Poboy tailgate shortening.

[Poboy kartman]

Dont section the skin then. just cut it, so you can overlap the seam, spot weld and bondo.

That's not a bad idea!!! Thanks!

 

[Poboy kartman]

Sooo...Leetle bit done today...inside and outside tack welds....more to come.

The inside is kinda sloppy, so....I'm gonna have to pull out the Poboy TIG welder. But it's coming along.

It's been cold here today for a Texas boy 27.7° on my front porch this morning...so I didn't get too much done today...tomorrow is supposed to be in the 60's....more Texan friendly....

 

[Poboy kartman]

So.... As you can see...have a bit of a gap in places. In the second pic...you can see the Poboy "TIG" rod....believe it or not...it works really well when welding thin metal.

Plain old 90 amp HF welder....just stick the straightened out coat hanger in the puddle and it acts as both a filler and a buffer to keep from burning through...

BTW: What you're seeing is tack welds without the coat hanger...not the welds with!

 

[OzFab]

Yeah, I was going to cut it on the ends....(after separating the two)

That's what I would've done...

Dont section the skin then. just cut it, so you can overlap the seam, spot weld and bondo.

Great idea Provides much less chance of distortion...

Just remember to weld slowly & move around; too much heat in one area = distorted sheet metal...

 

[Poboy kartman]

Yeah...it actually helps that it's so frigging cold here.

 

[OzFab]

 

[landuse]

Yeah...it actually helps that it's so frigging cold here.

Cold??? What is this thing called "cold"

 

[ML-TOYS]

Cold??? What is this thing called "cold"

This is cold here, its 17° but with the wind its that darn feels like temp.

 

[Poboy kartman]

Well...the old tailgate was locked shut....no biggie really....but my neighbor happened to offhand mention if the hardware was the same............????.??

Ummmmm.....turns out...not so much...totally different system at the latch ends.....

..........andddddd the bolt patterns dont match up....so....a little bit more work to do...and I'm thinking...."Why didn't I just build a frigging wooden tailgate? I'm not metal fabricator!

---------- Post added at 12:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:42 AM ----------

Sitting here sniffing burning flesh....I really should wear gloves....I just don't like them unless I'm trying to keep my fingers warm....

Getting close tho....

 

[ML-TOYS]

Thats too much work for me, junkyard tailgate hundred bucks.

 

[Poboy kartman]

Thats too much work for me, junkyard tailgate hundred bucks.

Cool....glad you elected yourself....first: find one that fits a 1994 F150 flareside....then send $100 to the "Poboy Fund"...

Then....when you find out you can't find one....let's see the color of your money...talk is cheap...you obviously don't know what you're talking about....(BTW: You can always tell a Yankee...because you can't tell him a danmed thing!)

 

[ML-TOYS]

Cool....glad you elected yourself....first: find one that fits a 1994 F150 flareside....then send $100 to the "Poboy Fund"...

Then....when you find out you can't find one....let's see the color of your money...talk is cheap...you obviously don't know what you're talking about....(BTW: You can always tell a Yankee...because you can't tell him a danmed thing!)

Found some http://car-part.com/mobile/index.htm

 

[Poboy kartman]

Cool....now you just need to send me the money!

Btw: You can add a little more to that....as a trip to Garland is a half day affair at best!

---------- Post added at 03:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:40 PM ----------

Just remember to weld slowly & move around; too much heat in one area = distorted sheet metal...

One thing about this: the good thing is, that erring this way does tend to make the sheetmetal cave in....which is easier to deal with when backside access is limited.

 

[chancer]

This is cold here, its 17° but with the wind its that darn feels like temp.

Sorry I am with Landuse on this cold thing... but when it says the Dew Point is 4* Does that mean ICE? Cause I got some warm lemonade over here.

---------- Post added at 03:18 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:16 PM ----------

Well...the old tailgate was locked shut.... .

The ignition key should fit the tailgate lock.

 

[Poboy kartman]

Ummmm....I meant to check fitment while in the tack welded stage..(fortunately...haven't started Bondo yet...) but, can anyone see what's wrong with this picture?

BTW: We REALLY need a facepalm emoticon!!!

 

[Poboy kartman]

Chancer....no lock on tailgate..."locked" as in jammed shut!

 

[OzFab]

can anyone see what's wrong with this picture?

For starters, the two gates are completely different so, nothing is gonna line up...

Plan B?

 

[chancer]

Dude. That just makes it easier to reach Over the tailgate and grab something without opening it!

Or since you shrank it one way all you need to do now is stretch it the other way.

Or. Just make one out of wood.

Or My favorite. It matches the license plate. just what I would expect to see on a truck with Tayhaus plates.

 

[Poboy kartman]

Plan B: Hire a Californian to steal me one at night!

Really....for the meantime...just get the old one operational....consider reworking it to cosmetic acceptability...or trying to find an affordable replacement.

 

[chancer]

Speaking of Ford Tailgates. I have an 2005 F250. On time about 7 or 8 years ago, the thing just decided it would NOT open. No matter what I did it was stuck closed. After about an hour of Messing with it, I got it open. I opened the service panel, looked at the guts sprayed some WD on stuff and then it worked fine and has ever since. Really weird.
Pissed me off that day though cause it was winter and I was needing to go to Home Depot right after work and before dark. and the stupid tailgate wasted all my time!