Author Topic: 73-79 tailgate  (Read 1271 times)

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BigBlueIron

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73-79 tailgate
« on: May 19, 2021, 02:52:37 PM »
What is a 73-79 tailgate worth? Appears to be in near mint condition, https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/935246720592123/?ref=search&referral_code=marketplace_search&referral_story_type=post


Trying to collect parts to piece together a nice Highboy one day.

AlanCasida

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Re: 73-79 tailgate
« Reply #1 on: May 19, 2021, 03:30:17 PM »
If you are needing one I'd say yes. They want that much for a repop and they are not nearly as nice as an OEM unit. Around here, in Kansas/Oklahoma, decent old tailgates are pretty much impossible to find. That one is a beauty.

BigBlueIron

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Re: 73-79 tailgate
« Reply #2 on: May 19, 2021, 03:50:04 PM »
I don't need one today, but I know when I do I won't be able to find one that nice. Same here in Ia they where all work trucks and treated hard. Thanks for confirming my thoughts.

475fetoploader

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Re: 73-79 tailgate
« Reply #3 on: May 19, 2021, 04:48:23 PM »
That’s a good looking original.  I can’t think of an aftermarket that has the raised letters. The aftermarket ones seem to weigh about 2/3 of an original.  So when a fat kid like me sits on them, they bend. I’d say but it now.
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Rory428

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Re: 73-79 tailgate
« Reply #4 on: May 19, 2021, 06:21:34 PM »
Like others have said, I would much rather have a great original Ford tailgate than a reproduction. This one seems to be a base Custom tailgate, (no stainless trim), if thats what you are looking for, no trim holes to fill. The price is somewhat high, but if you have a damaged one, repairing your one , can easily cost more than that this one for sale, and you still have a repaired part. And if your tailgate is missing, buying a rusty, damaged one , and then having it repaired is that much more. Now, if you need to aquire or repair a damaged one, and this tailgate just happened to be the same color, (yeah, I know, very unlikely), this is almost priceless.
1978 Fairmont,FE 427 with 428 crank, 4 speed Jerico best of 9.972@132.54MPH 1.29 60 foot
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AlanCasida

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Re: 73-79 tailgate
« Reply #5 on: May 19, 2021, 06:31:25 PM »
You need to get it to save it from becoming a stupid park bench too!  ;D

RustyCrankshaft

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Re: 73-79 tailgate
« Reply #6 on: May 19, 2021, 11:00:50 PM »
There are some ok aftermarket tailgates, but they are NOT cheap. The ones sold by Dennis Carpenter are stamped with raised FORD and I believe are supposed to use original dies. No clue if that's true or not, but I compared the one I just got from DC to an original 74 tailgate and the DC one is about 2 lbs heavier and appears to have type of coating applied to the steel. They're 500 bucks, but very close to OEM in fit.

In my experience the replacement ones that don't have the letters stamped in them are chinese production and very lightweight and are just terrible. One of these was on my 77 crewcab when I got it and that's why I ordered the DC since I didn't have a decent original to start with. They do seem to go out of stock often, I checked the DC website for 4 months before they had any ready to ship and were out of stock a few days later.

BigBlueIron

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Re: 73-79 tailgate
« Reply #7 on: May 20, 2021, 09:06:46 AM »
You need to get it to save it from becoming a stupid park bench too!  ;D

No kidding