Tailgate trunnion hinge repair

[Piperperson]

Hey all!

Brand new here, just need advice on a repair I'm attempting
I recently bought a 1979 GMC C15, however, when I bought it, the tailgate wouldn't stay up, and it had some major slop on the driver's side. So naturally, I took the tailgate off, greased the internals, which were stuck open, and now the latch mechanism works as it should, but I discovered that the slop in the tailgate was due to the hinge on the inside of the tailgate rusting itself off the tailgate. In my research, I've found that the tailgates from this age are one piece, and this hinge was welded from the factory. My main question is: can I buy one of these pieces to weld on myself? I have had zero luck finding one online. I want to try and preserve the original tailgate because it's in great condition, and still has the original dealer stickers and all. Just trying to figure out if someone's already done all the legwork to sell something like this, or if I have to fab up something myself, thanks!

 

[CalSgt]

Hey all!

Brand new here, just need advice on a repair I'm attempting
I recently bought a 1979 GMC C15, however, when I bought it, the tailgate wouldn't stay up, and it had some major slop on the driver's side. So naturally, I took the tailgate off, greased the internals, which were stuck open, and now the latch mechanism works as it should, but I discovered that the slop in the tailgate was due to the hinge on the inside of the tailgate rusting itself off the tailgate. In my research, I've found that the tailgates from this age are one piece, and this hinge was welded from the factory. My main question is: can I buy one of these pieces to weld on myself? I have had zero luck finding one online. I want to try and preserve the original tailgate because it's in great condition, and still has the original dealer stickers and all. Just trying to figure out if someone's already done all the legwork to sell something like this, or if I have to fab up something myself, thanks!

How's about some pictures

 

[TotalyHucked]

Talking about this? Nobody makes just the pivot piece that I've ever run across. They're spot welded in there. If you get a spot weld cutter and can salvage that piece, you might be able to use a freeze plug if you can find one the right size? Or go to a home improvement store and find some kinda cap or something maybe? Otherwise, I'd say find a beat up but solid tailgate to cut one out of. Drill some holes and you can plug weld it back, then grind it smooth

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[Piperperson]

That's what I'm talking about, thanks for the suggestions, I'll try some of those

 

[bucket]

I'd see if there's any bolt-on replacements for other trucks available at the parts stores (often in the Dorman/Help isle) that have the same size cup for the trunnion. If so, cut it off the bracket and weld it onto your tailgate.

 

[ss454elco]

There are two different size trunnions/cups. One solution would be to buy the bolt on type and cut the cup off of it and weld it to your tailgate then replace the corresponding trunnion on the bed side. LMC is one source to get the bolt on type. I didn't know a lot of the minor differences in squarebodys until I did a restoration on my 84 K10.

 

[Piperperson]

Thank you for all the help and suggestions, I ended up going with what I believed to be the cheapest option. I’m leaving this here as a suggestion for future issues. I ended up bending a piece of sheet metal and welding a washer to the bottom to form my own trunnion. It won’t let me upload photos at the moment, but my welds are all pretty shotty, but it’s still holding up well for the moment