Re-skinning a lower tailgate

A corroded lower tailgate is the bane of every original Range Rover Classic. Alisdair Cusick looks at one company that can rebuild them using traditional metal finishing techniques

THE original Range Rover is well known for corrosion issues. Aside from the inner body, the other parts guaranteed to succumb to rust are the upper and lower tailgates. Aluminium aftermarket upper tailgates have been around for decades and solve that problem well. But there hasn’t always been a straightforward option to replace the steel lower section. Only in recent years has a supply appeared for remanufactured lower tailgates, but for a select VIN range.

The rising popularity Range Rover restoration has brought many new small companies and new skill sets to the enthusiast market. Midlands-based Machinor specialises in remanufacturing obsolete parts with originality in mind, using traditional metal finishing techniques usually seen on vintage restorations or prototype car projects. Mass produced parts that once needed press tooling costing over £50,000 and high production volumes to justify the investment, can now be produced at lower volumes using traditional skills, and with smaller-scale production processes. One such service offered by Machinor is re-skinning Range Rover lower tailgates. The outer skins are cut away, the inner structure cleaned and checked, and Machinor’s remanufactured tailgate skins are then fitted. The end result is a restored tailgate, assembled using production processes, that leave the rebuilt section looking exactly as original. There’s no worries about ending up with the wrong tailgate for your car, because it is your existing tailgate that is restored.

Machinor’s Stuart Jay and Barry Stanley show us the process on a lower tailgate from a CSK model. I’ve marked this job as a 5 for difficulty because, although the process is relatively straightforward, the end result will be very visible on the car, requiring a high standard of workmanship. Bash, crease, or make a cosmetic error in fitting, and you’ll notice it forever once the panel is painted. Barry and Stuart work to less than 1 mm tolerance, which takes decades of experience.