Tailgate rust repair...Pics and Info please!

[chuckmc8]

I have 2 decent tailgates, but both have pencil eraser size rust holes on the inside near the bottom (well, where they rust out...) No prob to cut those areas out and weld in new metal.....but it seems to me that they rust through from the inside.i think that the only way to fix one right would be to take it apart (split it) and rust treat the inside of the tailgate.
I need a gate badly for my '67,but I am hesitant to spend as much as $400 on a 'super nice OE gate' that is 40 years old and may be just before having one of those rust holes pop thru. Then I would have the same thing that I have now minus the 4 Ben Franklins.
Another possibility that might work would be to buy a cheap aftermarket gate, split it, and use the inside piece of it with a straight OE outer so that it has OE metal with the "Chevrolet" across the back.
I dont want a gate W/O the lettering on it.
I did a search on this site and found no info, anyone done this and have pics and info to share? Thanks!

[BIGBLU 72]

i cut the bottom of mine out, soaked it super good in the rust converter stuff and welded a piece back in! be very careful not to warp it tho! mine turned out really well and i have little to no skill lol

[swamp rat]

Originally Posted by BIGBLU 72

i cut the bottom of mine out, soaked it super good in the rust converter stuff and welded a piece back in! be very careful not to warp it tho! mine turned out really well and i have little to no skill lol

By soaking do you mean something in a spray bottle?

[BIGBLU 72]

yup! and i poured a bunch of it in there and picked the gate up and shook it all around!

[swamp rat]

Do you have any pic's of where you cut it?

[BIGBLU 72]

Not that i know of? i have a build thread? there might be some in there? its called Belated Build Thread? it was about 2in x 18in strip that was perfectly square under the letters almost at the bend where the tailgate skin folds under?

[swamp rat]

Yea i'm subscribed to that thread, not in there. Thanks anyway.

[Stano]

Go to your autobody supplier and get a aersol can of rust proofing. Not undercoating, they are two different things. You can spray it through little holes and coat the inside of the panel til it runs out everywhere and it will creep down in the nooks n crannies real good before it sets and isnt runny any more. Good idea to coat the insides of all your panels with it. We use it as a rust preventative in the body shop to insure against any comebacks due to rust.

[IndyRich]

Well I know I am on the other side of the country from you (Indiana) but I have a original Chevrolet tailgate that I picked off of a guy and will never use (I have a GMC) It has a pretty good outside.....the bedside is not so great and has several dents. Anyway...if you want a cheap extra tailgate to work with or take patches from or use pieces from I will sell it to you for $65 plus the ride. It may not be too expensive on greyhound or something like that. Let me know.

[swamp rat]

Thanks for the tip!

[chuckmc8]

What I was thinking was to split it like a clamshell....so that I could actually sand and paint the inside b4 I put it back together.....anyone done that or replaced just the bed side section entirely with the aftermarket piece?

[mrein3]

The inside of EVERY panel on these trucks gets rusted. Now-a-days they dip car and truck bodies in epoxy AND they use galvanized steel. Our trucks have little or no paint between the panels which is why the rockers on every truck not in the desert have been or need to be replaced.

I split a bedside that spent its life outside the desert. You should see the rust in there.

[swamp rat]

If you sand and painted the inside then welded it back together you would still burn the paint offaround the welds, not to mention contaminate the weld unless its a weldable primer.

I did read here last year that someone seperaterated the spot welds at the bottom and spread it open to treat it. don't ask me how easy it was tho.

[C10-Driver]

My bodyman and I have split many tailgates to perform a proper restoration. As well as dealing with rust on the inside of the gate, it is much easier to deal with dents when you can get at both sides of the sheet metal.

Drill out all the spot welds along the bottom and sides of the gate. You might want to get a spot weld cutter... It makes this job a little easier. Then, cut it open on the inside about 1" below the top edge. Once apart, we usually sand blast inside and out, pound out any dents, coat the inside with rust-proofing then weld it back together and continue with the rest of the restoration.

As long as you have decent welding skills and take your time getting it lined back up, it is pretty straight-forward. Good luck.

[swamp rat]

Have you ever posted any pic's here on the forum? the post was clear as a bell but would love to see a step by step.

[C10-Driver]

Originally Posted by swamp rat

Have you ever posted any pic's here on the forum? the post was clear as a bell but would love to see a step by step.

I posted some finished pics of one of the gates but never got any shots through the process. We might be doing another one soon and, if we do, I will make sure to get lots of pics.

[sameyrasmea72]

Originally Posted by chuckmc8

.)...... No prob to cut those areas out and weld in new metal.....but it seems to me that they rust through from the inside......[I][/I:

The reason tailgates and rockers rust out is because the stay wet, not from just getting wet. These trucks had poor drains that nobdy thought to clean in the past.

If you cut out the two bad spots and the weak metal around them and weld new pieces in there, as long as you keep the drains clean, that should be good enough. Most of the tailgates I have seen are actually not rusted out.