I don't have a tailgate and want one..does a 1987 tailgate fit a 1985 f250? I saw this guy selling one on Craigslist here Ford F-150 TAILGATES

If that would work on my truck I could save alot of money..the others I found are new and cost alot to ship..and doesn't come with the latch

This one on ebay I don't think does? TAILGATE ford F-350 80-86 85 84 83 82 81 1980 1986 1985:eBay Motors (item 230397973037 end time Dec-10-09 08:17:23 PST)

^^ Anyone have any experince buying one from that ebay seller? I sent him a question regarding if it comes with the latch, but haven't got an anwser back yet and the picture doesn't look like it has one.

Not to mention if I buy one like that I'll probably also have to buy tailgate cables.

 

ok, from 81' to 97 will fit, altho 81' to 86' will be a different style, but it will fit.

cables you can buy cheap at autozone.

 

Sweet thanks man.

 

They fit, but you have to swap all the hardware as well, not just the tailgate. From 87+, the pivots points are smaller and they use a striker bolt to hold them shut. The pre 87 trucks used a latch. I swapped a 95 tailgate onto an 85 truck, and it took some drilling and wrenching.

In this pic you can see the difference in the pivot brackets, notice the bolt hole spacing is also different. I got around this by using a smaller nut/bolt combo in one of the holes.


In this pic you can see the different latching devices. The hoop is from 80-86, the striker is for 87-96. To mount the striker I just eyeballed the location with the tailgate closed and made the hole a little large to give me room to adjust it.