85 tailgate on 75?

[curtis_rak]

Hey all

I have a 75 GMC High Sierra with a really rough tailgate. I found a mint tailgate at a wrecker from an 85 Chev. Will this tailgate work for me?

The quick connect bracket looks a bit different but at a quick glance it looks possible. Anyone done this? Or am I on glue....?

Thx!


Curtis
75 GMC High Sierra

 

[CSFJ]

Should be fine. Unless I'm mistaken, the only difference is the newer tailgates have a sheet metal flange that extends a little past the point on the bottom of the older gate where the hinge used to round off on the bottom. If that makes sense?

 

[chengny]

Yeah, kind of like Christian says. The older tailgate is made up of two pieces and the late model gate has 3 parts. They both have the basically the same frame.

But with an older one, the rear face of the gate and the inner face are one continuous sheet of steel. It is formed into a 180 degree bend at the bottom. So it goes from the top of the outside to the top of the inside.

With later gates, the rear face only extends down to the bottom of the frame. Same with the inner face. Where they meet, the rear face is wrapped and crimped on to the inner face. This results in a small lip. That is in contrast to an old gate which is smooth and rounded at the bottom.

There are some differences in the sides as well. Again the older gates are more contoured while the later ones have sharper edges.

This shows a late model gate bottom - the mark tries to show how an old one would look:

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Also, the old style gates are much heavier. The first time I lifted one I was amazed at the difference.

But to answer your question: You should be fine - they mount the same and have the same dimensions. The only issue - IIRC, is that if you have a fill piece (gate trim) it might not fit as flush.

 

[curtis_rak]

Sounds good thx guys. I will grab it and take all the hardware as well and give it a go!


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[curtis_rak]

Just thought if do a quick follow up to this...

Overall 85 tailgate seems to be a decent replacement option for the 75 if you are on a budget like I am. I paid $60 for the gate at the wrecker and I would say the condition of it was a 9/10.

Just a couple things though to keep in mind. Thankfully I also took the mounting hardware from the wrecker to go along with the tailgate. The arms as well as the "sockets" (can't think of the proper term right now) that the tailgate fits into on the box panels DO NOT interchange so you need the matching mounting hardware.

One other small detail is that the bottom corner contours of the tailgate are very slightly off in the design. I'm not too worried because I will likely replace my box panels with ones from 81-87 anyways down the road. But the older box panels will always have that slight mismatch.

Here are some pics to describe the above info...

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Notice the subtle differences in hardware sizes. Without it the gate won't mount properly or close.

Hope this helps someone out in a similar situation!




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