Great idea. Wish I had had a couple of water pump cores lying around when I was doing mine.
Here's a way to reinforce the top and bottom round rails of the tailgate. I took 3/4 galvanized pipe, cut it to length and it was a drive-fit into the top and bottom rails of the stock Stude tailgate. Driving in the pipe actually straightened the slight kinks and dents in mine. I then welded solid caps of 1/8" steel to cover the ends of the pipe. The tailgate now feels twice as strong as stock. I'm not afraid to stand on it when loading or unloading.
thnx, jack vines
Posted on May 14, 2008, 12:57 PM from IP address 67.185.9.226