Toyota Tailgate Skin and Roll Pan - Skin 2 Win

One of the first steps to take when building a show-winning or head-turning ride is to make changes to the body that you feel best encompass the meaning of the word custom. But what if you carefully planned the custom work you'd do to your ride before you ever even scratched the stock paint with a bit of sandpaper? We recently hooked up with I Drag Kustoms, the company that took over building all of Alter Images' high-quality steel products, and asked it to put together a tailgate skin, complete with the factory '89-'94 Toyota bodyline. Likewise, we'll install a steel roll pan with a low-profile license plate box to keep from draggin' the license plate after the truck gets 'bagged. Soon after the box of steel from I Drag Kustoms arrived, we hooked up with a new local shop that specializes in upholstery but is quite capable with bodywork to show you how it's done. Special thanks to Chris.

		1.To begin, we removed the...        read full caption 1.To begin, we removed the inner panel screws from the tailgate to expose the inner tailgate handle and latches for removal.
2.Next, we removed the tailgate...        read full caption 2.Next, we removed the tailgate handle by loosening the 10mm bolts that hold it in place. We then unclipped the actuator arms that run to the latch on each side of the 'gate.	3.Next, we removed the bolt...        read full caption 3.Next, we removed the bolt on each side of the 'gate that serves as the 'gate's hinges and took the 'gate to a workbench to safely do our work.	4.The 'gate had never been...        read full caption 4.The 'gate had never been disassembled before, and we could see some rust starting to take over, so we opted to strip everything down to the bare tailgate.To do this, we also had to remove the hinge brackets at the bottom of the 'gate.
5.Here's where the controlled...        read full caption 5.Here's where the controlled destruction takes place. We located each spot-weld at the top of factory tailgate skin and drilled it out using a drill bit that's slightly larger than the weld. We also took a grinder to each side of the tailgate to intentionally break the skin loose from the tailgate on each side and the bottom.	6.There's also a good amount...        read full caption 6.There's also a good amount of seam sealer the factory uses that has to be cleared out with a wire or carefully with a Rolox wheel.	7.
8.It's better to grind too...        read full caption 8.It's better to grind too little than too much. After we ground the sides of the factory tailgate skin, we worked the skin loose one area at a time using a curved steel pick.	9.Finally, we worked the factory...        read full caption 9.Finally, we worked the factory skin away from the inner panel of the tailgate.	10.What? Did you think we...        read full caption 10.What? Did you think we wouldn't show you the difference? There's really no comparing the two, and we promptly jumped all over the stock skin to destroy it just after this shot was taken!
11.Next, we cleaned the new...        read full caption 11.Next, we cleaned the new tailgate skin using a spray-on paint prep before we shot a bit of weld-through etching primer to the inside perimeter of the skin. We don't want any more rust to find its way onto the skin again.	12.Once the primer was dry,...        read full caption 12.Once the primer was dry, the new I Drag Kustoms tailgate skin was loaded into the factory inner tailgate panel and checked for fit.	13.Because the new tailgate...        read full caption 13.Because the new tailgate skin has been customized with a matching bodyline, relief cuts were made on each side to allow the bodyline support to be welded to the inner panel.
14.We'll trim the tab left...        read full caption 14.We'll trim the tab left over from the relief cut before we weld the sides of the new skin. Notice the flange on the left side?	15.Using a pneumatically actuated...        read full caption 15.Using a pneumatically actuated flanging tool, we folded the flange to fit the inner panel of the tailgate skin. This area will not be welded, but it's seam-sealed to keep water from collecting in the fold.	16.
17.The ends of the tailgate...        read full caption 17.The ends of the tailgate were then welded, mating the skin to the tailgate inner panel.	18.Once the welds were complete...        read full caption 18.Once the welds were complete along both sides of the tailgate, the rough welds are ground down.	19.Because we're grinding...        read full caption 19.Because we're grinding an edge, it's pretty easy to compromise the weld, so don't be surprised if you have to go back and spot-weld a few areas. Once the initial cleanup is done, use a lighter grit wheel to finish the cleanup on the sides of the 'gate.
20.Then came the bodywork....        read full caption 20.Then came the bodywork. No tailgate skin is going to be perfect, especially after you've tweaked it, welded it, and ground the crap out of it. We found two distinct low areas that we spread body filler on.	21.Did we mention that blocking...        read full caption 21.Did we mention that blocking really sucks? We spent the better part of hours hours just blocking the tailgate of our Toyota.	22.With the tailgate still...        read full caption 22.With the tailgate still off the truck and in primer, we used a Rolox wheel to grind down the paint behind the bumper area of the Toyota and to each side of the bumper opening. This exposed bare steel facilitated cleaner welding. We then checked the new I Drag Kustoms roll pan for fit, which required no trimming whatsoever.
23.When the proper height...        read full caption 23.When the proper height for the roll pan was determined, both with and without the tailgate in place, the pan was spot-welded on each side to keep it in place before it was welded, one tiny spot-weld at a time.	24.After the welds were ground...        read full caption 24.After the welds were ground down a bit and a little work was done to the corners of the bed, body filler was spread onto the areas we'd welded and allowed to dry before it was sanded smooth.	25.Once the bodywork was roughly...        read full caption 25.Once the bodywork was roughly close to where it should be, the roll pan area was put into satin black primer like the tailgate, and everything was put back together and assembled.