Is this tailgate bent?

[jimmyleetn]

I have two tailgates for my Blazer. The white one is the one that came on it. It is most obviously cracked out at the top. It also has rust in some other typical spots. I bought this gray and black tailgate for it about 3 years ago that had no cracks in it and from all the pictures I saw before I purchased it it looked pretty good. I'm to the point where I'm working on the tailgate now. I had assumed this tailgate was in good shape but when I looked down the window opening there's a most obvious smile line in the gray and black gate. I'm hoping the pictures show it. It looks almost like it's been closed too hard from the center, which is a plague of all of these gates. From what I've measured it's got a quarter inch bend in it. It's also got a little bit of a downward dip in it from the top down if it were closed on the truck. That one measured in 1/8in. So it's really bent or bowed in two directions on the outer top portion. Is this anything to worry about or normal variation? I had planned on running angle iron inside the top to strengthen it but I don't want to put all that work into it if it's junk. I also don't want to strengthen it up and then it not be able to bend back to where it needs to go. This truck will be going to the paint shop soon and I was expecting to give him a good tailgate to work with. I've never seen one of these tailgates in pristine condition so I really don't know what's normal and what's not. I've seen very few without cracks which is why I bought this one.

 

[6872xtc]

My opinion is that it's bent. I would guess that when everything is assembled, the outer seal will be fairly tight against the glass.
Is it going to be a big problem? I have little experience to say. Will it be right for a fresh paint job, I wouldn't think so.
It will need straightened before you attempt any reinforcement.

 

[Bent77]

My opinion is that it's bent. I would guess that when everything is assembled, the outer seal will be fairly tight against the glass.
Is it going to be a big problem? I have little experience to say. Will it be right for a fresh paint job, I wouldn't think so.
It will need straightened before you attempt any reinforcement.

That is not my tailgate

 

[6872xtc]

That is not my tailgate

Definitely too straight to be your tailgate.

 

[jimmyleetn]

My opinion is that it's bent. I would guess that when everything is assembled, the outer seal will be fairly tight against the glass.
Is it going to be a big problem? I have little experience to say. Will it be right for a fresh paint job, I wouldn't think so.
It will need straightened before you attempt any reinforcement.

I'm kind of torn on what to do. A very accomplished restoration shop is going to do the paint and whatever body work it needs to be done. I just really hate to bring them a turd of a tailgate that requires a lot of hours of work to get it right. I actually just purchased the angle iron too. I found that if I put a door wedge and there I can get it straight. I had thought maybe if I kept that in there and spot welded the angle iron in It would hold its shape. I also kind of hate to do that and create extra work that I have to pay for at the restoration shop if the gate is still too bent to look good. I'd look for another tailgate, but I'd about be willing to bet you I'd go through 5 to 10 tailgates before I found one that wasn't banged up. They just did not hold up. I wish they'd remake them. I saw a NOS one a while ago but didn't think I needed it and probably couldn't have afforded it at the time. You thinking maybe I should just leave it to the pros at the shop?

 

[jimmyleetn]

That is not my tailgate

You should see the prices the junked out ones are listed at. I made a quick search last night on the internet and found some for $500 that were in as bad of shape as that white one that came with my Blazer.

 

[obijuank5]

Bent, but still very workable I’d say. Not a turd of a tailgate.

 

[jimmyleetn]

Bent, but still very workable I’d say. Not a turd of a tailgate.

I'm starting to lean towards just fixing the one mild crack and then letting the body man do the rest. There's plenty of other stuff I can focus my time on.

 

[6872xtc]

I know that someone who can actually work the metal would be able to relieve some of the tension in the top of that.
The metal needs to have some of the distortion relieved, IMO.
Just trying to hold it straight with a brace isn't the best way. It would be a good addition, if done properly.

Maybe you can take both tailgates to the shop and ask which would be better?

 

[jimmyleetn]

I know that someone who can actually work the metal would be able to relieve some of the tension in the top of that.
The metal needs to have some of the distortion relieved, IMO.
Just trying to hold it straight with a brace isn't the best way. It would be a good addition, if done properly.

Maybe you can take both tailgates to the shop and ask which would be better?

That's probably what I'll end up doing. I decided to spend the rest of my time today running a tap through the holes for all the bolts in that tailgate. I don't plan on getting rid of the white one so I'll just bring him both. I've got literal trailers worth of parts I'm bringing to the resto shop anyways.