409 Headlining

[MYTA21]

Having just had all the seats, panels and carpets renewed in my 409, I wondered if the current vinyl ( ie non cloth) headlining was standard? The trimmer said he thought a more traditional "West of England' cloth would have been the norm. Anyone with a 408-410 able to say either way please?
Just as a guide, all carpets, new door cards and all leather trim renewed, with webbing and foam, using leather from the UK came to A$7000, which I thought was a good deal
Mike Osborne

[408Berlin]

Mike, I have a 408 and I have the original headlining inside. There is no vinyl - its cloth.
Best Hans

[GREG]

Bristol's are a bespoke car -- you could have what you wanted from new and still can.

You got a good deal on the interior if it's a good job !

Just to add, my 408 had the original lining and it was vinyl ! Personally, I think the west of england cloth looks like a grubby lining for a lining and prefer leather or suede - each to their own.

I guess only the original manufacturer of the body and interior would know for sure -- and that was probably Park Royal Vehicles :-) Somewhere on this site is a picture of Bristol 408 chassis been bodied by them along side buses !! A superb quality job they did too by top quality craftsmen ! and probably deserve much more recognition and admiration than they get. I have heard and seen written a lot of comments about a car going back to the factory where it was originally built, when in fact the car was originally put together ( body and interior ) at PRV, See web site details. My leather interior man actually found quite a few PRV inspection cards behind the leather swab of an original V8 car I was having recovered. I may sell to anyone that is interested ? They were obviously very quality conscious and everything had to be checked and signed off.

Park Royal Vehicles Site

[Thor]

My 409 headlining is vinyl. Its textured to look like woven material, I suppose, but it is plastic for all that.

[pasini s]

Hello,

in my 409 the headlining is vinyl but as Greg rightly points out, maybe someone preferred WOE cloth. Personally I like this vinyl, though mine is not perfect.

Cheers

Stefano

[Ronald G. Stephenson]

The traditional headliner was cloth on most luxury cars, and even many pedestrian cars. Vinyl came along to accomodate trucks and service vehicles, but was eventually used on most everything. Then, of course, the nasty foam with some sort of glued-on synthetic cloth resembling the real thing came into vogue.
Vinyl is very durable, and easily cleaned. The wool or fine cotton used will stain, and cleaning is a very delicate matter. The slightest leak in the rubber seals around doors and such will just ruin cloth, and the stains are near impossible to remove. So, do you want the luxury or the practicality? As to 'cheap looking', well, it would be best to look at liners in some very pricey cars these days.
Finally, yes, I am going with vinyl in my cars for the roof covering.