Will a 62 tailgate fit my 61 ranch wagon. I ran in to a guy that knows where ones at and I would hate to make a trip for nothing. I know the trim and tail fins are different but the gates do look they could inter change. Its hard to tell from pictures alone. Thanks
They should be close, but I don't know if they would be exactly the same as far as fit. The only way you're probably going to know for sure is to try it.
I think no. The 61 and 63 Ford wagons have a lip above the horizontal concave section between the tail lights. The 62 does not. 62 Ford Ranch wagon 63 Ford wagon 61 Ford wagon
tailgate WoW, great pictures. I had trouble finding a 62 rear shot, alot of them were misidentified. That is wild how Ford changed the design and then went right back to it. Thanks for the help you saved me some mileage.
I see you are in southern Maryland. If you aren't too far away, you might want to try checking out Leon's Auto Parts in Leon, Virginia some time this winter. Its a 100+ acre salvage yard on RT 29 just south of Culpepper, Virginia. Most of the cars in the yard are 50's, 60's and 70's. I'm sure you'll find some early 60's Ford wagons there, but the chances are that they will be rusty. Still, it might be worth the visit, you just might find a usable tailgate. Check the 61-64 full size Mercury wagons too. There is a possibility that they might use the same tailgate. Call them first, they have limited hours that they will let you in. If it hasn't changed in the last couple years, the number for Leon's is 540-547-2366. Winter is the best time to visit when the leaves are off the trees so you're less likely to walk right past something and not see it, and also less likely to have you worrying about snakes, ticks, poison ivy etc. You could also try Fredricksburg Auto Salvage in Fredricksburg, Virginia, on your way home from Leons. Its a large yard, but mostly mid 60's, 70's and 80's cars. You may be a bit less likely to find early 60's Ford wagons there, but they may have something. My last trip to Leon's was several years ago. I was looking for Mopar parts, but just walking back to the Mopar sections, I remember counting six 1956 Buick convertibles, and 4 or 5 1960 Ford wagons (I always liked the one year only body style of the 1960 Ford wagon), and I remember seeing a 58 Mercury Colony Park in there, a 58 Ford retractable hardtop buried in the mud up to it's tail lights, a Borgward Isabella, a British Ford Thames passenger van, late 50's Cadillac ambulances, a 49-51 Ford woody wagon that looked complete, except all the wood was gone, a late 30's or early 40's Packard, and of course anything and everything that would have been found on the street in the 50's and 60's. These pictures I took on that trip to Leons are mostly Mopar pictures, but it will give you an idea of what the 100 acres looks like. http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.419690148078041.90064.100001111775214&type=3&l=4f7ca22003
To my eye, the 3 gates look the same, just 2 have the lip highlighted by trim, and the 3rd does not. I would bet that they will interchange, but the trim, or lack thereof, may need to be adjusted to suit.
The '61 and '63 gates look the same but the best bet would be to check an interchange manual to know for sure. Going by those pics the '62 gate is totally different on top where it curves in and up to match the body contours and would never work on a '61. If you're looking for a '61 gate try the car part boneyard search. http://car-part.com/
I agree. The body lines on the tailgate bulge out just below the rear window on the '62, but not on the 61 and 63. I didn't notice that before.
I thought I might be a little help but... It appears my shop manual DVD is missing the the parts break down for GROUP 40709. Parts group 40709 is the Ford parent number of just the tailgates (sheet metal) for 1960-1964. I have attached a couple of screen shots to show what I found, but without a listing of what 40709 contains, I cannot determine if the outer/inner metal is the same configuration. In other words, the tailgate group numbers remained the same for 60-64 but this does not mean that they were the same configuration. The complete part numbering scheme would include the year and trim.
Based on the pics of the cars, and your break down pics, the outer skin is clearly different...... Just because it bolts on and works, does not make it correct in the looks department. Take the 63 and 64 full size Mercurys for example. For a few years a beater 64 breezway Merc was driving around in rattle can black, it's whole front end and drivers door were from a 63. I met the owner and we chated about the "what the?" He said everything bolted up and worked no problem door seals, etc but the outer body skin was clearly way off from lining up......
tailgate Jim, thanks for the info on the yards in virginia. Are you going to the Karb Kings show in Fredericksburg this Saturday? This will be my first time going but I heard it is a really good show. I am going to try and visit the nearest yard after the show. Again, thanks to everyone. I was going to head up to Pa. to look at the 62 gate so you saved me some money. Phil
X2 on Leon's in Culpeper. I was there this summer, and they had recently organized most of their 60's Fords. There were AT LEAST 40+ Galaxies of all years, that is not an exaggeration. In fact, there was a fully intact 62 wagon right as you walk out of the shop. Owner says it has been sitting exactly like that for 30 years, and no one has ever bought a part off of it. Pretty astonishing. Some people seem frustrated dealing with the guy, but I think it depends on what attitude you take in with you. We got along just fine, and the prices were fair.
