47-55.1 Question about ceiling on a chopped truck...

[hobo]

Okay all, I need opinions of those far more experienced than me. This is my first truck build, and I THINK the PO that did the chop job cut the roof in half and then riveted it back together?? Would someone take a look at the pic and tell me how you would cover this? Is there an inside metal roof panel, etc. or would I need to use the plastic headliners?

Since it's a rustomod, I guess I could just leave it alone as well. I'm more curious what was done than anything...

[mongocanfly]

Well since the cab roof is stretched ,nothing for a stock cab will work...I'd use some type of thick enough roof insulation that could be installed without showing rivets...then a fabric headliner over that...
A good upholstery shop could fix you up
Are those pop rivets?...what's it look like on the outside.

[hobo]

I thought the same since it had to be stretched to match up with the pillars. Top looks fine. I'm assuming lots of bondo over the metal insert.

[mr48chev]

It looks like they riveted that band in and then welded it, meaning that you probably have a pretty thick band of body filler across the middle of the roof that may cause issues later.

Stock fiberboard headliners are two piece with a band that goes across the middle to hold them at the center.

There are several ways you could do it. None wrong but some might have better results than others.

1. Get a second band to put what ever distance you need it behind the one that is in the correct spot and then get a piece of the board from an upholstery shop the right width to fill the space between them. That would give you two bands across there a few inches apart though.

2 . make the whole headliner from scratch and to the right length. That would be a real challenge if you don't have something for a pattern though.

3. Buy a second headliner to cut a filler section from. Rather spendy though.

4. See if the guy who molds them out of plastic and sells them on the net will make one that is that much longer. I have lost track of him and still need to ask if he can do one 9-1/4 inches longer to match what I am stretching my cab.

5 see if your upholstery guy/gal has any ideas .

[nvrdone]

I think I would get 2 fiber board headliner kits & then cut multiple pieces to make a pattern. then I would find a good plastic shop that sells 1/16" thick textured abs plastic and cut it to match the pattern. it would be some work but people would look at it & try to figure out how it was done. besides,, it just adds to your skill set.
the other idea would be to use butcher paper and copy the roof from on top to make a pattern. but that may be lots of work to make it fit

[mr48chev]

One would do it, he just needs to lay the back half on a sheet of proper board and add the extra inches and trace it out and cut it out. Now I just had a revelation on my own truck.

[b-mac]

Just a thought, and someone on here has done it. If the top is flat and clean, you could spray a release agent, then lay fiberglass over the top of the cab.
When you pop it off, short of some trimming, it should be a perfect fit for the inside of the cab.

[mr48chev]

That may indeed be a revelation but it may be slightly too wide if one does that.

I've tried to figure out what Cole Foster did on his truck that he drove for years and then sold to Jesse James that makes the "headliner" look so slick and smooth.

The whole truck is an education in small tricks that all add up to one of the coolest but most understated AD custom trucks ever built.

If you don't know the truck http://customrodder.forumactif.org/t...mes-shop-truck Not one radical item on it and nothing stands out and dominates the truck turning it into a back ground for said item. That is the key to building a great truck. Have everything on it blend so well with everything else that folks go OH WOW but then every time they look at it they pick up on something else that they didn't really notice before.

[MARTINSR]

I gave Cole the paint that was on that truck when I was a paint rep. And yes, it's VERY cool! I took this photo outside his shop after he painted it with the paint I gave him.


Brian

[mr48chev]

That is an absolutely cool story Brian. I've always liked the truck because most of what he did on it doesn't stand out from the rest of the truck and sneaks up on you. That is pretty much how every thing he builds comes out though. Very subtle and well done rather than garish and over the top.