Worth the trouble?

[1969k10stepside]

Ok,I have 2 tailgates in ok shape but one has the backside smashed in and the other one has dents in the front and some rust under the handle.So,one with a good front panel,and one with a good backside panel (towards inside of bed).--Both better than the average tailgate around here. Would it be worth the trouble to combine the outside and inside pieces to make one tailgate rust,and dent free versues buying a repo tailgate that probably wont handle the weight of what ever I can fit in the truck?Or,try to fix the dents in the one and call it good? Neither have much,if any of a bow to them.How difficult would it be to put the front of one on the other?
The tailgate with good front panel and smashed in back side:

The tailgate with dented front,and rust area below handle:

[High Speed low Drag]

Well.........................

I just tried the same thing. The one that was 1/2 decent had a big bow in the bottom. Ended up that the spot welds in the middle of the tailgate were spotwelded pretty good at the factory. To remove the halves it seemed to me that I was about to destroy the tailgate. I ended up cutting the tailgate into 4 pieces. Straightened it out and welded it all back together.

All told I figure I have about 85 hours in the tailgate. Came out really nice though.

Next time I'll keep searching for a clean OEM tailgate.

[GREASEMONKEY72]

i think it can be done somewhat easily if you take your time and itll be better than a aftermarket

[eedgell]

Dustin, what ever you do, keep the original gate. I have heard bad things of all after market stuff. If you dont want to fix the ones you have, and I think they are both fixable by themselves, look for an OEM part and ship it to you. Probably still cheaper than buying after market, and a much better base. Just my two cents.

[JAKES 68GMC]

Just keep the stove-up tailgate. It adds style.

[GREASEMONKEY72]

Originally Posted by JAKES 68GMC

Just keep the stove-up tailgate. It adds style.

its unique