VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - GENERAL Trucks and Vans Restoring a 1937 chevy 1/2 ton pickup

Hello , my name is Mike. I am just beginning to restore a 1937 chevy 1/2 ton pickup and I need some help with a few items. I need a new headliner , there is nothing there now .I looked online and found a couple of options I dont know if I need a 1 piece or 2 piece headliner? I also need a original horn and the location to mount it. I would like to know if there are any reference books out there to show in detail the trucks specifications and original parts.

Hi Mike, I own a 1936 1/2 tn. Try "The Filling Station" and also "Jim Carter Truck Parts", as they carry manuals and also headliners. Oldred 36

Mike:
I have a '37 and working on it's restoration. The '37 had a one piece cardboard headliner. The sources referenced by oldred36 sell these as do other suppliers. I had a real tough time installing the headliner without wrinkling the corners. It looked terrible. The instructions for installation were very basic---worthless. After three attempts I abandoned the cardboard and went with the one piece fiber glass option. That required some trimming, but went in fairly easy. I don't intend to restore OldBlue to original factory condition so this fits my purpose and budget. Others may have different goals. Mine is to keep it as original as I can with the resources I have.

The horn is mounted on the top of the exhaust manifold.

There are several of references available from the posting oldred36 referenced as well.

37Blue

I've found Advance Design headliners from Bow Tie Bits go in a lot easier than Jim Carter's. I paint the back to waterproof it.
Bob ADler

Bob
The vague instructions I received for the card board liner son and I had so much "fun" with only said to use ammonia to moisten the backside of the panel. We wetted the thing to point it would bend easily, but once we tried to make the bends conform to the sheet metal curves it buckled and wrinkled. It looked like .... I would be interested in giving it another whirl. Would you share your technique for bending the corners and ends? I too have ordered stuff from Bowtie Bits and had good service and luck. The head liner came from another vendor.
37Blue

Thanks for the info everybody! It sounds like I am not going to enjoy wich ever headliner I choose. Does anybody know what center to center bolt pattern I need for the rear bumper of my 1937 chevy 1/2 ton pickup?? I just ordered rear bumper brackets (6 peice) and was going to set them up and figure out the correct spacing but I thought someone might know whats correct. I dont want to order the wrong bumper. Thanks

The parts books shows that the front and rear bumpers are the same for 1937 1/2 ton trucks....also fits 1936 Standard cars and 1937 Master cars.

I never used ammonia on a heqdliner, just lots of wrestling. I always buy 2 headliners so I have a replacement when I buckle the first. Most of these absorb moisture and warp after a few years. they really look bad after a while. That's why I waterproof the back. With Advance Design trucks I start with the front cardboard, stake it to the middle bow, shove that assembly up and forward, install the rear cardboard. I never liked installing headliners.
Bow Tie claims his cardboard comes from the original GM supplier.
GOOD LUCK!
Bob

I tried my first headliner when I bought my 53
truck. It looked ok but had some wrinkles on the sides. It was a tough job. I would rather pull a engain. Afer my truck sat for 6 months the cardboard seperated from the center bow. Where is
Bow Tie? I would like to give their product a try. I will take Bobs advise and buy two and maybe three of them. Thanks...Oscar

Rust To Shine:
Bowtie is in Wichita, KS. Try bowtiebits.com for a catalogue. They sell both the cardboard and fiberglass versions. My '37 has an all one piece headliner; which I think differs from later models that have two piece. Those may be at least somewhat easier to install. The cardborad is fairly stiff and unless there there is some other trick I don't know about would be at least near impossible to bend to the very tight inside curves found on the '37. At least that was my experience.
37Blue

I had a similar problem when I tried to install a reproduction cardboard headliner in my 1951 COE. It was a bear! It did not go in easily, the fit was not that great once it was in, and the headliner wrinkled some when it was bent to conform to the sides and corners. Two of us worked on installing that headliner for hours. It was not fun!

:( :( :(

the curves in the rear corners of these headliners are so tight that I wonder if, at the factory, they were blocked & steamed like hats?..


epi

Thanks for the Bowtie address and has anyone tried a fiberglass headliner? Dog, you are right on about a bear to install. My brother came over to help me and all we did was fight over the D---M thing. We finally went and got some beer and said screw the headliner. I finally got it in ( with wrinkles ) but my problem now is when I take it out to install a new one I have to deal with the new winlace I put in. Anybody knows that the winlace for a 53 is also a bear. It took me 8 hour to install it and I used dish soap to make it slide...Oscar

Bob, what kind of paint do you use for the headliner?...Oscar

Actually, on my 1951 COE the new rubber windlace went right on with no problem. It was actually fairly easy to do.......unlike the stupid headliner!

Dog, I think the windlace is differant then a 53. Do you have the two slots that you have to slide it all the way arround the door or the other windlace that I don't know anything about
and have never installed. I know there are two kinds from 49 to 54...Oscar

My COE has the type with the slots and the windlace has to slide all the way around the door opening. The windlace went on pretty easily actually.

Wow, you are a lucky dog...Oscar

Ya, putting in the windlace kinda sorta made up for the nightmare of putting in the cardboard headliner.

Have you ever installed one that is fiberglass. I see pictures of trucks on the computer and they show the headliner that is perfectly installed. I wish they would share their tricks with us...Oscar

Guys:
Old Blue now has a one piece fiberglass headliner. After the misery experienced with the card board I opted for a clean and neat appearance. As mentioned previously, it went in fairly easy. It did require some trimming as it overlapped the doors by about 2 inches. It was molded to fit both high cab and low cab versions, I think. Blue is a low cab version. Son and I discovered after the inital installation attempt that the door-side ends had faint scribe lines. These matched with our eyeball measuresments of where the liner needed to be trimmed. Triming was done using a cut-off wheel in a Dremel tool. The installation effort took less than 90 minutes and without any cussing. I have not decided on painting. I believe it will likely be less hassel to paint in place though. I think it otherwise will probably get dinged/scratched if painted outside and re-installed. One other thought: My guess is VCCA judging would likely deduct points for the fiberglass headliner, but since I don't expect to be going that route this option works for me --at least for now.
37Blue

Oscar,
I usually have some epoxy primer in my gun, so I paint the back of cradboard headliners with that. One real heavy coat works, soaks in. Don't mask the front because the tape may pull the visible surface off. I've also used clear lacquer. Mice will get up in there and damage it. I pulled one down last week with seat stuffing up there.

On the Advance Design windlace, there are a few manufacturers. One makes the part that slides into the metal channel too wide. that's the cusser type.

I made a little T tool to straighten out the metal channel BEFORE painting the interior. the factory usually crimped the channel ends.

Bob

Hi Bob, thanks for the info. Do I have to remove my cusser windlace to install my new headliner? I hope not. The T tool sounds like a great idea and I will make one if I have to remove the windlace. Bob, should I put some insulation on the roof of the cab before putting
in the headliner or just leave it the way it is? What do people put for insulation. I don't want to use fiberglass. I might be driveing down the road and start iching. Thanks and have a good day...Oscar the grouch