rear window conversion

[squirelmurphy]

I was thinking of adding a power tailgate. My truck is a '78 with a manual gate. I'm sure somebody has done this, I was just wondering what nightmares lie in store for me if I do it.

I don't feel like rewiring the whole truck, I just want to be able to roll the window down from the drivers seat.

 

[Seventy4Blazer]

with a relay the guts, or tailgate with the omotor in it already and a switch you could make it easy...
i dont see why one would want to wire it in as a factory deal. too much work. make it custom and call it better than stock
grant

 

[BowtieBlazer]

I did the conversion and it wasn't a nightmare....gutted a gate with all the stuff i needed minus the glass and channel the glass rests in. Your manual tailgate will have all the holes already for the power stuff to bolt into. I also made myt own wiring schematic and now I have a gate operatable from the drivers seat and from the back glass....got the key switch in the back rekeyed to my existing door key for $15...anymore ?'s feel free to PM me!

 

[Sandman]

It was all a bolt in deal. The hard part was running the wires up along the frame and punching a hole in the dash for a switch. I converted over when my manual crank broke off and it was not a nightmare at all.

 

[shane74]

Hmmm...so I could do it w/ my '74? Was it a total tailgate swap, or just motor and guts minus glass? The reason I ask is because a guy here at work has a '74 and he swapped the rear out for an electric one. It doesn't seem to line up very well. It looks like it sticks out at the top. I haven't looked at it very much, but I have only been considering this in the recent past.

 

[Sandman]

For my '82 is was just a gut swap. You could pull off the inner panel and see if the holes to mount the motor are there. If I remember right (its been awhile), The motor sits on the drivers side of the center latch assembly. Maybe you could look at that guys setup for reference.

 

[shane74]

Thanks for the info.