Fully shaved gate?

[custm2500]

Does anyone have picutres of there shaved tailgate? I have seen the outside but I am talking about the inside of the bed. I am debating on just fliping my handle or putting a full skin on the back. I would like to put a skin to save the weight of the gate.

[rocktheworld]

I cant upload the pics right, maybe cuz of flickr? :dunno: haha..... FYI theres a gap between the handle relocator and tailgate, some stupid reason they made it to where it doesnt sit flush, it bottoms out on the shaved part you just installed

http://www.flickr.com/photos/73368590@N04/6620977853/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/73368590@N04/6620950335/

[custm2500]

I was under the impresion that you could buy a skin that compleatly replaces your tailgate. Maybe I am wrong. I have already taken most of the weight off the truck a possible just looking for the clean look and another few pounds off the gate.

If my skin imagination is not real I am going to shave the handle hole and just do a simple release on the inside. I will be running a tonue cover and it will only open to put fuel and nitrous in the bed.

[rocktheworld]

im sure alot of weight is the stuff in the inside too, braces etc, maybe you could cut the edges of the inner where its flat and replace with a flat panel. getting rid of all the ups and downs in the tailgate?

[custm2500]

I will probably just gut my gate. leave enough reinfocement in it that it isn't flopping and be done. I will just need to make a filler panel for the lower gap and gate handle.

[rocktheworld]

lol looking to shed some serious weight huh, i take it you have a roll pan? What are u running now in ur truck?

[custm2500]

Well the 408 should hopefully be running by feb. 1st is the goal! I think feb 15th is more realistic but I am dieing to get it running.

I am hoping it will run 11.75. That should be fairly easy on motor. Then mid to low 10s on juice. The motor is built for 350 of nitrous but I don't want to use any more then 150 this year.

I have a thread in the Projects section.

[Andrew.]

Grant Kustoms makes a skin, you flip the handle to the inside as posted.

Honestly, shaving your gate to save weight is possibly the dumbest idea I've ever heard. Might as well remove all the lights and door handles while your at it. You'll net maybe a pound at most?

[rocktheworld]

Grant Kustoms makes a skin, you flip the handle to the inside as posted.

Honestly, shaving your gate to save weight is possibly the dumbest idea I've ever heard. Might as well remove all the lights and door handles while your at it. You'll net maybe a pound at most?

Basic principle hes trying is to shave whatever weight he can wherever he can, ever takin off your tailgate alone? I keep telling him to lose some weight but he wont listen!

[custm2500]

I don't know if I care that it opens or not. That will determine if I mess with the gate other then just flipping the handle.

You can think what you want but every pound helps and adds up. The gate weighs around 40-50 lbs as a whole. So pulling 25 lbs from it shouldn't be too hard.

[Outlawz2004]

Grant Kustoms makes a skin, you flip the handle to the inside as posted.

Honestly, shaving your gate to save weight is possibly the dumbest idea I've ever heard. Might as well remove all the lights and door handles while your at it. You'll net maybe a pound at most?
Save your breath, he planned to remove the front brakes to save weight.LOL You shouldnt need to pull off all that weight, get another engine built if you cant get a 408 to run 11's without going down the track with half your truck missing. 5.3s are running 11s and driven daily on the street in full street trim.

[custm2500]

I don't need to pull weight I want to. We all know lighter is faster and since the truck isn't going to be a full interior truck I am going to drop weight every where I reasonably can.

The 408 made 52X hp and I am probably going to put the same heads on that the previous owner did. Originaly I was going to port and polish my 317s but I am getting the itch to make maximum power and I know I won't drive it much at all besides the track. Therfore 13:1 isn't going to be that big of a deal.

It should run noticably faster then my goal of 11.75 but don't want to set the bar too high.

[bdiamond]

I welded a tailgate shut on a truck I had when I was younger. I hated it before the welds cooled... It was then that I remembered that I kinda liked sitting on the tailgate drinking a few at the track, lake, local cruise spot, wherever... I would NEVER do it again!! For a max effort drag truck the tailgate weight (read rear weight) would probably be more beneficial than light total weight. Again, in my opinion its a bad idea.

[lowlife113]

i have a skin on my truck it was like 350 from grant kustoms

[skylark]

If it were me I would brace the bed where the top of the tailgate goes and weld just a skin to the brace. The skin and brace couldn't be over 15 pounds. On a previous endeavor I bought printing press plates (.007 aluminum) from the local newspaper and used it for ducting, door panels and any place I wanted a light weight filler panel. My newspaper was charging me .50 cents a piece for them.

[Andrew.]

Save your breath, he planned to remove the front brakes to save weight.

ohhhhh i remember lurking and reading said thread.

Guy, you sound like your stuck somewhere between making it a true drag truck that your going to have to trailer, and a truck you can drive to the store for some milk....pick one, and go from there. Once you decide that your going to trailer it. Go wild, hack the box to hell. Make the tailgate out of foil for all I care, but creating a tailgate out of sheetmetal so that you can blow the doors off a civic on the weekend, only to get laughed at the other 5 days a week your seen driving around in it just seems bassackwards to me...

[custm2500]

I daily drive a Tahoe. The truck is a track toy that will occationaly be taken out to put a smile on me, my kids and friends faces. I will also take it to the local street races to hopefully make some money.

I am very torn on the gate. I think I am going to just shave the handle and flip it. Like someone said it is a good seat. And giving up a good place to sit and bull**** just to remove weight that will make little differance is a bad idea. I certainly wouldn't buy a skin for $300 if I was going to do it. I would gut the stock gate long before spending that kind of coin. I don't ever expect the truck to be a show piece, just look good and stomp some ass in a race!