Barn Doors to Tailgate Swap

[Andr_burban]

I have searched this forum with several permutations of phrasing and haven't found any existing threads talking about it. I have also searched the googles without much luck. Mostly people asking the question with no answers to their questions.
So I'll make a new thread. I won't bother asking if it's possible because anything is possible with enough determination and money.

Does anyone already know what is required to swap from barn doors to a tailgate and lifting glass hatch? Has anyone on here done it and can chip in any knowledge?

I want to do the swap. I prefer the tailgate and hatch. And I would love to get in contact with someone who has done it or knows what is involved so that I can cut down on trips to the wrecking yard and orders from parts places.

Thanks in advance.

 

[someotherguy]

Pretty sure you'll find what it takes is replacing the body shell with one equipped the way you like. Or, jack up the entire truck, slide it out of the way, and slide another one in its place..

The mounts for the hinges (both tailgate and glass) are part of the body stamping and are reinforced in those areas. Don't think you'll find it possible without many times more work than is reasonable to make the swap and have it work correctly, and last. Just my opinion...and while I'm not 100% sure, I think I'm one of the people that may have asked this same question many years ago.

Since part of this job would require finding a donor truck, you can start there. Find one and look closely at where everything mounts, then compare it to your truck. I believe you'll see right away the major differences.

Richard

 

[df2x4]

Another thing that comes to mind... The barn door trucks have little electrical contacts molded into the tops of the opening that carry current for the door lock and defroster glass. I haven't ever looked at the opening in a tailgate Tahoe/'burb that closely, but I'd imagine that those would get in the way of the top glass somewhere.

 

[Hipster]

You could swap the body off one onto the other frame in less time.

The rear door opening jamb is one piece that gets welded to the rest of the inner structure before the roof and quarters go on. So you would have to peel 4 quarter panels and 2 roofs loose just to get in there and drill two door opening frames off. One set of which needs to be reusable once you get it off. You would be drilling spot welds for days. The door opening frame is a structural part of the body and heavier gauge so it needs to be better then scabbed in in pieces with a 90 amp flux core welder. Proper welding technics and repair procedures need to apply. Not only does the door frame support the gate while opening and closing it, it keeps it latched in place so it doesn't go through somebodies head if you get rear ended.

As a collision tech who worked on these trucks when nearly new at the dealership and having all the tools and skills to pull it off I wouldn't want to do it. The door opening frames on these trucks, whether it be side or the rear, being of a heavier gauge are just not real fun to deal with.

A lift, 8-10 body bolts, pull a fan shroud, disconnect/evac a/c lines, water lines, pull steering coupler bolt, brake master, a few ground wires, gas tank filler neck, and miscellaneous stuff here and there. A lot of the underhood electrical is plug and play. In a few hours the body is off, roll the frame out and roll the next one under. You don't even have to take the wheels or doors off. By the end of the day the new body is bolted down with no welding or welding supplies, no $30 spot drill bits , no need for any finish work or filler or seam sealer, and it all looks factory because, well, you didn't touch anything in the jamb. All done with basic tools plus maybe an impact gun.

 

[upper_tanker]

This question gets asked a TON in the various Facebook pages, and I don't think there's ever been anybody that suggests doing it the way that OP would like to. Literally everybody says to body swap, or just sell your current vehicle and get one with the opposite setup. The reasons for this, if I had to guess, are the same ones that Hipster posted. Seems like way too much of a pain in the ass, and it also seems like you'd have to get EVERYTHING dead nuts perfect to have it not only look good, but function as it should in the unfortunate event of an accident.

 

[Hipster]

This question gets asked a TON in the various Facebook pages, and I don't think there's ever been anybody that suggests doing it the way that OP would like to. Literally everybody says to body swap, or just sell your current vehicle and get one with the opposite setup. The reasons for this, if I had to guess, are the same ones that Hipster posted. Seems like way too much of a pain in the ass, and it also seems like you'd have to get EVERYTHING dead nuts perfect to have it not only look good, but function as it should in the unfortunate event of an accident.

I used to do all the frame swaps in that dealership. If you approach it as sub assemblies it goes fast. I did enough I had it pretty well science out. I could have a brand new 4wd truck frame under the truck, brakes bled, and truck running in under 12 hours less any front sheetmetal that needed replaced.

When people decide to do these types of things such as the OP they never take their safety into account. As a tech and through training they beat it into us. Repairs need to maintain the structural integrity of the vehicle. Gm has pretty strict repair and sectioning procedures on these door opening frames.

Doing something like this and selling it to the next person "as is" no longer precludes you from getting a knock on the door later on in the event someone gets hurt in something you did faulty repairs on.

 

[retorq]

It's easy I've done it to all of the Tahoe's I've owned as I prefer the lift glass over the barn door setup. First measure about 1 to 2 inches back from the end of the body all around the barn door opening area, don't forget about downstairs behind the bumper. Next cut along those lines as close as you can get, the straighter the cut the better!! My neighbor lent me his electric dremel. Next flip the "rear shell" 90 degrees, 90 to the left or 90 to the right, it really doesn't matter cause those straight cuts you made earlier will line up like hot butter. You may find it easier to remove the doors before flipping, I had my 12 year old help and we managed it pretty easy with just the two of us but if it's just you it might be easier. Now there will be slight gaps on which ever side you put the top (now side) on. For these gaps I used high temp JB Weld cause I live in Arizona, being that you are from Utah you can probably use the regular stuff or save a couple buck and use the generic. Weld the rest of the body where there is no gap. I prefer a stick welder for this but if you are good with a torch brazing may work too, I'm not good with Mig or Tig enough yet. BE CAREFUL WITH THE WELDING!! I ended up getting some sparks near the gas tank and caused a little bit of a fire on the side of the house. The neighbor, the one with the dremel, his house filled with smoke which I felt bad about, but when I showed him what I was doing he laughed and said good luck. That's really the hard part, from here you're on the home stretch. I cut out the window from the lower barn door and JB Welded that into the upper barn door. I cut out the solid section of barn door and put that in where I removed the lower window from. The only issue really is that bar in the middle. The neighbor on the other side of me said I was crazy for doing this whole thing and removing it, the other neighbor, the one with the dremel, told me it was fine and really helped by encouraging me to complete this. I used a couple latches from the local Ace Hardware internally to act as a locking mechanism now that the bar is gone. Over all I'm pretty happy, there is a slight squeak when I hit a big bump but so far so good I would say. I get A LOT of compliments from everyone at Walmart when I pull in so it was pretty worth it in my book. Good luck with yours, I hope it comes out as nice as mine.

 

[someotherguy]

You had me at "it's easy"

Richard

 

[Hipster]

He had me at JB Weld, fires, and Ace Hardware. lol

 

[alpinecrick]

Stop laughing. I was the neighbor who encouraged him to do this.

Although my Dremel is a little worse for wear.........