lift gate/hatch
 

Ok, so does anybody know if we are any closer to a reproduction of these things? Mine is killing me!!! I have 2 and thought that i might be able to meld them together but it seem they all start rusting in the same spots. If a repo was coming I could wait and justify spending the $$ on one.

Any advice???

Re: lift gate/hatch
 

In hindsight, if anyone knew the interior was bare steel, certainly someone would have rust proofed the interior.

I am determined to fix mine.

Why The General spot welded the two pieces under the flange I'll never know. It made it harder to get the thing apart.

As soon as I am done patching mine, I am sure a repo will show up on the market. :waah:

Re: lift gate/hatch
 

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There was a guy in AZ that was making fiberglass ones at one time. He was selling them on here but he wouldn't become a paying member to sell them on the board so his account was suspended. He thought since he was doing the members on here a favor that he didn't have to follow the rules. He found out different....I don't know if he is still making them or not.

LockDoc

Re: lift gate/hatch
 

He did have his prototype on craigslist shortly after his departure from here.

Re: lift gate/hatch
 

I talked to the guy and he had the molds for sale but no hatches. I told him I would buy one but no deal.
I needed one so I had to hunt the junkyards to find a decent one. I stripped it down and put rust inhibitor inside.
Hard to find.

Re: lift gate/hatch
 

how much were the molds?

Re: lift gate/hatch
 

how much were the molds?"

I think he wanted $1100.00 or $1200.00 for them. Without a finished product I could not be sure if the molds were creating a quality product or not.

Re: lift gate/hatch
 

Truth! It's a good idea, but due to the limited demand, I bet the price per unit would be pretty high for a quality piece.

Re: lift gate/hatch
 

Maybe but with all most of us needing this part I think the cost could be justified instead of waiting for a good one to come available. how many projects are on hold waiting? I'd rather just pay for one and move on. Not to mention the time and aggravation trying to rebuild a bad design. just my .02

Re: lift gate/hatch
 

If you have some fabrication skills, here is a sample of what was done for a wagon lift gate, and documents the dominoes action.. I have this info here in the alternate tinkerings forum, but it's broken up a bit amongst other repairs, so this link shows the lift gate repair/fabrication in it's commercial free entirety. Hope it helps..


http://www.trifivechevys.com/showthr...te-Rust-Repair






.

Re: lift gate/hatch
 

Robert, that hatch looks mint compared to most of the Suburban one's I've seen.

BTW, nice set of metal fab tools

Re: lift gate/hatch
 

Wow that is some real fab work and way beyond my skill level! I guess I'll have to keep looking on the parts board 3-4 times a day till I hit jackpot.

Re: lift gate/hatch
 

Just an idea it's a lot of work but you can do it with barn doors

Re: lift gate/hatch
 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Looks nice! Gas struts?

Re: lift gate/hatch
 

Gas struts with a Lokar prop rod. I was going to go with a minivan style electric assist but I just thought that I won't be hauling stuff in here as this one is more of a show vehicle.

Re: lift gate/hatch
 

Can you get the phone number or email for the guy that had the liftgate molds?

Re: lift gate/hatch
 

Just to add an update to this thread, I saw some pictures on Instagram by Untouchable Metal Works in Colton, CA. They were doing some rust repairs on a Suburban lift gate, even strengthened the hinge area while they had it apart. Nice work.

untouchablemetalworks on IG if you want to see pictures..