Have You Tried Mar-K Co. they make the good re pop bed parts everyone else marks up and re-sells . Original tailgates tend to be dented , bent and rusty, once in a blue moon a good one comes along but you'll still have to dip it and etc. ($) . You might try looking in the classified section .
I agree with Nate 100%. After looking at both of the tailgates I had for my truck, I opted to get a new one from Mar-K. When I bought mine, they were offering free shipping via UPS which definitely saved me some money. Here's their website. www.Mar-K.com
-or- If you're just going to bang around in it and work it , blast all the rust and 23 + 2/3 coats of paint off of it , weld/pop rivet it up and stomp it more or less flat , paint to match and it'll be fine , really . The tailgate on my '49 is like this , broken welds and loose pop rivets , bowed out 3/4" in the center so anything loose (gravel , sand , unobtanium parts I should keep in my pocket) simply drops onto the roadway and is lost forever but since the top rail isn't dented (who knows why not) and the stamped ' CHEVROLET' is in good shape , I leave it be... Good enough to a work truck and the occasionaly show & shine .
here is a CHEVROLET tailgate I have this one listed with a mess of other parts in the classifieds https://talk.classicparts.com/showthread.php?t=7126 I think this came off of a 54 and I do not know if they are the same size or not as our 47-53's. If I recall, someone told me that they are, but that they latch differently. I am in FL and the parts are in IL, so I can't do a side by side comparison and let you know. Someone on here will know what you'd have to do to make her work. Hope it helps.
'54 and newer tailgates will not fit on '53 and older trucks. The '54 tailgate is taller due to the new style beds introduced in '54.
Good to know. I will have to compare the height of this tailgate with the spare bedsides to see what is what. Thanks!
If the bed rails are at a 45 degree angle, they are pre '54. If they are 90 degrees to the bedside, they are '54 and newer.
Old Dead Tailgates.... Cab be saved and two of them used to make a nifty fold down bench near your work area....... Even badly bent and cracked tail gates will work fine for this .
