[MadMooks]

got the brass liftgate yesterday fom Hotrodder ( thanks again dude! ) and its awesome. for someone that deals with liftgates and straightening, seeing something like this is the holy grail for me. its freakin heavy! i even put it on my car , its not bent and the brackets on the back line up perfect. even tho i wasnt 100% satisfied with the fit, but its pretty good for not straightening. im guessing this is how Gm envisioned the fit to be. i still think my liftgates line up better, but im just picky like that. i tapped a couple of the threads and the brass is bright yellow! debating whether im gonna strip the chrome and have my plater polish out the brass. i plan to use this is as a prop for my business and will never sell it. check out the pictures...you can see the differences between a potmetal gate and the brass.

only complaints about the fit about this gate, the glass was super tight, i like to give a little more breathing room with my gates that i restore. the rails didnt line up the greatest, and the gaps on all ends werent perfect. but overall pretty cool stuff. arty0031:

 

[Shrunken_Head]

Very nice. :shakehands: I heard before that the early gates had the corresponding body numbers stamped on them. Are there any numbers on yours?

 

[Chevynut]

I was thinking about trying to buy that liftgate from Hotroddder, but I hesitated...you snooze you lose. But I don't need two liftgates and mine is pretty nice. Glad you got it!!!

 

[Chevynut]

Is it brass or bronze?

 

[Jim '57]

Is it brass or bronze?

With the price diff I cannot imagine using bronze.
Jim

 

[Chevynut]

With the price diff I cannot imagine using bronze.
Jim

Why not? Bronze is just copper and tin, whereas brass is copper and zinc. I can't imagine the price is that much different. I think bronze is easier to cast, and that's why they use it for statues.

 

[Jim '57]

Why not? Bronze is just copper and tin, whereas brass is copper and zinc. I can't imagine the price is that much different. I think bronze is easier to cast, and that's why they use it for statues.

Check it out, it's a lot more for tin. They use it for statues for a finer finish, not sure if it's easier.
Jim

 

[MadMooks]

chevynut, not sure if its brass or bronze, all i know is its twice the weight as a potmetal gate and the threads are bright yellowish. there is a number stamped in between the hinge holes and on the side brackets, but its not the same as the body number as the safari it came off of, so who knows.

 

[Rick_L]

I've always heard of the early liftgates being described as brass, but I'm with Chevynut, I think bronze castings are much more common than brass, if there is even such a thing as cast brass.

Unfortunately I've had to bone up on brass and bronze alloys at work recently due to some corrosion issues that you wouldn't expect from copper alloys. It's actually hard to find bronze in wrought form, it's usually cast though not always, and everything I've looked at in brass is wrought not cast. (Not to say it doesn't exist, but it's just not common.)

I suspect that the tin in the bronze makes it pour and cast more easily.

 

[Jim '57]

I've always heard of the early liftgates being described as brass, but I'm with Chevynut, I think bronze castings are much more common than brass, if there is even such a thing as cast brass.

and everything I've looked at in brass is wrought not cast. (Not to say it doesn't exist, but it's just not common.)

I suspect that the tin in the bronze makes it pour and cast more easily.

All of the brass fittings for automotive and plumbing are certainly not tooled.
Jim

 

[gmgary]

I have one of those on my next project Bronze Upper Lift Gate,but the side pieces are still Pot Metal.

Not sure if they are all that great besides a conversation piece
the standard gas struts will not hold them up, they are soo heavy !!Not sure what size of Strut it would take :confused0006:

Cheers, Gary