The Two Amigos (Matthew Keij and Andrew Hakker) arrived from the Netherlands, the first wave of the Dutch Invasion. I snapped into action – and immediately put them to work on Faulkner’s headliner.
The first thing we did was cut down the ABS center panel to the right length. We marked it carefully, then, with Matthew and I holding and Andre manning the jigsaw, we made the cut. The blade traversed the panel, and when it got to the other side – we realized it had welded itself back together, across the entire length! As the blade cut, it welded back together behind it. This is not going to be so easy…
We snapped the end off and cleaned it up with a file. Andre and Matthew put it in place, holding it up with the clips I made from my extra Caravan strip – perfect. Now, to tackle the side pieces.
We laid a panel on the ABS – the old copy from the original, now long gone – and were puzzled by something; the panel had an arc in it, along what is a straight runner inside the car. Did they muck it up that badly when they cut it? If it should be straight – should we set the width at the middle of the arc, or strike a line from the two endpoints? What to do, what to do… Matthew had a thought: Let’s ask Ed Ober if he has an old panel we could use as a template. What a great idea! I called Ed and Ruth, and fortunately they were home. Ed said he had something kicking around in his basement, he could try to dig it up if we wanted to come over… The Three Amigos piled into Andre’s rental and ran over to his house.
Ed and Ruth graciously welcomed us, as they always do – and Ed showed me the panels. Hey, these are not bad! They need sanding in spots, and the paper cover had separated in spots from the cardboard, but it could be glued back down. Once painted, these would be just great for Faulkner. I asked Ed if, instead of borrowing them as a template, if I could buy them from him. Ed said, NO – they were mine to keep. 
I looked a bit closer, and realized – laying flat, Ed’s panels have an arc in them too! It counters the arc of the roof – once arched to fit the rail, the arc becomes a straight line. That 'splains it.
The panels cleaned up very nicely – here are some pix. All told, it took 4 cans of white spray paint – one for each of Ed’s panels, and two to cover the black ABS center panel. No need to cover anything with fabric – the ABS has a nice pebbled texture, it will do just fine until a perforated panel finds its way to me. (Anyone looking for some perforated headliner fabric, let me know – oh yeah, I got ABS too!)
What can I say about folks like Ed Ober – generous to a fault. This hobby is more than just about cars; it’s about people, and the way they care about each other. Thank you, Ed.
Dan
panel one of two, after sanding but before painting
after painting! the second came out just as nice
ABS panel before painting (but after using vinyl prep)
ABS after painting
pebble texture of center panel
Dodge Caravan strips are perfect replacements for the headliner strips – but, they’re white
after painting silver