The hardest working part on a pickup truck that doesn't require petrochemicals to operate has to be the tailgate. In the case of my '72 Ford F-100, the truck left the showroom floor seeing duty as a milk truck in northern California, and then was sold to a mountain-dwelling family who bought the old Ford to drive deep into the forest and haul out firewood. Consulting with a forensic botanist would likely reveal the dents all over the '72 were caused by a combination of throwing heavy logs into it and missing, or accidently crashing into big trees. My favorite dent, which is probably the one that dealt the deathblow to ever being able to salvage the tailgate, was on the driver side. I didn't realize how bad the damage really was until I had a perfect example from Dennis Carpenter Ford Restoration Parts to replace it. Because the damage was compounded between the left rear corner of the bed, and the tailgate it wasn't as obvious how much the stock dimensions had moved. This brings up an interesting point because there's been more than a few times a customer has called a sheetmetal body parts supplier to complain about fit only to discover the problem was on their end. The first thing to determine after the new parts are in hand is to establish the adjoining areas are up to specs. In addition to proper fit, there are a few tricks to installing new sheetmetal that can make a big difference between a person experiencing a bloody nightmare or having a good time. In the case of installing a brand-new replacement tailgate on my '72 Ford I was having a real good time until I ran into a few problems that ultimately turned into the proverbial nightmare, but that's OK because as we have said before, "we make the mistakes so that you guys don't have to."
 Every moving part on the '72...  Every moving part on the '72 Styleside's tailgate was either worn out or missing. The good news is Dennis Carpenter uses genuine Ford Motor Company tooling to reproduce exact replicas of Ford truck parts that have not been available from the Ford dealer in a long time. The first step was to lay out all of the parts that arrived from Dennis Carpenter and make sure we had everything needed. |  Outside of the big dent on...  Outside of the big dent on the left side of the original tailgate, there really doesn't seem to be any major damage. Look closer and you will notice the left taillight turns inward, indicating major movement. |  A close inspection of the...  A close inspection of the tailgate limiter strap pickup point reveals a severe break that has been repaired by welding. Replacing the tailgate latches not only improved the function of the tailgate, the new plated finish restored the '72's appearance to new. |
 The first step to removing...  The first step to removing the original Ford tailgate was to flip the strap outward to align the notch with the tailgate pin and then pull it outward and off. |  An impact-driver (vessel)...  An impact-driver (vessel) with a 2-lb ball-peen hammer worked best for removing the Phillips screws without buggering up the heads. |  An impact-driver (vessel)...  An impact-driver (vessel) with a 2-lb ball-peen hammer worked best for removing the Phillips screws without buggering up the heads. |