Tailgate swap

[Zack172]

Can a tailgate from a 1980 Wagoneer interchange with a 78 Cherokee Chief? Mine's busted

[Zack172]

And can the front doors swap too?

[Bob Barry]

The wiring, and maybe the latches, are different. Still, you can swap the wiring and drill new holes for the latches if they are different. I made an '82 gate work on my '78, so it's possible.

[Chero77]

I have an '80 tailgate that I was going to use on my '77 Chero. However the '80 latches are different and will not work with the strikers on the '77. I have looked at a '78 and the latches were the same as a '77, so I expect you will run into the same problem. You can swap the '77-'78 latches onto the '80 tailgate, but it is not a bolt-on. The bolt patterns are different. When I measured it, it appeared that the top bolt on the latch plate was in the same location for both the '77 and the '80, but the lower two bolts are in different locations, so you will have to drill new holes in the '80 shell.

[Tad]

It will all fit, as the above have said, your going to have to do some work on the tailgate latches & strikers. The 79 tailgate went right on to my 70 wag, all I had to change was the body pins that make it line up right. If you're grabbing parts from the 80 make sure you get all the hardware/strikers and shims. Watch out fot the torqe bars, they can be a pain to get off.

[GT71Wagoneer]

Very interesting, I may have an opportunity to buy a 82 cherokee front ended in a smash, will the doors and tailgate from the 82 fit my 71 Wagoneer? I understand that the tgate differences from the previous posts need attention, also if it has p/steering, will that be a bolt on too? I have no idea if it was a v8 or I6. I want the doors, tgate, drive train gear, and anything else I can score to fit my 71 or to use as trading.

Any help on ideas would be great, thanks people.

GT71Wag smile.gif

[Tad]

GT71Wagoneer,
Same as above, it all fits, it all requires some modification (not sure about the PS). If the Cherokee is a wide track then the wheel base is different.

[Lindel]

The wheelbase is different, but only by a very small amount. The body panels and doors will fit, but as everyone else has said, watch the latches!

The main difference between a WT, and a regular FSJ is the axle width, by about 4 - 5 inches.

[GT71Wagoneer]

Lindel and tadsal, Thanks guys

[Oracle]

CAUTION! those neat little steel bars between the hinges on the inside of the tailgate? Those are torsion support springs. If you lay down tha gate and then lever those things out of there, IT WILL BE BAD!!! they will not only try to tear your hands/arms/face off, they will then go looking for the rest of your family!!! Open the tailgate and keep it near verticle when you lever them off.!!!! Get some friends to hold it up for you if necessary.

[Lindel]

What Oracle says is true, the bars (counter levers, to make the gate easier to open and close) are always under stress, but if you put the gate near verticle, then it's not quite so bad. Definately enlist some help, because the gate is heavy, and very awkward.

Unbolt the covers on the cargo area, where the hinges are. Put the gate as close vertical as you can, and then remove the three bolts from the body side of the hinge. Remove the gate, hinges and rods as a complete assy. Then, with the gate on the workbench/ground, switch what ever you need to, and installation is the reverse of the removal. You can unplug every thing from under the back of the vehicle, and feed the wires through the opening in the body panel.