I lost my tailgate and I bought a shell but it feels lighter then the old one. Was there like weights in the real tailgate and if so where can i get them. I have all the hardware just found it in a junk yard is there a way to open a old tailgate and take the weights out.????????

 

Ive never seen weights in a tailgate , if thats all you have is the shell then once you had all the latches etc it should weigh pretty much the same as the original .

 

If you bought an aftermarket tailgate then it is lighter it is made from lighter metal I put one on my 86 and put a dent in it just by shutting it!!! they are a real pos but the real ones are hard to find so I left it on till I find one.
John

 

id just buy an airgate, looks sporty too
or get a tailgate off of a junkyard pickup





John Floyd
South Mills,NC
'86 F150 2wd 300 6
Crane Cam 260/272
stock manifolds, w/ staight pipe

 

Motorcraftsman, my truck is a lariat so it has the stainless panel and looks nice so the air gate is out and the junkyard gates aren't so easy to find I've been looking for over a year.
John

 

I don't know why but the tailgate on my '94 F250 weighed about twice what the tailgate on my '94 f150 did.

Trail Rider

 

Trailrider, there shouldn't have been any difference in those two tailgates they should be identical.
John

 

trailrider, funny you should talk about a tailgate being heavy. my gate on my 88 seemed heavy when i first got it, compared to my 85 and others i have driven. i pulled the panel off the inside of the tailgate and found a buildup of fine mud inside the tailgate!!. i took a hose and a long peice of wire, and cleaned the inside of the tailgate. it took about 1/2 hour, but the gate weighs about 10 pounds less!
who would have thought? now i am waiting for the rust holes to start appearing. i guess that when the previous owner hosed out the truck bed, the silt would get in the gate.

 

Fatforty I also have had a abd experience with a cheap japanesse tail;gate when i went to slam it shut in the middle the whole thing just kinked in half so i pulled it off and threw it away it was really gawdy anyway didnt evev have the F O R D stamped into it , i believe if you bought a factory ford tailgate shell from the dealer and put your guts in it tho it would be as good as factory big quality diferance in ford dealer and taiwan and jap body parts, again as the saying goes you get what you pay for and the ford parts dont count that much mor for the quality and fit

 

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 28-Jan-01 AT 10:19 PM (EST)[/font][p]Hey John,
Go to www.thriftynickel.com

I saw a tailgate listed there for an 80-86 truck for 80 bucks.

Brad Godkin
1986 F350 CC/SRW
6.9liter/C6

 

Brad, thanks I'll give it a try
John
I could always get yours its already black!!! LOL

 

LOL, wouldn't do you much good though. I don't have the original to mine either. Mine came off of a 94 model I ran across out in the junk yard. bought it for $90 with the latch points and hinge brackets. Looks good on there though. I have most of one off a 95 model. a little flatter than it needs to be and kinda twisted lol. I'll look around and see what I can find though.


Brad Godkin
1986 F350 CC/SRW
6.9liter/C6

 

Brad, talk about snail mail I just got your email about the tach dash for these trucks did you ever find one for the 86 diesel? if you get to the junk yard try to find me a right hand window switch too let me know how much they are and I'll send you the money for them. It seems that my server in its infinate wisdom has set up another email account for me without telling me and has been putting mail in there since nov. 2000 now I have to go back and see if I can still get the stuff I was looking for. maybe the guys still have these mustang parts.LOL
John

 

I'll see what I can find John, There were 5 diesels at the junk yard I favor. One is CC/DRW (I got a lot of parts off this one) I think it has a dash with a tach but not sure. Dashs can be hard to come by down here. people usually bust them when they take them out. I thought there was a few out there but have found about 3 I guess. I'll let you know

Brad Godkin
1986 F350 CC/SRW
6.9liter/C6