Defender Source Forum banner

Tailgate Conversion: drop-down to swing-away

15K views 10 replies 5 participants last post by  MUDSUX 
#1 ·
So I am getting close to finishing my rebuild and find myself again in unknown territory. I have an '83 110 with the big station wagon rear door. I have a lift-up hatch and a drop-down tailgate I would like to use instead of the door. I have all the parts for the hatch so I think that is a straight bolt-in on the top.

Instead of installing it as a drop-down tailgate, I thought about using the 2 door hinges and making it a swing-out tailgate like on the 90's. Can anyone verify if this is possible? It doesn't seem like the holes will line up where the door hinges attaches to the tailgate. And what about the door latch? Thanks in advance.
 
#3 ·
If you'd like I can dig up some pictures but i did this with my trailer. I had the luxury of having a nas to compare to but it was easy. I had to drill a few holes and you'll be left with a few extra holes but you can just put a bolt through them.

In my case I just used the same anti-luce latch on the left to hold it closed but fitting a latch should be straight forward too
 
#7 ·
Thanks Charles. At least now I know it is possible. I guess it's just a matter of lining things up. I would really like to use a door latch on the other side instead of the anti-luce. That is my back up plan. Anyone with a picture of how the latch is placed? I looked at the latch on the current rear door and I am not seeing how it will attach to the tailgate.

Tristan, I found the lift-up door and tailgate on landroverexchange.com a few months ago.
 
#9 ·
Funny I had completely forgotten about your thread Dave. You do a great job of documenting what you did, and I pretty much did the same thing. In our case we had the luxury of the fold down style hinges to help position the tailgate first, and NAS doors as a reference too.

And it's also funny that the moment I switched mine over I missed the fold down too. But the swing open pros outweigh the cons I think (at least for my trailer). I'll try keep you in mind when I go to sell it (once Janey sells) but I have one of those NTO gates left (unmolested). If someone else plans on going the swing out route you can trade. Unless I decide to go swing down first :grin

charles
 
#11 ·
Hey Dave, thanks for the link! It looks like your latch is different than the one I have on my SW rear door. Mine comes with a keylock. I wonder if I will have to buy a new one. Did you by any chance take measurements of where you drilled for the latch?

As for the dropgate, I thought about that, then I remember what a PIA it is to get into my Series III with the gate down.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top