Junkyard score! Lift and tail gate!

[Brad54]

Was at a junkyard I've crawled through A LOT this past Saturday. Lots of '50s and '60s cars, one dead '61 Panel with nothing salvageable but the roof, a '61 Apache 40 stake bed that I want to buy, and a '61 bus with a dead hood and headlight bezels.

Came around a turn on a path, and saw a Knee Knocker door laying up against a tree. Looked at it, and the whole bottom was rotted away. Next to it, against another tree, was a Chevy Suburban tail gate. Took a look at it, and the damn thing was solid! Had the "Chevrolet" license plate housing too (which I tried to find for a couple years and could never get one for less than $125).
While I'm looking at it, my friend says "Here's the lift gate... the glass looks like it's still good..." and he starts moving pine straw and leaves off it--it was laying flat on the ground, and buried in pinestraw and leaves. He tipped it up, and it was actually recessed into the ground--and damned if it wasn't solid too!

There were actually plant roots growing in the rubber weather stripping.

Both of them were filled with dirt and sand, but they are solid.

The kid that works at the yard said they'd been laying there on the ground for at least 10 years, and another guy said they were there since he started there 15 years ago--they knew RIGHT where they were. Everyone was surprised they were useable, never mind not needing any rust repair.

$100 and they came home with me. I didn't even talk them down... and I should have, because I usually do. But I was so excited to get them, I didn't think about it.

Now I've got three complete lift gate/tail gate assemblies to sort through and choose the best of; Two Chevy, one GMC.
I'm converting my '61 from barn doors to tail gate. One of the sets came with the whole last 18 inches of the truck, frame rails and all, to give me the lower hinge mounts and tail panel.

-Brad