Chevy C10 Mar-K Tailgate Install - Flipped & Shaved C10 Tailgate

Mar-K includes these slugs which we will weld in at another time to shave the tailgate latch-pin holes.

There's one thing for sure, always expect the unexpected when it comes to working on your truck. Having to repair parts broken from years of wear didn't stop us in our tracks, but it cost us some time. The moral is to take a close look at your truck and try to determine if any additional parts should be ordered before you start.

The stock GM arraignment utilizes these metal stops to guide the tailgate into place. In some cases they are bolted on and of course in our instance they were the spot-welded type, which require drilling to remove.

The Mar-K installation kit includes pins that are welded in place of the guides we just drilled out. Here we see Steve Bentley preparing the area for welding.

The best way to prepare this area would have been sandblasting, but we didn't have a portable sandblaster handy, so a wire-wheel sufficed.

We can't stress enough how important it is to tack things together and ensure a good fit before completing the welding. Steve used a hammer handle to press the Mar-K pins flat into position while tack-welding.

Here's the secret to the Mar-K tailgate's clean looks, a trick little latch that bolts right into place with the hardware Mar-K includes in the kit.

With the same principle in mind as tack-welding, Steve assembled the tailgate hardware for a test-fit.

The Mar-K retaining straps have a real nice cad-plated finish, and easily bolt into place with the included hardware. Because our '66's bed opening was distorted from a major hit to the driver-side rear, the tailgate straps didn't quite fully extend on one side.

Realizing the fit was as good as we could get it without repairing the bedside, Steve used our trusty Miller 252 to lay down a bead. People often blame the new parts as the source of a bad fit, but it almost always turns out to be a bad original part causing a fitment problem.

There it is, a perfectly good, gas-free weld with our Miller 252 sitting smack in the middle of blowing Santa Ana winds. See the July '09 issue of CCT for more about gas-free MIG welding in harsh outdoor conditions.

Here's a good view of the tailgate handle flip-kit that comes standard with Mar-K's C10 tailgate.