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There should be a plastic reflector. The earlier trucks had a red one, and later trucks had black. It was fastened to the aluminum by plastic stubs that were melted to make a rivet. There were a few different iterations depending on the era and so forth.
Since you have a trim panel the tailgate will have holes in it and will not look so great without the panel. I have a few laying around that are not great, but better than what you have, but shipping on a big item like that is spendy.
Some folks have fabricated something else to go in place of the reflector and I've seen some who replaced the whole panel. Finding the a decent OEM panel or tailgate is getting tough.
but I wouldn't pay that much for it. And then there is the problem of attachment because they were originally installed by melting the attachment tabs to the aluminum outer shell.
I'd bet you could get a complete tailgate with a nice garnish panel for less than that $70 ebay part if you look around at some discount wrecking yards.
but I wouldn't pay that much for it. And then there is the problem of attachment because they were originally installed by melting the attachment tabs to the aluminum outer shell.
I'd bet you could get a complete tailgate with a nice garnish panel for less than that $70 ebay part if you look around at some discount wrecking yards.
I have the same problem with my 93 F150, the reflector cracked and has a chunk missing and the F in F-O-R-D has fallen off, I can find the reflector AND aluminum piece on eBay for about 200 and in good condition I just haven't gotten around to it, the other sad thing is the trim on the sides are starting to fall off! I'm going to have to start fresh when I get around to it because the OE trim has gotten to the point that gluing them back doesn't work. On the bright side as these trucks get older (ninth gen) perhaps the "restoration" market will pick up more OE stuff like this.
Another option is to visit an auto detailer and see if they can make some kind of decal that will fill the void. Who knows, they may even have some reflective tape/decal they can add to create the original reflector look. I saw some pretty amazing things at a place called Trim Line. They were laser cut decals and were able to make almost any design one could wish for in almost any colour.
I had a piece of black Plexiglas cut for my son's '95. We attached it using screws with pro-dec caps on them to cover the screw heads. I attached the F-O-R-D letters using 3M emblem tape. The whole thing cost me about $30.
I had a piece of black Plexiglas cut for my son's '95. We attached it using screws with pro-dec caps on them to cover the screw heads. I attached the F-O-R-D letters using 3M emblem tape. The whole thing cost me about $30.
I know its not perfect and obviously missing the lettering, but I think I will start to keep an eye out for these at the Junk Yard and sell them on eBay for like $75.
The fact that they go for $150+ is ridiculous.
07-21-2018, 02:02 PM
