Headliner Bows

[Chris W]

Does anyone know how many headliner bows are in a 66 sunroof car? Also anyone in the US have any to sell?

[deano]

I just got some headliner bows for my '67 from Interstate VW Wrecking yard in Lake Elsinore, CA...

[Fritter]

3 in my '64 metal sunroof car, probably the same for a '66.  I had one of them, had to make two.  Not too hard to measure and cut.  I got the metal rod from Ace Hardware.

The key is the little "drop" clips on the front two bows, if you don't install those the headliner will be too far up and possibly hit the metal sunroof pocket.

[deano]

Original (OG) bows were made out of spring steel that has some rebound to them. Regular (China) steel rod may not hold its shape for very long with the weight of the headliner. The guy who just did my headliner said he would rather not hang a headliner with home-made steel rod bows... My bows cost me $15 a set.

[Chris W]

Thanks for the advise guys. I was thinking there were three bows. I am in Oregon so Lake Elsinore might be a bit of a trip

My interior guy also wanted to use original bows for the reason Deano posted.

[Fritter]

Deano, good point and that is true, the China rod was not spring.  For a non sunroof car, I would probably want all original springs due to more unsupported weight.  For a sunroof car, since the headliner is supported in more areas, the China rod works fine, at least in my case.  I made sure to put a slight upward springy "bend" in the two I made when I installed them.

Reusing original parts is always the best route, though, that's for sure.

[deano]

Not sure on the sunroof setup, but on a steel top sedan, the factory used an additional rod on the rear for the 2-piece headliner, so if you go to a modern 1-piece headliner, you would eliminate the last one back...

[Chris W]

This is the one I went with-

http://www.wolfsburgwest.com/cart/DetailsList.cfm?ID=115867499CBOW

[deano]

I believe anytime your headliner pattern has a separate panel around the back window, it is considered 2-piece (like OEM), and may require an a bow just for that area. Likewise, if the pattern is all 1-piece, you would eliminate that last bow.

[Zach Gomulka]

Last headliner I did the owner supplied everything including new bows (not sure why). Anyway, they were about 4" longer than a stock bow, didn't work until I cut them down.

I wouldn't worry about a "china" bow as long as it's the right length.
3 bows is right for a 66 metal sunroof. One normal, two short in the drop down springs.