Part One: Cut Some Holes
This custom modification is what inspired the owner to have the truck worked on. He was hit pretty hard by a new Silverado. The truck originally had a Sir Michaels roll pan with the license plate centered. It will now be replaced with a new Sir Michaels smooth roll pan, with no tag. We also installed a handle flip kit while doing the modification.
1. To start, Brian Wirtel...
1. To start, Brian Wirtel determined where to mount the box we got from Suicide Doors, keeping in mind internal bracing and handle rod locations.
2. A paper template of what...
2. A paper template of what we planned to remove from the front of the gate skin was made. We made the hole in the outer skin just a bit smaller than the license plate. We did this to hide the license light and any attaching hardware.
3. Now the gate needed to...
3. Now the gate needed to be flipped over map out the inside cuts. After marking out the location of the box, cut the inner skin off of the tailgate. These cuts were made with great care because we'll be reusing the inside portion of the tailgate skin that was cut out.
4. Flipping it back over allowed...
4. Flipping it back over allowed us to cut the outer opening. We will not be reusing the outside portion of the tailgate, but careful cuts still needed to be made because this would be the opening we'd see.
5. This is what the gate looked...
5. This is what the gate looked like from the inside, showing the noticeably smaller hole in the outer skin. Notice too that any inner structure has also been removed.
6. The license plate box was...
6. The license plate box was trimmed to match the curve of the outer skin.
7. We centered the license...
7. We centered the license plate box in the hole to make brackets that would go between the box and the ribbed inner skin. We used a wire-feed welder to attach the 3/4x3/4-inch square tubing brackets to the box.
8. A pattern of the new brackets...
8. A pattern of the new brackets made transferring the drill pattern to the outer ribbed skin much easier. Drilling small holes in the corner of each pattern allowed us to temporarily weld the ribbed skin to the brackets from the top.
9. After checking for fit,...
9. After checking for fit, we permanently welded the brackets to the license plate box and the outer ribbed skin.
10. Strips were fabricated...
10. Strips were fabricated and welded to the inside of the ribbed tailgate skin. This provided attaching points for the screws to hold the new box in the tailgate. Once the metalwork was all fabbed up, we made sure to sand down the freshly cut skin to remove any metal burrs in preparation for painting.