Tailgate and Valance (4 Viewers)

[TomV]

Would appreciate everyone's thoughts on what is going on with the tailgate on my 82 45LPB. Saudi spec, it's new to me.

Body and frame appear to be solid but there is something off with the passenger rear side of the bed. You can see it here in this photo. One weird thing is that the Toyota lettering on the tailgate is raised/stamped, except for the two bottom legs of the "A". Most likely an accident with poor repair but its all metal and doesnt appear to have been fixed with bondo.

The question I have is whether there is supposed to be any bracing of the lower valance below the tailgate where the hinges are attached? When I open the tailgate the whole lower valance moves. I assume there is some misalignment seen in the photos, but is there supposed to be any bracing or brackets attached to the inside of the lower valance? Or is some movement of the valance when the tailgate moves normal?

Thanks

Tom

 

[whitey45]

That tailgate has been butchered, hinges are welded to the tailgate! Lots of poor metal work and filler. Valance should not move! Likely the original bracing is gone!

 

[TomV]

That tailgate has been butchered, hinges are welded to the tailgate! Lots of poor metal work and filler. Valance should not move! Likely the original bracing is gone!

Thanks Whitey. I didn’t even realize the hinges should be bolted to the tailgate but them being welded says everything. I don’t know of any other 45s near to me to look at so If anyone has any photos of the underside of the rear valence bracing I would love to see them.

 

[whitey45]

Hate to say it, but most saudi 45’s were work trucks and beat to death. Then they got a quick resto and sent to the states to people who see a nice shiny rig and dont know what they are buying.. I dont have a late model saudi 4 hinge truck, but sure someone here will help!

 

[TomV]

Hate to say it, but most saudi 45’s were work trucks and beat to death. Then they got a quick resto and sent to the states to people who see a nice shiny rig and dont know what they are buying.. I dont have a late model saudi 4 hinge truck, but sure someone here will help!

Thanks Whitey and I get what you are saying. I went in eyes open on this truck and did not pay a lot of money ($13k). As you point out, the bed is well used and likely the rest of the truck too, but the underpinnings appear to be solid. I bought it as a project and that's how Im treating it.

I looked under the truck last night. The frame and frame brackets at the rear are all there. But I dont see any brackets attached to the valance itself.

I appreciate your help.

Tom

 

[whitey45]

Thats a very reasonable price and leaves room for improvements! Enjoy it and make it yours! They are fun trucks!

 

[Terrax]

Thanks Whitey. I didn’t even realize the hinges should be bolted to the tailgate but them being welded says everything. I don’t know of any other 45s near to me to look at so If anyone has any photos of the underside of the rear valence bracing I would love to see them.

 

[Bear]

Because that truck was hit at a minimum in the RH rear corner, and that most longbed trucks imported to KSA and the MidEast didn't come with the worthless minimal factory chrome step-bumperettes, the tailgate got smashed. As with the welded hinges, the repairs were done by someone with minimal skills, likely to get the old "mule" back into service--cosmetics not top of the list. The butchered "A" was probably not understood by someone only aware of an Arabic script, and would likely be considered just as a symbol from a foreign land, just as we might view characters from various Asian alphabets. It sorta looks like a triangle and therefore "good enough."

As Whitey said, enjoy whatcha got. I would add that you should check for critical safety-related repairs if the same guy was let loose to "fix" any other damaged areas. America has a lot of problems, but at least we make a stab at roadworthiness, some jurisdictions better than others. That's what I tell myself when I look over at the guy whizzing down the freeway in the next lane while he's playing with his d@mn cell phone in one hand and his favorite adult beverage in the other !

 

[TomV]

Thats a very reasonable price and leaves room for improvements! Enjoy it and make it yours! They are fun trucks!

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Thanks for posting the photos. I've seen 100s of photos of these trucks over the years but its funny how it didnt register with me that the hinges were not supposed to be welded, so obvious now. Is there bracing of the valance itself to the rear frame? Or is the valance only connected to the bed at the corners?

 

[TomV]

Because that truck was hit at a minimum in the RH rear corner, and that most longbed trucks imported to KSA and the MidEast didn't come with the worthless minimal factory chrome step-bumperettes, the tailgate got smashed. As with the welded hinges, the repairs were done by someone with minimal skills, likely to get the old "mule" back into service--cosmetics not top of the list. The butchered "A" was probably not understood by someone only aware of an Arabic script, and would likely be considered just as a symbol from a foreign land, just as we might view characters from various Asian alphabets. It sorta looks like a triangle and therefore "good enough."

As Whitey said, enjoy whatcha got. I would add that you should check for critical safety-related repairs if the same guy was let loose to "fix" any other damaged areas. America has a lot of problems, but at least we make a stab at roadworthiness, some jurisdictions better than others. That's what I tell myself when I look over at the guy whizzing down the freeway in the next lane while he's playing with his d@mn cell phone in one hand and his favorite adult beverage in the other !

Thanks Bear. For sure the bed of this truck was used and abused over the course of its life, the inside of the bed has a few welds. So far the bed is the worst thing I've found but as you say who knows what else is in store. But so far at least Im not finding any other major issues (other than the rat's nest wiring). It runs and drives but things like the brakes and all the rod ends are shot so I've been concentrating on that.

 

[jfz80]

@TomV

Not sure if this helps but here are a couple pics of mine with the caveat of being uncertain if this is stock configuration or not.

Some 1x1 bracing coming off the rear most crossmember supporting top flange of the valance.

 

[TomV]

@TomV

Not sure if this helps but here are a couple pics of mine with the caveat of being uncertain if this is stock configuration or not.

Some 1x1 bracing coming off the rear most crossmember supporting top flange of the valance.
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These pictures are really helpful, thanks for posting. What year is your truck? My frame bracing looks similar to your with slight different shaped brackets but I will have to check to see if I have the valance 1x1 braces you have in the photos. Really appreciate the help, thank you.

 

[jfz80]

These pictures are really helpful, thanks for posting. What year is your truck? My frame bracing looks similar to your with slight different shaped brackets but I will have to check to see if I have the valance 1x1 braces you have in the photos. Really appreciate the help, thank you.

Tom this is a 77 from Canada.

The bedsides/bulkhead/tailgate/wheel wells are OE but whole floor was replaced with aluminum diamond plate sheet. You can see it overlapped over valance flange.

They did bend new bed rails to top the bed so it is possible they bent that valance but assumed it was OE with the way taillights were cut out

Let me know if any other pics would be helpful.

 

[whitey45]

That bed floor is custom, the 1x1 square tube is not oem..