I'm finally getting around to doing a serious restoration of the '76 Fleetwood (series 60, Brougham d'Elegance) I've had for the better part of a decade. The interior is in great shape, except for the headliner, which I'm planning on replacing. However, I don't think the headliner is original, and I'm not sure what an original one would be. The current headliner in the car is made of a brown cloth with a texture similar to the velour seat cushions (the car is black with a black top and black interior).
When I called my upholstery shop to get a headliner quote, they told me that the color was not right and it should have been matched to the rest of the interior from the factory. This didn't come as a huge surprise. However, what they told me next did. They said the factory headliner would have been vinyl, not cloth. It's not an issue if that is the case: the headliner has to be replaced, and I want the replacement to be as close to authentic as possible. But it is a surprise. I don't want to doubt them because they made me an extremely good reproduction vinyl top with just the year, make, and model of the car, but I don't think I've seen a vinyl headliner before, and the current one feels so much like the seat fabric that I thought it was authentic for a long time.
Does anyone here have enough experience with these older Caddies to tell me what the headliner should be? Or maybe direct me to a group or website that can? I don't think the GM historical division goes back far enough for me to look the car up there.
When I called my upholstery shop to get a headliner quote, they told me that the color was not right and it should have been matched to the rest of the interior from the factory. This didn't come as a huge surprise. However, what they told me next did. They said the factory headliner would have been vinyl, not cloth. It's not an issue if that is the case: the headliner has to be replaced, and I want the replacement to be as close to authentic as possible. But it is a surprise. I don't want to doubt them because they made me an extremely good reproduction vinyl top with just the year, make, and model of the car, but I don't think I've seen a vinyl headliner before, and the current one feels so much like the seat fabric that I thought it was authentic for a long time.
Does anyone here have enough experience with these older Caddies to tell me what the headliner should be? Or maybe direct me to a group or website that can? I don't think the GM historical division goes back far enough for me to look the car up there.