My tailgate was swiss cheese, so before it completely fell apart I decided to rebuild it. I wanted to use the embossed "Chevrolet", and the two side brackets were still very usable. I marked around the Chevy symbol, and began cutting I used some 1 1/2" tubing for the upper and lower bars, cut to size, and welded them to the side brackets. Here it is being test fitted. Next I cut a section out of an 18 gauge 4X8' sheet, and made sure it fit behind the frame.I also checked the measurement on both sides put some shims under the sheet to make equal once I folded the sheet over. I clamped a 2"X2"X6' square tube to the top of the sheet, and bent it over the top bar as best as I could. Once I was close, I used some wood and a few large C clamps, to completely fold the sheet over the bar. I started drilling 1/8" holes about 3 1/2" apart, about 1/2" up from the edge of the sheet. I used Cleco's to hold the sheet in place until I could come back and rivet it. Once the top was riveted, I measured the bottom, and cut it so that once folded it would be the same as the top. Again I clamped the 2X2 tube and lifted, to bend the sheet up over the bottom bar. I used the clamp and wood method to get the bottom folded and close enough to drill for the Cleco's, and rivets. I riveted the bottom the same as the top, I painted the tailgate to make sure it wasn't going to have bare metal behind the Chevy cut out. I trimmed it down, and again drilled and used Cleco's to hold it until riviting I finished riveting the Chevy emblem on the tailgate, set a board over the letters, and gave it another coat of paint. Here it is mounted back up on the truck, it's not perfect, but at least you can't see through it anymore.
I need to do this too as soon as I find something with Plymouth embossed on it. My tailgate was/is missing completely. Brent
The Jalopy Journal
