Posted by Paul (in NY) [162.158.159.74] on Thursday, July 20, 2023 at 12:29:56 :
In Reply to: Wanted: Lower carryall tailgate posted by Dan Shockley [172.71.26.227] on Thursday, July 20, 2023 at 10:48:52 :
The Upper and lower tail gate doors on my WC-53 were destroyed beyond
any possible hope of repair. I searched everywhere for top and bottom doors,
with no luck. But I did find a very workable way to get doors for the rear of my
WC-53.
I used Panel doors, (such as seen on Chevy Suburbans), came from a 1946 Dodge 2WD Panel truck. The width of the doors was a perfect fit. The height was about 5 inches to tall. Very easy to cut off the roughly 5 inches off the bottom and box in, so the rolled body lines all match when your done.
My WC-53 had the rear opening stamped for panel hinges, even though it originally had the WC-53 top and bottom tail gate doors. . Behind the stamped area was a backing plate for the bolts, bolt holes punched in backing plate, though not tapped for bolts This hinge scheme is identical to the A Post hinges on the front doors. It was easy to tap the backing plates for the hinge bolts, then make a small cut out in the body for the actual hinge to slip into. I really liked the panel doors, tho not original.
Paul