Quote:
Originally Posted by mongocanfly
What about the weight of the lower gate being attached to the upper window frame gate?...seems like that may be alot to ask of those pieces on either side of the glass....I'm just thinking aloud here....you may already have a plan...
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If it sounds half baked, Greg, it's because I rarely approach any of this with a fully baked plan.
The good news is that in the process of gutting the tailgate it got really light. I'll have to put a few things back, but I believe if I reinforce the sides where they meet the liftgate it will be sturdy but not overly heavy. The heaviest component is the glass and it's positioned near the hinges, so it has a lower moment of inertia. I'm hoping the gas struts I ordered will be stout enough to hold the entire contraption up. If not, I'll have to go back to the mechanical ones and grunt when I need to open it.
I removed the rear doors and plan to deliver them and the tailgate parts to the blaster tomorrow. I called ahead and found that the shop I've used in the past has changed hands, so I found another one very close to the house. Owned by a couple of car guys so I'm going to give them a try.
After removing the rear doors and scooting the front seat all the way forward, I found a few items left behind by previous owners (or passengers), sort of like a little time capsule. There was a checkbook from the Marine Credit Union at Camp Pendelton, CA with a couple of checks made out. The marine that it belonged to must have misplaced it before he had a chance to pay the recipients. It also had a receipt in it for a short term lending outfit. Man did that ever hit home. When I was stationed out in CA in the late '60's, we lived hand to mouth.
The bottle of Pepto was a hoot as well. It was empty and all dried out. Hope it isn't a harbinger of how much heartburn lies ahead.