Thread: Upper tailgate won't open

Booked in for a club run tomorrow and went to put stuff in the rear of my 2-door classic and it threw a classic problem.....the upper tailgate would only unlatch on the driver's side, no amount of pushing the button or gentle levering at the edge will move it. I crawled inside and took off the cover over the operating rod and tried pulling on that with visegrips, but to no avail. The workshop manual is no real help, so I am hoping someone here can suggest a remedy.
Thanks,
Woolly

Finally managed to open it, but had to cut through the striker plate with a hacksaw blade to do it, at least half an hours work. Turns out there is a nylon nipple on the end of the rod that, when pulled, operates the release mechanism. However, in a classic case of cracked nipples, mine had split and hence no amount of pulling on the rod would release it. Just to make it interesting, the thread on the rod is 24tpi and about 7/32" diameter. Finding something to screw on the end will be hard, and I will have to repair or find a new striker plate, too. Ah, the joys of motoring. At least it behaved at the weekend.
Cheers,
Woolly.