how to make an 80 tailgate really heavy

[callum]

this was mostly finished a few weeks ago, but i never got round to uploading it.

step 1 involves removing the carpet and then staring at the tailgate scratching one's head.


step 2 involves cutting a big hole in the tailgate (no pic i'm afraid) and the tailgate starts shedding some weight.

step 3 involves a few hours in the garage welding up some sort of frame

and step 4 involves putting that frame in the hole you've just cut out.

of course frame needs a lid, so step 5 involves adding 12mm of ply and some catches and i think by that point you've ended up heavier than you started, even more so if you add some flashing tape to stop things inside denting your tailgate

so by the time you reach step 6 where you fill it with crap, your tailgate is significantly heavier than it was in the beginning, but at least you've got somewhere to keep winch stuff, tools, big hammer, wheel brace, cocaine and other sundry items.




of course this wasn't all my idea, i may have stolen it from here...

http://www.wagongear.com/80Lids.html

and also Kevin's thread where it all began on mud. Unfortunately shipping these would be a pain, so i decided to make my own. Good job really as jdm tailgates with wheel carriers differ from others as they have reinforcement in them, hence the wonky shape of my tailgate lid.

In spite of the tailgate being heavier, it was worth the effort as its cleared all teh rubbish out the back of my car, so i'm pretty pleased with the result.

 

[sae70]

Nice mod I like it

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

Looks like you've made a really nice job of that callum I watch Kevin's thread on his 100 series version development in case I ever get round to it but it's nice to see one done closer to home

 

[BRE Fabrications LTD]

Hey Callum,

That looks really good.

Is the frame made out of angle? If so, What did you use to bend it?

 

[callum]

Hey Callum,

That looks really good.

Is the frame made out of angle? If so, What did you use to bend it?

It is indeed angle and i used a bit of scaffold pole and my foot to bend it.

Before doing so, however i had to cut off the flange on the section i wanted to bend. Afterwards I cut a curve out of a wide bit of flat bar and welded it back in, with the result being curved angle.

Its a bit labour intensive to make each curve, but it looks ok. Its possible to bend angle quite well if you have suitable machinery. We had such a stomping machine (i don't know its proper name) in the workshop at uni, which could make quite tight bends in metal (i only did it with flat bar, but it would do it with angle as well), but i'm sure they're really expensive and it was as tall as me.