tailgate original or repro
 

My 70 4x4 has been in the paint shop getting body work and being sprayed for about 2 months.Finally the owner subbed the bodywork to one of his body men and he is doing it at night and weekends and should be done next week.This guy has been doing a really good job,he striped all the panels down to metal before he did any work.The tailgate has a bunch of dings on the inside and is bowed.He would fix for an extra $500 or I can get a repro for about $170 plus ship and he would not charge me any labor.Which way should I go?

Re: tailgate original or repro
 

Have not heard good things about the repop tailgates.

Re: tailgate original or repro
 

I've heard the repro ones are a lot lighter and not as good quality.

Re: tailgate original or repro
 

Fix the original. It's only $300.

Re: tailgate original or repro
 

Fix the original, the re-pops are poor quality. Not only thinner gauge steel, but their fitment is bad

Re: tailgate original or repro
 

if the original is NOT RUSTED and just has dings and is bowed the labor to fix it will be less than the labor to install the repop if they gave you the repop free he would still have to charge you the $500 to put the repop on !!!!
they are TERRIBLE !!
I know because I have one , I wanted to put mine on the garbage truck !
I finally fixed it but it was just a pain ,

Re: tailgate original or repro
 

I'd pay the $500 for an original perfect gate or a NOS gate.

Re: tailgate original or repro
 

If it was me I would fix the original in my opinion.

Re: tailgate original or repro
 

Call Ed at Mothertruckers.net - He can tell you about these - supposed to be better than most repops, some are real thin, these are supposed to weigh within a few pounds of the originals.


http://www.mothertruckers.net/catalo...roducts_id=409

Re: tailgate original or repro
 

A few pounds???

D

Re: tailgate original or repro
 

These aren't the exact figures, but if an original weighs 75 pounds, these are supposed to weigh like 70 pounds, the real thin ones only weigh like 50-60.

Re: tailgate original or repro
 

I just bought a Tri-Pro for the '71. It fits good and seems pretty sturdy. I tried it on the '67 before I painted it and it fit good on it too... I'm sure there are some bad ones floating around but I would buy another Tri-Pro. Just try it before painting it.

LockDoc

Re: tailgate original or repro
 

The fact is,the first repro tailgates were junk.They were noticeably lighter in weight,poor fit,and very weak do to not having the inner and outer tack welded across the dip under the handle.Unfortunately,the myth lives on.The later ones are much better.I`d repair the original.But,if you want less bondo you could sell your original for enough to buy the fresh gate.Or,pay alot more and find a N.O.S. or new take-off that needs no work.I believe you`d want the new gates to have work done to smooth out the spot welds anyway.

Re: tailgate original or repro
 

I think I will fix the original-I am so far into this project whats another $500-If work wasn't slow I would not have thought twice about spending the money but now it's tight.

Re: tailgate original or repro
 

You have to think of it this way... you have to have the tailgate done and the difference in the prices is only $300, so you're only spending an extra $300 :D