Rear lift-gate/hatch...  available in the US? (1 Viewer)

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Looking for my first cruiser and have been surfing the net hard for the past week or two. Came across a few pics here and there of a feature that appeals to me.

Is this style of rear door available in the US?

http://www.orp.com.au/Wilderbeast/7.jpg

(very large pic of nice cruiser)


I love that look. Any additional info or comments is appreciated.
 
Re: Rear lift-gate/hatch...  available in the US?

I am pretty sure the ambulance doors were never an option in north america. You might find an imported truck with that option, but you will likely look very long and hard to find it. I believe that the guys at cruiserparts.net came into possession of a set then looked into converting a north american spec 80 to receive them and concluded it was too expensive and difficult.

The solution is to buy a trooper II !
 
Re: Rear lift-gate/hatch...  available in the US?

Semlin, that strikes me as odd, since many non-US parts are pretty interchangable into the US models. It looks to me that the ambulance door hinges are low-mounted and might bolt up to the existing latch locations on the US 80s. Hmm....

Anyone ever seen these in person?

-H-

(Now I think I'm "Regular" 8) )
 
Re: Rear lift-gate/hatch...  available in the US?

Ping one of the Aussie's on the 80sCool international list. Maybe it can be like a vacation property swap - I'll send you my (rusted) NA spec hatch and you send me the barn doors...

Cheers, Hugh
 
Re: Rear lift-gate/hatch...  available in the US?

eight-oh,

The barn doors were available but not in the US. FYI, the Aussie and Japan high end VX's all came with the tailgate.

-B-
 
Re: Rear lift-gate/hatch...  available in the US?

hilltopper, I just know what I read. The guy from cruiserparts.net posted an answer to an inquiry (from Junk I think) on 80scool a couploe of weeks back. He said it was pretty difficult.
 
Re: Rear lift-gate/hatch... Êavailable in the US?

Maybe he did not want to let the cat out of the bag and do it himself and sell the goods to do it.
 
Re: Rear lift-gate/hatch...  available in the US?

Amby doors would be neat for the unique value, but they are a PIA to see out of. i like the lift gate on my 74 40 way better than the ambulance doors on my 78.
Kinda like wishing for underpowered Toy diesels just cause we can't get them here.
 
Re: Rear lift-gate/hatch...  available in the US?

I wish the Cruiser had a one piece lift gate with a roll down rear window like my 4runner had. But, oh well. It's still cool
 
Re: Rear lift-gate/hatch...  available in the US?

I've a friend with an imported Landcruiser from Japan who has these doors. Next time I see him I'll take alook at the hinges.

These doors have a couple of advantages over the drop down / lift up type.. for starters, Putting a heavy load in the back is a lot easier when you don't have to lean forward over the tailgate - saves a few pulled back muscles. The BMW X5 has a clever solution to this, the floor slides out over the drop down tailgate allowing you to put your load down then slide it into place.
The second big advantage is that you can mount a spare wheel on one of the doors and access the back without having to first mess around with the swinging arm.
On the other hand, the drop down tailgate makes a handy seat and the lift up part offers a little shelter in the rain.

Cheers, Jim :beer:
 
Re: Rear lift-gate/hatch...  available in the US?

One thing that I miss is that my old BJ60 had 2 steel loop 'roll bars' (for lack of a better discrirtion) that, I think, were used to help protect the lip of the bottom part of the tail gate from being damaged (eg when transporting lumber). From the look and mounting these seemed to be OEM - has anyone else seen these?

Cheers, Hugh
 

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