tailgate electric vs manual glass

[arq]

i've been looking around for a tailgate for a 73, i've got a few leads. one of them is a tailgate with no guts, the 73 i have has the internals but no glass. the glass i can get is off of an electric tailgate. is there any difference in these. are the rails the same???

thanks,

ARQ.

 

[smack]

On my '87 the rails and the glass are the same. I switched from a power mechanism to a manual (actually switched tailgates) and then swapped the mechanism back to power (big mistake). The only difference on mine that I've found is the motor, the wiring, the ratchetting mechanism, the transmission, and the outside handle/crank. Like most people, though, my glass doesn't want to go up by itself when it's cold so if you find a more powerful motor out there let me and everybody else know!

 

[jekbrown]

lol, someone needs to get SW cracking on a "doubler" for the rear window glass gears! /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

J

 

[Greenblazer-AZ]

Do like I did, remove top, and gut tailgate. I'm seriously considering removing the tailgate and installing a support bar like the UAV has. I don't have any rear window problems.

 

[jekbrown]

yeah, the stock TG is heavy. Its only a matter of time before I put in a UAV-esque supp bar on my rig. I was thinking just yesterday how easy it would be to add a little more tube to a UAV-like bar and then welding some tabs to it so I could bolt on some aluminum panels. That way, it'd still function as a tailgate and yet it'd be super light compared to a stock one + all the window + hardware. I am always skeptical about that kinda mod tho... since I know its only a matter of time before I wanna bob the bed for a 80 degree + departure angle. /forums/images/icons/wink.gif

J

 

[arq]

i would remove the top and gut the tailgate, <font color=red>but it's more of a daily driver</font color=red>, eventually restore it. <font color=red>i got my 72 for playing in the dirt.</font color=red>

ARQ.

 

[Zepplin]

Just remove it and get a cheap repo truck tailgate. I have one on my Blazer and it works great. Just make sure to get all the hinges and brackets.