The tailgate was mangled pretty bad, so I elected to just build a new one (a bit heavier duty also)
Old gate
First swing at the replacement. It is just tacked up for now. I left the center open enough to fit the INTERNATIONAL back in there as I hope I can straighten out that section of the old tailgate.
(the tubes are straight, not sure why it looks like it has a dip)
On the truck. Now I made it the same dimensions as stock so it sat about an inch lower than this. Well I don't plan on using the chains and I didn't like how it look, so I moved the hinges up a bit so it would line up with the top of the bed.
3rd brake light for safety. Top of the cab like a modern truck would have been better, but holding it up there it just didn't look right, so in the tailgate it went. 12" Led strip from Amazon.
Flush
And that is where I'm at right now. I have an old F150 I got for free I was going to take the engine/trans from, but I changed my mind on that and will be going with something a bit newer. I'm heading out in a few minutes to hopefully pick up that donor truck.