Don't Back up with tailgate down.
 

Well I did and now the top left of my
tailgate is "V" dented where I hit the
brick wall of a garage opening.
I had to loosten the left catch to get the
door to close and operate with the
right side hinge.
Do I need to replace the entire tailgate?
I can't see a way to pull the dent up and
close the wider gap in the tailgate fender
seam.
I have a 97 F150 Scab 4.6L auto 4x4.

I am confused as to the years and models fit
my 97. styleside?

What am I looking at in damages?

http://http://i26.photobucket.com/al...rgesauto/0.jpg

It will be cheaper to replace than try to fix that. Go to a junk yard and see if they have one, then get it painted to match.

x2. BTW, see if you can get some OEM fogs to fit in your bumper. it would look a lot cleaner than those black covers.

I bought the fogs but I need to remove
the rusty braces ob the inner bumper
to get them in.
I think I have to cut them out.

I see tailgates and tailgate cover panels
on ebay.
Local yards want over $200 ouch!!!

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c1...rgesauto/0.jpg

Thing is, at local yards you can see what you are getting and can be sure all you have to do is repaint. What you get off ebay may have damage that occurred in shipping or was never shown. That may require as much body work as yours.

Today I stopped at 2 yards.
One can get me a tailgate shell for $149.

He said you just need to move over the hardware
over to the shell.
Sounds good???

Any one with experience with shells?

Sounds reasonable as long as it is in good shape. Certainly a lot cheaper than from the dealer.

probably is your best bet there man. just take a good look at it before you buy it and make sure its not rusted out or dented up

Sorry to hear that. I guess this is why the camera comes in handy now.

I understand the shell is a new after market
primed tailgate.
There is no hardware and it should
come as new except for any
damage in shipping.

I am not too sure how good an after market
part is.

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c1...rgesauto/7.jpg

Man that sucks. At my work a guy was towing a trailer with a 1 ton dodge dually. Yea not a good idea. When he took a turn the tailgate contacted the tailer jack and dented the crap out of the tailgate:lol: Good luck with the tailgate. I would just get a tire gate or something sweet like that if I were you:thumbsup: