'75 - '80 Tailgate Hinges

[tpripps]

Why is it so blasted hard to find 75 - 80 tailgate hinges? I can find the truck side but not the gate side. I have a '78 truck and an '81+ tailgate and the hinges are incompatible. Are the hole patterns interchangeable? It seems like they shape is similar even into the 2000's. I'd be find converting the whole kit to a more modern size as long as it fits together.

 

[bluex]

The 75-80 gate side hinges are made into the gate, they aren't removable. To run an 81+ gate on an older bed you have to use the 81+ bedside hinges an also the large rubber bumper. Basically use everything for 81+ an it'll work like it should.

 

[Memaloose]

Try the local wrecking yard, that's where I got mine.

 

[tpripps]

Try the local wrecking yard, that's where I got mine.

"local wrecking yards" are pretty much a thing of the past around here. I'd have to drive 50 miles one way to get to one. I've tried car-part.com for various things but a lot of times they're still several hundred miles away. And then I'm stuck paying for shipping or I'm still driving. Beyond that, especially with things like hinges, I'd like to bolt up something clean and shiny to my truck and not something rusty and crusty.