Mounting a tailgate with fiberglass bed sides….
First had to visit the old stock bed to grab all the hardware we need
One bolt stripped and I had to cut it off… fun
This is what we are starting with, what remains of the factory box and tail lights now wrapped with McNeil glass. We have lots of trimming to do each bedside was carefully marked measured and the lifted and cut for clearance. There is barely enough room for a factory tailgate between the new glass sandwich,’let along a tailgate that has 1/8”
Of linex wrapping the top. The glass must be trimmed properly to clear all hardware and pulled in tight to the metal
Im
Lucky to have the help of my neighbor for this work, he is a craftsman and handling these bedsides alone … we’ll get yourself a second set of hands and a second brain
Lots of trimming car required to get the sides to fit tight enough
Multi tool with mason bit works wonders here, then all edges filed by hand and will get touch up paint
Neighbor is very good with metal here he is flattening some under edges for a proper fit
Final trimming
Now that the sides are flat enough for tailgate clearance a template was made from another ranger to help
Locate the hinges and hardware
Could finally final drill the mounting holes along the inside edge. All stainless hardware here, 5 bolts per side when we were done. The bedsides can be removed with 7 bolts each (Not including fuel fill and lights)
More Trimming
Done, tailgate fits phew
Touch up paint needed but luckily, most of this will get linex and cover any ugly (reference pic 1, linex on factory bed)
Next is the tail lights
We have some really nice red led tails for this truck, they were the perfect choice in my Opinion. “Tinted” would look good too but not as good as these. A matching 3rd brake light cargo light, I’m told is coming! Thay is the first mod I would do when I got her home also!
First I test fit an old set of crappy ranger tails
With the fiberglass now wrapped over the metal you have to trim some from the backside of the tails for them to sit
Flush
Again multi tool perfect for trimming plastic
Once I was happy with the flush ness we trimmed the new lights
As a result this cavity was opened… not good this would allow dust and debris and water into the housing
Not on my watch! Small piece of black abs plastic and liberal amount of permatex seal it up
Have to drill new holes for tail light screws and clips. When drilling fiberglass with a gel coat all holes are started in reverse.. once you get through the gel coat you can switch to regular rotation on the drill. This helps prevent cracking
Tail lights both fit
Not perfect, fiberglass never is…
Bed was centered and spaced from
Cab even and then final Bolted to frame
Tail lights were wired and reverse trigger wire for reverse camera added
More on that later
Fuel door and filler neck. This was a first for me.. the mcneil glass hole for the filler neck was not round. I had to get a 2-3/8” hole saw to finish it. I have about every size of hole saw there is but not 2-3/8
This was tricky had to hold it steady by hand and run it backwards:.. it worked
Fuel door was carefully placed, holes marked and drilled. Factory hardware re use
Color match is excellent.. this is the factory fuel door and tailgate vs the paint we did on the glass… very well done by our paint supplier!
5 bolts per side spaced evenly attach glass to factory box.
There are two ways to install full glass bedsides on a ranger, remove the factory pinch welds thus removing the entire factory side or leaving some factory
Metal underneath and wrapping the metal with the glass.
We did method two…why? Because it
Leaves a much stronger cargo Box and huge support for the glass. As a result of this the bed now appears about 1/4” (thickness of the glass) raised above the factory cab and body lines. We had to move the tailgate hinges up to their highest points in the factory adjustment slots
The tail lights also had to be rigged and new holes drilled for all 4 screws, factory holes are 1/4” away
In the future the factory rubber cab mounts can be replaced w urethane and a soacer can be used to line things back up perfectly
work in progress! Don’t expect fiberglass to be perfect, it is really designed for race trucks. We get it as close as we can
And now for the pics!! The result it awesome!
Keep in mind she’s not washed… Final cut and buff is Monday
Oh I almost forgot, I sourced some 2” wheel spacers from our parts collection lol cleaned them up… now the rear axle track width closely matches the front
This truck has a serious “presence” about it… she is quite stunning in person.
To Open the door and see the seats, console, shifter controls cameras screens and mods…. It feels a lot newer than a 2006 build date ranger. To start the engine and watch the Holley come to life and the sound of the cam and true duals… well you guys it’s one sick ass ranger we have created here
Now to drive it a bunch
After spacers
Lights were adjusted, tailgate adjusted, bed adjusted, fuel door adjusted, bed side supports made fuel filler mounted and I vacuumed the ac system
Boom!
also is my 1952 Ford Tudor hotrod project...these projects all on hold waiting for me to finish up "ol blue"
