47-55.1 Tailgate Ideas?

[suburban99]

What are you using for a tailgate other than a tailgate? My '50 didn't come with one so looking for ideas.

[dsraven]

what do you want it to look like, stock or custom? old style chains and hasp style system to keep it closed, custom central release handle like a newer truck, single panelor double walled?
a custom tailgate can be fabbed up pretty easily and made to look like a factory one, depending on the look you want. if you want an emblem on the steel designating the manufacturer, like CHEVROLET or GMC you culd have those punched in by someone with a bead roller, then take that sheet and build it into a tailgate. you could fab up a custom 2 layer tailgate that has a centered handle like a newer truck has if thats the look you want. if old and rusty looking is what you want that custom tailgate can be treated to make it look like it's been in the field forever.
if you look at a stock tailgate there isn't that much to making a new one with some sheet stock, some tubing and a bit of time with a shear and a break, then weld it together. or buy an aftermarket one and make it fit.

[suburban99]

Here's a picture of the work in progress.

Dont know why they are sideways..

[dsraven]

taken with a phone? always happens to me. good thing rickysnickers has a thread called "pics and how to post".
he emntions that iphones may take the pics oriented a certain way and upload them the same way each time so it makes sense to figure out the right way up and then always do it that way. not sure on the android phones but it isn't that tough to figure out I guess. anyway, long story short, to get it right every time you gotta use a computer, load the pics onto the computer, change orientation etc, then use the computer to upload the pics to your thread.
his thread is worth a read for sure. for the rest of us checking your thread it would be great as well. haha.

[crossfire84]

Try this.

[R&B51]

My 51 doesn’t have a tailgate either. Was figuring on Mar-K classic, then your question sent me off in the weeds. Self/custom fab could be fun or the patriotic option always wins.

[R&B51]

suburban99-
Pics I sent were not serious but your question did make me go look.
As dsaven said - cool to fab one especially with some help from a local machine shop for skins- that was a great suggestion.

For me on my iPhone, if I take the pictures, then once they’re in my photo file if I hit the edit button and change the margins some, then hit the little rotate photo a few times-360 until it is upright again, that seems to work. When you’re hitting reply you do manage attachments and choose photo from your phone photos and just attach them and upload them. That has seem to work for me since I started doing that.

[R&B51]

Here’s couple more ideas, bead roll like dsraven mentioned, maybe some dimple die through and through perforation. Old school louvers to go with cowl off you got em.
My 74 Bronco gate is the only rust that came on after full frame off bare metal rebuild-lower part must catch and hold water.
Point is- if fab one, maybe really clean metal inside before welding up, use rust encapsulator, maybe plan for a few small drain holes to avoid rust after a few years like mine did.
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[mr48chev]

There is a line between out of the box and off the wall.

The split tailgate and the park bench on the inside of the tail gate being out of the box but the other two are pretty well off the wall.

Rather than spending the big coins for an aftermarket oem style or custom version there of tailgate I could see someone fabbing one with round tube upper and bottom and square or rectangular tube sides with a sheet metal panel and possibly bead rolling the panel .

Or maybe that frame with cross tubes in it or a wood insert in it.

[dsraven]

the fab your own idea works for pretty much any application but there are a few things to figure out first, like anything we do on these trucks. figure out the purpose for the part. if building something that will just fill the hole and look cool then it is different than if building for actual use, like it's gotta hold your weight jumping up on it to load gravel or get inside the box to fill the gas tank.
start with a top edge-round tube cut to the correct length
bottom edge-again, round tube cut to length but the correct diameter to fit the hinge brackets. possibly double walled at each end for a short bit for extra strength on the hinge pocket area.
side bars-16ga cold rolled sheet, for strength, formed to be a channel and cut to fit the round tube at the top and bottom. like a factory gate would have
main panel-can be what you desire, flat sheet overall-not that strong so decide the use first, flat sheet with a bead rolled design for the manufacturers emblem, possibly a perimeter raised section for strength, possibly a double walled gate with a stronger sheet on the inner panel and lighter duty sheet on the skin and new truck style handle and latch system with cables or te folding steel parts to keep the gate level when opened. there are repair kits available for newer trucks that have all those parts included for reasonable prices-latch handle-latches-rods-hinge pockets-cables-etc. possibly some inner ribs between the double walled sheets for strength and to keep the sheets spaced correctly-possibly spot welded together at intervals or panel adhesive if using for looks with no intent on running a cow across the gate. take a look at how the gate was made originally and duplicate that. I have used weld through primer with pretty good results on the insides of things like this. given a good coating, assembled and welded, then sprayed with undercoating or cavity wax when done and painting is completed. remember to have drain holes and try not to have seams across the bottom where water will build and settle.

[whitedog76]

This is not my truck. A Chief Warrant Officer at an ING base I did some work at last summer had a nice AD truck project that he brought in. The tailgate is a Re-pop, but it's the blacksmith latch that I dig.

[dsraven]

Nice, and with the tailgate open there is a built in tiedown anchor.

[_Ogre]

Tailgate?

[suburban99]

Originally Posted by _Ogre

Tailgate?

Here's what I ended up building..
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[my56chevytruck]

Originally Posted by _Ogre

Tailgate?

Great looking rearend Ogre, your's is definitely a one off

[mr48chev]

That's nice, clean and simple.

I've seen a couple guys who used the sides off an old tailgate and did the rest similar to what you did. The first one back in the 70's when there wasn't much for aftermarket sheetmetal for AD trucks. I had seen it and asked him were he got it and he told me how he put it together. I've got a couple of photos in a box that I took with my instamatic in a box somewhere.

[joedoh]

fine work!

[Tempest67]

looks great,

now you need a roll pan to bring it all together

[skip99]

Bed net…

[suburban99]

Originally Posted by Tempest67

looks great,

now you need a roll pan to bring it all together

Looks good. Maybe I do..
Also looking for a metal GMC logo that I can install in the centre.

[leegreen]

Originally Posted by suburban99

Also looking for a metal GMC logo that I can install in the centre.

My son made up an old school GMC script logo on my bead roller and welded it into the tailgate of his Sierra



it is an 'interesting' learning experience about how metal stretches and moves to get a finished panel with the correct compound curve to match the tailgate and then weld it in without warping.
Lowered grey 2000 shortbox, he worked on through high school. He sold it to a guy in Abbotsford 2 years back and it is still spotted occasionally.

[mr48chev]

That GMC emblem is slick LeeGreen. I've got and Eastwood bead roller but don't think I could ever manage anythign that complicated.

[leegreen]

We had no prior experience and just have an offshore bead roller from Princess Auto. You have to stiffen it up to do this. They have enough clamping force but the two arms twist/scissor and let the contact point shift about without some extra stiffness. Tipping wheel was made from a hardened steel washer welded to a weld on sprocket hub. Lower wheel was a slice of boat trailer roller.
Also recommend putting a steering wheel on the bead roller rather than the crank handle. I dont see a powered bead roller as a big advantage for this.
I would like to add a flat work surface at the level of lower wheel, but have not tried that yet.

We used 20 gauge steel, thin stuff is easier. Be prepared to throw away 10-20 attempts. Size the piece so you can spin the work 360 within the bead roller, having larger border around the design will help keep it flat.

Pre stretch along your line with one of the beading dies and a flat lower wheel.
Tip along your line, a single pass with only moderate pressure, you don't need to emboss too deep and deeper will cause more warping from stretching the metal more
Vary the amount of prestretching and depth of embossing until you can turn out a panel that is not warped beyond use. When you have it down with a flat panel, put the crown needed to match the tailgate in a fresh panel and try again.

It takes patience. The pre stretch is the black magic. The embossing also stretches, but the pre-stretching distributes the metal more evenly -or something.
People on youtube seem to turn out pieces in a single try, that is either the magic of editing or they have spend a lot of time getting this down.

[dsraven]

The princess auto hubs for weld on sprockets is also what I did for my el cheapo deluxe KMS tools bead roller. A larger steering wheel option would be a great addition but you need a second guy to help with that so you can be holding the work.
Has anybody checked out the Lazze metal dreams videos? Lots of good info there on how to do stuff with the roller, different die options, skateboard wheel stopping the distortion at the end of a run etc.

[leegreen]

The steering wheel makes it possible to do one person work as the wheel is always in reach. The original crank is useless unless you have really long arms or a helper.
Steering wheel does not have to be that large, I used one from some mid 80s ford sedan. I was going to build a variable speed drive as well, but once I put the steering wheel on I decided it was good enough for now. It is an occasional use tool.

guys like Lazze and Wray (proshaper) are inspiring.