Tailgate Warpage (1 Viewer)

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The holes are 8mm.

I'm going to call Great Western on Monday to see if they have shipped yet. If not I'm going to check on having them round the top edge. A carbide router bit cost over $20 and I am guessing they can do it for less than that.

If they had the blueprint on file I would have them drill and counter sink the holes as well. I considered shipping them my carpet but have to agree with Cdan - there is too much slop using the carpet as a blueprint for an accurate product. I say this because even with all 16 of the plastic connectors in, the carpet still slides around slightly. If you have ever had the carpet off you will know what I am talking about. The plastic connectors slide into an over sized hole and float around a bit.

Now if they had an actual tailgate to work from I think they could make it work.

Thanks. I would mail you my bit but it's at my MIL's and I don't think she could find it. 1/16" radius is not easy to find!

This might help. I don't know the hole size.

-B-

Thanks Beowulf. That does help. I've never taken my carpet off so I had no idea what the bare tailgate looked like.
 
Another suggestion before you go to too much trouble. Get on the phone with Great Western, reference the drawing number and tell them what you would like in addition (e.g. 16 1/4 holes, countersunk for x type of screw, 1/16 radius edges on top, etc.) and get a quote. They won't need the exact hole locations to give you a price. They are very easy to deal with on the phone in my experience.

You know the price for the bare plate shipped already. I think you need to know what the fully fabricated piece is going to cost before you go any further to make sure that you still want to do it. Just my 2 cents.
I will give them a call tomorrow and give them the drawing number, and inquire about a group buy price if there is enough interest here that warrants there effort. Then see if someone in Texas with a 80 can stop by so they can plot the holes. I'll let you know tomorrow how I made out. Can someone confirm that all the tailgates are the same from 1991-97
 
Like the gate mod and love the ammo !Do you have twin 30's attached to the roof?
ARE WE BUGGIN OUT? WWII may be over but three's comming !!
 
I would go but houston is two hours from me, put me down for a group buy.
 
I'm interested as well. Might be nice to get one and then line-x to color match the interior.
 
What is it that you guys are trying to do? I can probably help. Do you want to use the holes for the snap pins for the nutserts?

I can draw up the plate and then verify the hole position by cutting a template on one of my machines to ensure proper fit before going to manufacturing.

I have time today to work out that and then cut the file later this week.

Let me know
 
Rick,

I think three things are needed. First, the drawing in post #57 needs to be verified that it fits the tailgate. Wearsabrowncoat can do that but he hasn't received the plate yet.

Secondly, the centerline of the holes in the tailgate need to be shown on that drawing (or the information conveyed such that Great Western can put the locations on their drawing).

Lastly, someone needs to decide what size/type of screw they want to use. If it were me, I would be planning on drilling out the tailgate holes to 11mm and inserting 8mm nutserts. I would then be using 8mm, allen-head screws to anchor the plate. If someone said the screws needed to be ANSI then I would probably choose 1/4".

JerseyCruiser has volunteered to phone them today to get a price on a plate with the holes drilled and countersunk. I don't think I would do anything until he gets that price. It is very nice of you to volunteer to measure the hole locations. You can probably do that as well or better than Great Western could with a LC in front of them.

I will probably order a plate once Wearsabrowncoat verifies that his fits but I will drill everything myself.
 
Rick,

I think three things are needed. First, the drawing in post #57 needs to be verified that it fits the tailgate. Wearsabrowncoat can do that but he hasn't received the plate yet.

Secondly, the centerline of the holes in the tailgate need to be shown on that drawing (or the information conveyed such that Great Western can put the locations on their drawing).

Lastly, someone needs to decide what size/type of screw they want to use. If it were me, I would be planning on drilling out the tailgate holes to 11mm and inserting 8mm nutserts. I would then be using 8mm, allen-head screws to anchor the plate. If someone said the screws needed to be ANSI then I would probably choose 1/4".

JerseyCruiser has volunteered to phone them today to get a price on a plate with the holes drilled and countersunk. I don't think I would do anything until he gets that price. It is very nice of you to volunteer to measure the hole locations. You can probably do that as well or better than Great Western could with a LC in front of them.

I will probably order a plate once Wearsabrowncoat verifies that his fits but I will drill everything myself.


When I design stuff I usually include all that in my drawings. There would be a dimension layer, cut layer, bend layer and so on. I would use the cut layer to cut a precision piece out of corrugated board to confirm that everything fit the tail gate properly. Going from drawing to production is risky and costly not to mention you loose the ability to freely alter the design before committing to the order.

But it would take me some time to work through the process so I don't want to hold anyone up but thought I would offer to help.
 
I talked to Holly from the sales department and she said that they usually don't take measurements from pieces brought into them, but would talk to her boss to see if it would be possible. Holly located wearsabrowncoat's drawing but would need to have his order number to proceed any further. If wearsabrowncoat wants to PM me with it or call Holly directly to help out I would appreciate it. Holly said they would not be able to make any kind of beveled or finished edge other than square.
 
I checked my home email account and didn't see any order number on my correspondence with GWM. I'll have to check at work tomorrow.

Holly located wearsabrowncoat's drawing but would need to have his order number to proceed any further.

What exactly did you want them to proceed with? You should be able to order a cut piece just like mine if it is the correct size. Or were you looking to get an estimate on drilling holes?

I did talk to them today and the part shipped yesterday so I should have it by the end of the week. If not sooner I'll post more info then.
 
What exactly did you want them to proceed with? You should be able to order a cut piece just like mine if it is the correct size. Or were you looking to get an estimate on drilling holes?

I'm looking for a price on a piece fabricated with holes already drilled.
 
If we had our own CAD drawing, then we could take it to any local place. If, the originator of the drawing was willing to pass it around. Maybe for a small fee?
 
I talked to Holly from the sales department and she said that they usually don't take measurements from pieces brought into them, but would talk to her boss to see if it would be possible. Holly located wearsabrowncoat's drawing but would need to have his order number to proceed any further. If wearsabrowncoat wants to PM me with it or call Holly directly to help out I would appreciate it. Holly said they would not be able to make any kind of beveled or finished edge other than square.

I'm really not surprised. If you look at their website, their forte is selling alloy metals. They also cut to order with their waterjet machine but they aren't a fabrication shop. If you had a drawing with the hole locations and diameters then they can easily cut the holes out at the same time that they cut the plate. If it's on their drawing when they push the button then the waterjet will cut the holes.

I don't think you will get them to radius the top edge or countersink the holes. That can't be done with their machine.
 
Cool thread. I'm on the list for one of Kevin's tailgate storage boxes, but I really can't afford it at this time. I remembered Dan's old thread and decided to look it up. Very happy to see other's interested in this as well.
:beer:
 
The tailgate armor came in last week. The size and radius of the corners was spot on. Before the install I rounding the exposed edge with a file. Next I decided to drill 8 holes since I thought 16 rivnuts was excessive. I took the edges and carpet off the original tailgate cover and used the particle board backing as a guide for drilling the holes. I then lined it up on the tailgate to verified they were good. Next up were the rivnuts. The rivnut install was actually harder for me on the tailgate than the aux tank I did a couple week ago. In that regard I'm glad I only put in 8. However, not all the rivnuts tightened up perfectly centered. When I was tightened down the screws I could tell because three started to bind. I made the mistake of trying to tighten them down with a drill and proceeded to strip them of their threads. I'm going to go back pull those out and install new ones as well as drill three more holes for 3 more rivnuts along the back edge where the tailgate is slightly bowed out.
tailgate armor side.jpg
tailgate armor rear.jpg
tailgate armor side.jpg
tailgate armor rear.jpg
 
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The tailgate armor came in last week. The size and radius of the corners was spot on. before the install I rounding the exposed edge with a file. Next I decided to drill 8 holes since I thought 16 rivnuts was excessive......
I was tempted to do this, too. After considering the smaller size hardware that I was using, I drilled all the holes.
........Next up were the rivnuts. The rivnut install was actually harder for me on the tailgate than the aux tank I did a couple week ago. In that regard I'm glad I only put in 8. However, not all the rivnuts tightened up perfectly centered. When I was tightened down the screws I could tell because three started to bind. I made the mistake of trying to tighten them down with a drill and proceeded to strip them of their threads. I'm going to go back pull those out and install new ones as well as drill three more holes for 3 more rivnuts along the back edge where the tailgate is slightly bowed out.

Perfecly aligned holes in the panel will not insure a perfect fit. There is still going to be some custom fitting required. When the nutserts are compressed they sometimes "wander" off-center slightly and the threaded insert will not be perfectly centered in the opening. Been there, done that.
After this post by cdan, I was glad I used the type of fastner that I did. (See my post#74) As long as holes in panel are true, your fastener will be right on the money. The original holes in tailgate are not modified using this fastner and will even "float" a small amount if needed. Some may feel that these are not as strong as the nutserts, which may be true. With 16 holding the panel on, I don't think it's an issue. Plus they're cheap and fairly easy to replace if one breaks or gets stripped out.
........ where the tailgate is slightly bowed out.
How do you mean "bowed out"? Did you pull it out too far when you you were straightening out the tailgate?

Congrats on the install! I think you'll like it - I like mine.
 
How does it effect weight, noise, etc?

The tailgate is a bit heavier and drops a little faster. Like cdan said, it might surprise someone if they are not expecting it.

As far as noise I haven't noticed any difference.

I was glad I used the type of fastner that I did. (See my post#74)

I would have been comfortable using the fasteners you used but couldn't find any locally. Also, I purchased the rivnuts before you posted.

How do you mean "bowed out"?

My tailgate is slightly bowed out in the center from weight being applied and it getting warped. I didn't notice until I had the perfectly straight 6061 plate installed. Its hard to tell from the pictures but I circled it. I'm going to add 3 more fasteners in between the 4 already installed on that edge and it should straighten up nicely.
 
..............I would have been comfortable using the fasteners you used but couldn't find any locally. Also, I purchased the rivnuts before you posted.........
I went back to the Hardware store to get a few more for spares in case they stop making them. They're called Jack Nuts and they were 55 cents a piece in case any one else that does this mod is interested. They come in 6-32, 8-32, 10-32 & 10-24 thread sizes. They're available long or short, depending on the thickness of the material you're using. The short length works fine for the 80's sheet metal.
 
I got hooked up with some Jack Nuts and must say they are the way to go. They are cake to install and you don't have to enlarge the original openings if you ever want to go back to the stock carpet. They are not a strong as rivnuts but if you use all the original mounting holes (16), there is no way that thing is coming out.
 

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