I purchased a new tailgate for my early 1950 made by northern classic. When I inspected it I noticed that on the top roll that it bulges out slightly towards the rear in the center. I put a straight edge on the top of the roll and across the back side of the roll and they were flat. Were the originals made the same? I checked with the vendor I bought it from and they checked the other ones they have in stock and told me they were the same. Anyone familiar with these tailgates?

 

My tail gate (norther classic)is that way

Its very straight on the inside

 

Thank you for the reply. I'm going to look at a original one tomorrow.

 

My original has so many dents it could be wider in the middle area hard to say

It looks ok to me a lot better than other places on the truck

 

That's the way they are supposed to be, Ford did it for strength, according to some dealer literature.

 

Todd at Northern Classics had original dies, so everything he made was perfect, exactly as it was made way back then.

Regards, Mark.

 

I would expect (the engineers) to design it, to make sure that when things are loaded and shift in the bed up against the tailgate that it wouldn't bind when you try to open it.