XLT/lariat tailgate insert
 

My F250 has the insert but it's missing the lower piece. I assume it's a red reflector like the later Bronco's. Will one from a later Bronco (90) fit?

What year is your truck?

There were two distinct Lariat panels.

1980-1984

1985-1986

86 and I'll assume that's what panel is on the truck but I can see evidence of a repaint so it looks like the gate was replaced at some point.

Here's a pic.

Missing piece is at the bottom, which is the left side in this pic.

i am looking for this also, mine is broke.

The 1987/91 & 1992/96 F150/350 tailgate finish panels are now reproduced by Dennis Carpenter = 800-476-9653.

Um... Mine's an 86...

Anyone have a picture of what it's supposed to look like? The panel itself is in pretty good condition. It had a little dent but I've since massaged it out, I just need the lower piece.

It is a Red reflector, which is not available separately
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n...d/DSC01191.jpg

^^^ Yeah, that's it. And Brad is correct; the red reflector part was not available separately. ^^^

That aluminum tailgate panel was designed for the 1985 - 1986 Lariat models, and it is not available anymore and no one reproduces these. :-arrgh

You could, however, put some sort of red vinyl in there. Or, you could replace it a panel from a 1985 - 1986 Ford Bronco (Ford oval on the left side) or with the more narrow 1980 - 1984 tailgate panel. I think there are still quite a few those left out there. The 1987 - 1991 panels and the 1992 - 1996 panels do not have the tailgate handle cutout section because the tailgate handle was relocated to higher up on the tailgate.

I doubt anybody here will be able to fully answer your question since this isn't a popular modification. What you can do is go to the junkyard, measure the reflector on the Bronco, and then transfer the measurements to you tailgate panel. If they match, you're golden. If not, and the Bronco reflector is too big, you can try cutting it down, but it's gonna be hard not to damage the reflector.

Well the width is good, about 66 1/2" but the height of the later (90) Bronco reflector is wrong. The Bronco reflector is 3 3/4" but the space on the panel is only 3 1/2" wide.

Oh well... guess I'll whip out the good old metal sewing machine and close all the holes in the gate and run with just the stamped letters...

Just going to throw this out there. I couldn't find a nice panel either, so I attached a piece of stainless with the Ford oval on it. This is on my '86.
http://i608.photobucket.com/albums/t...Picture072.jpg

That looks really nice! Is that just like flat stainless stock? where did you get it? did you just glue it or what?

that looks like our best option!

It's just flat stainless that I got and had sheered at the local steel supplier. Did a little polishing on it to shine it up a little. It's attached with the gray 3M molding tape.
That was about the only thing I could come up with that looked good. Thought about putting a brushed finish on it, but now I can not get it off to do that.

How about cutting a piece of plexiglass and painting it red on the back side? Years ago, we used to buy clear plastic bodies for slot cars. These would be painted on the underside and the color would show through, be shiney and would not chip off when wrecked. Just an idea.