Hello friends,
I need to find a tailgate for my 55. I have seen them in midfiftys catalog, but am looking for something a lil less expensive? Any suggestions?


Thanks!

 

You might find one in the wrecking yard they are all the same up to 72.

 

Thank you capn,
I will look around for one at the wrecking yard, and if need be check LMC. I have noticed LMC to be expensive for 55 parts, Maybe im wrong though.

 

Check ebaymotors.com....I think I saw one on there like today and the bidding will end like thursday

James

 

RogerF100
'55 F100

I am replacing my original '55 tailgate with a smooth one as I am customizing the truck. It has a couple of dents in the top rail and in the flat panel. Could be smoothed out by a good body shop. If you are interested email me and I can send you digital photos. Price is negotiable as always.

Roger
rhughes76@***.net

 

northern classic trucks in michgan make reproduction ford tailgates
last time i looked they were about $325.00
take a look @ their website .www northernclassictruck.com

good luck
nick

 

Well, I have seen the ones for sale on LMC truck, and although I don't always find them the cheapest on all their parts, they aren't bad, you just have to keep your eyes open and REALLY shop around on the big ticket items (like fenders, tailgate, etc) because prices can be several hundred dollars different on those things. (Like on gravel pans/valences, for instance, geez, what a difference!) I haven't found anyone with a new tailgate that is cheaper, and I bet most folks would never notice the difference if your F-O-R-D letters were only just stuck on and not stamped too. I bet the ones with the letters cost more because a royalty may have to be paid to Ford Motors Company for anything actually bearing their name. And the UN-stamped tailgate prices are more likely a true reflection of the actual costs of these things.

BUT - seeing as Motorhaven hosts this nice Ford Enthusiasts web site for us, I think us enthusiasts should at least see if they will match other suppliers prices, if it turns out that they are higher in price. It would certainly be worth an email to them, and it would probably be a good idea to tell them specifically what catalog and what page you saw it on, and what the LMC part number was, so they can confirm the price easily. Motorhaven is not some super large corporation, just a small business who may appreciate the opportunity to match another company's price. No one anywhere ever knows how ALL their prices compare with ALL their competitors, so it might be worth an email to them. I work at a small auto related business myself (nope, not at Motorhaven, heh), and we really try hard to be the best price around, but sometimes someone undercuts us, and we really appreciate the chance to match the price if given it.

One thing about fairly large items like tailgates, fenders, etc.that was a real shock to me, is the HUGE cost of shipping these things. I recently found a very nice right rear fender that I badly need from an out-of-state seller, but as soon as the UPS people found out it measured over 130 inches going all the way around it a couple of times in the odd way they measure things, the shipping price went from $19 to somewhere between
$159 and $189!! So, an important factor to consider is what sort of shipping charges your parts vendor is going to hit you with too. It's unfortunate, but a fender is going to cost about the same to ship as an engine or transmission, sometimes more because of its overall size.

Now, if anyone out there who reads this knows how to get a better deal on shipping for bulky but lightweight items like this, please let me know. The cheapest quote I received was from FedEx, about half of one of the UPS quotes, but still only a couple bucks under a hundred dollars. So...here I sit, still needing a fender, waiting to find a cheaper way of getting it here!

 

You might try some of the trucking companies. Forward Air is good IF (I stress IF)item is packed/protected. They are reasonable, but as a tricker, sometmes damages occure somwhere in transit by forklifts etc if not packed properly! I see them ship motorcycles all the time!


As for the tailgate, I know of a longbed sitting at a junkyard in Napa off of Highway 29, when I had inquired last, they wante 150 for it, but as it was sitting for the past 6 months they may lower their price. (They were going to let me take the entire bed for 300.

Renee' And Mac
1955 Ford F-100
1968 Mustang FT Fastback

 

Check ebaymotors.com....I saw one on there about a couple of days ago...Hurry though they sell like hotcakes!!!!!

James
54 Ford F100 (302/AOD)
55 Ford F100 (SOLD) :-(

 

Damn.... all you guys use this site and only one of you mentioned it as a source (thanks 54Guy!).

Yes we have them!

How many of those other companies give back by using the majority of their resources to provide a community site? How many even have a message board? Something to consider...