how many rods in a 66 malibu headliner? he car i bought had the liner on the back seat i unrolled it the other day to check it out and there were 4 rods the middle one i think is missing or should it not be there?

If my memory serves me after almost 10 years from doing my 67, your middle rod, or the rod that gets locked in place by the tabs on the center roof support brace is nothing more then a thick piece of straight wire that was wrapped card board.

My Fisher manual shows 5.

It is 5, but the center rod, like what 67shovel said, is a thick rod that gets locked into place by the metal tabs. Make sure when installing the new headliner to install that middle rod first-ask me how I know.

Yep, 5 total with the middle one just behind the dome light held in with tabs. Here is a shot of my 66 just before I put in the headliner.