Once again, this mod is due to the fact that I am a "purist", so my tailgate must say jeep and open down. It's another one of my "Quirks".

Here you can see me mocking up the tailgate so I can get the hole position correct. You will also have to open up the bottom of the tub, in order to get a plate behind those holes. I used a die grinder to cut the sheet metal. There are holes already there, and what I did was to cut outwards from one of them per side.

These are the 2 1/2" X 3 1/2" steel plates that I used. I drilled some holes 9/32, then used a tap to put some 5/16 threads into them. I then placed them up in the holes, and bolted the tailgate back on with all 8 bolts. This way the steel plates are held in place, and I just welded them along the bottom. Just enough to hold them still, I welded them there so I wouldn't melt through the back of the tub.

Well all and all, this was a fairly easy project. Probably took me less than 2 hours to complete this.

And that is just so I can bolt on my tailgate. You will also have to take off all the YJ brackets towards the top of the tailgate. I haven't gone this far, due to I can not find the hold back devices for my tailgate. I should be able to find them this week, and complete this project. I will then update with the rest.