90 tailgate
Thread Starter
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Postmaster
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 3,052
Likes: 1
From: Jacksonville FL
90 tailgate
My friend has a 90 F150 and I took my tailgate off and put his up too my truck and it looks like the lower brackets are the only thing I would have to swap to put a 90 tailgate on. Is this true? I like the smooth look of the 87-96 gates.
Lead Driver
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 5,489
Likes: 13
From: Kuna ID
I did that swap once, it's not difficult but it's not as simple as swapping parts either. You have to drill new holes for the striker bolts to mount, and the lower brackets aren't interchangeable. The bolt holes aren't the same distance apart, but they are close. I just mounted the brackets using the top bolt hole, and then used the largest bolt I could find that would fit through the lower holes and put a nut on the backside. It worked just fine until I went with a newer bed as well and transferred the tailgate over to it. I may have a few pics of the swap I could send you if you like.
Thread Starter
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Postmaster
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 3,052
Likes: 1
From: Jacksonville FL
I did that swap once, it's not difficult but it's not as simple as swapping parts either. You have to drill new holes for the striker bolts to mount, and the lower brackets aren't interchangeable. The bolt holes aren't the same distance apart, but they are close. I just mounted the brackets using the top bolt hole, and then used the largest bolt I could find that would fit through the lower holes and put a nut on the backside. It worked just fine until I went with a newer bed as well and transferred the tailgate over to it. I may have a few pics of the swap I could send you if you like.
Thank you
Lead Driver
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 5,489
Likes: 13
From: Kuna ID
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Postmaster
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 2,703
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From: La Vergne, TN
Im thinking of doing the same thing because my tailgate doesnt hardly ever open cuz its been bent so when u do this would there be any chance u would put some pics up?
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Lead Driver
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 5,489
Likes: 13
From: Kuna ID
No problem, hope they help you out. The hardest part really is picking the spot to mount the striker bolts. I sat in the back of the truck and held the tailgate in place where I thought it should sit when latched and eyeballed where it should go then marked it with a marker. I made the hole a little bigger than needed to give me some room for adjustment as well.
New User
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 23
Likes: 0
From: Virginia Beach, VA
Any chance of someone posting pics of this swap? Would be greatly appreciated! Also, can the lower pivots mounted to the truck bed still be used or do they have to be swapped out as well? Thanks for any info...
Moderator
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 56,950
Likes: 2,718
From: Virginia
Here's a useful hint that helps me. If you plug in "tailgate swap" the search will bring up posts with "tailgate" and also posts with "swap". So this will bring up tailgate swaps, engine swaps, rearend swaps, cab swaps, etc. What helps(but is not perfect) is put in "+tailgate +swap" with a space between +tailgate +swap. This will include posts that have the word "tailgate AND the word "swap" both.
