37 tailgate

Kdancy

I am building a new bed for the 37 and don't have a tailgate to use or duplicate.
Looking for a tailgate for the 37 Terraplane PU. Even one good enough for a pattern to make a new one?
Good close up pictures of one mounted and functioning would be very helpful.

Jon B

Just a thought -- you might want to mention where you live, because someone with a '37 truck in your vicinity might offer to let you come over and look at it.

Kdancy

Thanks guys, I'm in north Fla.
Rick, where is the company located?

Kdancy

Rick, it depends on how complex the tailgate structure is. That is the reason I would like to see a close up picture or the real thing so I can decide if I want to make it myself. I also have a local sheet metal shop that cut and bent the side panels and bed frame rails for the bed using some blue prints. But I don't have blue prints for the tailgate.
here are some pictures of the build--
http://s294.photobucket.com/albums/mm97/studebaker2/

RL Chilton

Kdancy-

That's some fine work y'all are doing on the truck. What was the reason for the pie-shaped pieces beside the grill on the front fenders? Did those fenders go to something else?

Rick-
Nice to see you post here, buddy!

Kdancy

RL, I posted about the issue we were having with the fitment to the grill shell several weeks ago, namely that with the adjustments all the way in, we still had a gap that was way too wide. These were supposed to be the original fenders, but who knows? It all came to me in boxes and parts piles.
This was the only way we could figure out how to close the gaps without messing with the grill shell. The air dam adjusments on the inside were maxed out.
???
Rick, I contacted that company earlier this week and they had sold the tooling for the Hudson tailgates to some one else several years ago, but couldn't tell me whom to. Seems like they think it was some one in Utah --

RL Chilton

"Rick, I contacted that company earlier this week and they had sold the tooling for the Hudson tailgates to some one else several years ago, but couldn't tell me whom to. Seems like they think it was some one in Utah "--

Just trying to put 2 and 2 together here: If the above is true, I know Glen Johnson in UT was having the '46-47 tailgates made. Perhaps the outfit he is getting the tailgates from has the mentioned tooling?

Kdancy

Kdancy - Russell,
Glen gave me the mfr info on the tailgates.
Per Glen, he's had two (2) batches done by them: 45 tailgates, and a later order for another 35. I understand he's only got a few left, and doesn't plan to have any more made.

Honestly, I don't think the person you contacted knew what they were talking about, or just didn't want to deal with producing a single tailgate(?).
Take a look at their website - they sell 'tailgates' for just about every make/model of old truck. IMO, there isn't much (if any) specialized 'tooling' to making tailgates - so unless they aren't doing sheetmetal work anymore, they're still making them.

Rick, I don't know what to tell you on that, I talked to a lady and told her I was interested in a Hudson tail gate and she gave me the info I put in the other post.
Russel, I just took the inside measurements and the bed floor to the upper bed side angle is 13- 13/16" tall and both the lower and upper inside to inside measurements are 61-11/16 wide.

RL Chilton

KDancy-

I'm not sure why you sent me the measurements, but it got me thinking. If someone wants to get blue prints, or make shop drawings, or better yet, send me a tailgate, I could fabricate some and sell them. Especially if no one else is currently re-popping them. OR, better yet, this is really a job for bentmetal, as he is all ready set up to do this kind of work. I would contact him first to see what his current workload looks like.

As far as good candidates for reproductions, tailgates are usually up there high on the list. Trucks back in the day were exactly that: TRUCKS! They were used to do work, not look pretty. And, the front of the beds and the tailgates took a lot of abuse from hauling loads.

Did the question ever get answered about tailgates from different years being the same? Which ones crossover, which ones are different?

Kdancy

I would like to make one that has the 38 lettering!
The 39 looks like the same fenders as the 37 but the box is more like the later box and the tailgate hangs differently.
Here are some 37 tailgate pictures I found from Dave Lanings 37.

timbersmith

I've got some pics of a '36 tailgate that has seen better days, though I don't know for sure if it's original or not. The bed was original (though very cancerous) to the best of my knowledge so the tailgate might be as well. Unfortunately I don't have any measurements available.

RL Chilton

Rick-

That tan '39 in your pics: where is that located? There looks to be a 200 series trolley in the background.