stuff, and now it’ll be getting in the way of new projects coming in the door that were also scheduled weeks ago.

I’m not a fan of this sort of service, but this seems to be the world we live in now. Shops like this are busier than they’ve ever been, and they can work on their own terms.
 
Lookout Ranch said:
I called the shop today and they said it won’t be ready tomorrow. I was a bit shocked. I absolutely have to have it Friday — there’s a drive to do this weekend; they promised I could get it Friday.

It shouldn’t take a week to install a headliner. The whole point of making an appointment weeks in a advance is to have it done at the time of the appointment. It was probably a mistake to let them know I couldn’t pick it up for several days, while I was out of town; it gave them a chance to set it aside and work on other stuff, and now it’ll be getting in the way of new projects coming in the door that were also scheduled weeks ago.

I’m not a fan of this sort of service, but this seems to be the world we live in now. Shops like this are busier than they’ve ever been, and they can work on their own terms.
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Agreed. And the service/quality seems to be getting worse.
 
In the end, the shop was able to get the headliner made and installed in time for me to use it this weekend.
They made the headliner and installed it, along with the wire-on welt, for $380, which I thought was more than fair. I did the prep, supplied the materials, and installed the side pieces and windlace. I still need to install the visors and the dome light lens.
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A close-up of the fabric:
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mickeykelley said:
So $380 for labor, but what was fabric cost? Putting a budget together So know what to expect.
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In a way, the fabric can be the least of it. Wire-on welt, windlace and tack strip all add up, and the cost will depend on what you choose and where you buy it.

You’ll need 20’ of windlace, 40’ of tack strip, and 35’ of wire-on welt. I’d get a little extra of each. Sometimes you’ll find buying a roll or a fixed-precut amount is cheaper than ordering by the foot.

If your chosen fabric is less than 60” wide, you should get at least 7 yards of it. If it’s more than 60” wide, 4 yards will do. Some of the extra will be for the side pieces.

I included links to online suppliers earlier in the thread.
 
They’re working on the seats now. The driver and front passenger seats don’t match, they must be from different years, but they’re going to make them look the same. The driver seat has zig-zag springs, the passenger seats has coils, and the spring types are different heights.
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Lookout Ranch said:
Didn’t get a lot done today.

Removed the old tack strip from above the windshield. It has just 5 bendy tabs holding it in plus a screw-shank nail at each end.

After starting the tabs with a screwdriver, I pushed them forward and out of the way with the handle of a hammer.

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Pulling down on one of the old tacks, I was able to pull down the center of the tack strip and break it off at the ends where those nails are. I could then get at those nails and pull them out.
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Cleaned the tack strip channel and applied a first coat of POR-15.

Also painted the bows with an old can of gloss gray Rustoleum that had been lying about and wrapped some wires.

Also tried out the new pneumatic stapler that this project created a good excuse to buy. It worked great. The old Powershot wasn’t really up to it. Still need to get some stainless steel staples.
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Incredible detail on your install! Thank you in particular for this post. I’m in the process of installing my headliner from Goliner / Headliner Mart and my wagon is missing the tack strip above the windshield. Saw the bendy tabs, but they were all pushed in flush, so I wasn’t sure if they were for the strip. Now I know! B8A01336-D34C-4C1E-8C6C-6B0D05E3BCEC.jpeg
 
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