The tailgate on my 67 Coronet seems to be completely missing the illustrated "bearing" and retainer. I discovered this after the tailgate wouldn't go back up after installing a new rear window seal - the tailgate had been making a snapping noise when raising and lowering for a bit, and finally the torsion bar had snapped out of its clamp because the missing center bearing allowed it to move too far off of its twisting axis. Whatever this thing was is completely gone from inside of the tailgate - not even a stud is in there. I'm guessing it rusted off and fell out when the previous owner took the tailgate off to have the window motor rebuilt. Looking at the illustration, it looks like something more or less like an anti-sway bar bushing was the original "bearing". Should a polyurethane swaybar bushing held down by a conduit clamp work? This combination of parts doesn't seem to exist as new anywhere.
The bearing and retainer in the upper right. They mount(ed) on the backside of the bottom center of the tailgate to hold the middle of the torsion bar.
Well...used parts would probably be your only source. I would try to locate a wagon like yours and see if you can get the parts from it....try this, it's a good source.... http://www.car-part.com/ Otherwise, I suggest jim68cuda. Although, he is looking for a 67 tailgate himself, albeit, for a Belvedere, I believe. Point is, he knows these Mopars and should be a good source of info. Might want to PM him if he doesn't show up here.
Delrin (AKA acetyl) would probably work in this application. It's strong, self-lubricating, and easy to machine. In the picture, it looks like the factory part may have been partially split to get around the torsion bar, suggesting a rubber or polyurethane-like material. Delrin is rigid, so it would have to be two-piece if you used that material.
This won't help the 'Retainer' problem, but it might give you some leads and lots of tech/history on the Coronet, Check out their Tech articles too and the forum: http://www.allpar.com/cars/dodge/coronet.html http://www.allpar.com/fix/index.html This is my all-time favourite Mopar site. I learned to Roller-Paint my car here! Again, check out the articles and forum. Use keywords like tailgate. http://www.moparts.com/index.html I had a 1975 T&C wagon, and I think that retainer was a standard approach to keeping the torsion bars quiet and straight. The Delrin idea makes a lot of sense. You might also look at those Coil Spring rubber spacer blocks and make one up. I think they are Polyurethane too. Oh, and the grand-daddy Mopar site: http://www.imperialclub.com/Yr/index.htm http://www.imperialclub.com/index.htm These guys find all kinds of ways to workaround Parts shortages: http://www.imperialclub.com/Part/index.htm http://www.imperialclub.com/Repair/index.htm http://www.imperialclub.com/Articles/literature.htm And part numbers: http://www.imperialclub.com/Part/Lit/index.htm
Looks pretty easy to manufacture yourself. Delrin or Polyurethane can be cut and drilled with basic hand tools. Split it or make two pieces to get it around the shaft. Then the strap is simply steel cut, drilled and bent to shape. Could even use .040 or .050 brass strip. Both steel and brass are available at your local True Value hardware store.
