The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Stepside Tailgate just don't quite fit

Body experts....I have a question. The tailgate on my '56 3600 Chevy just won't fit right unless I take a ratchet style winching ty-down and pull the bed sides together a bit (1 to 1.5"). So I pulled it together and the tailgate fits but is under a great deal of pressure from the bedsides. Is my best course of action to disassemble the bed and determine exactly what parts are tweeked or should I get a larger racheting ty-down and try to bring the bedsides in a bit more to relieve the pressure? If the answer to my question is disassembly, where is the best place to get a set of clutch head screwdrivers? Thanks.

Scott i got all my clutch head sockets from Snap On. He had to order them. You can go on-line and order them your self. Good luck with taking them off. You might as wel get the whole set of 4 as you will need them in other places. john

Also available from Chevy Duty and others. Just look in their on-line catalogs. Not a big investment.

If your bed is sprung apart at the top, that comes from hauling wide heavy loads, somewhere in the past. I don't think you will make much progress taking the bolts out to fix it. Do as you were thinking about and pull the sides together with a winch setup. You will have to do it with the tailgate open and pull a small amount further than it needs, to stay after it is released.

Thanks for the relpies! I'll try to rig up something with a come-a-long and give it a squeeze. In the meantime, I might as well get a set of the clutch head screwdrivers...those little suckers are everywhere on the AD (?) and TF trucks!

Thanks again!