But it opens both ways, which IS sensible.
(how in the hell did you do that? very cool!)

If it's a case of one or the other, the side open is always the second choice.

Same way Ford did it, but with a single handle. Bear-claw latches at the upper left and lower right. Household door handle turns both ways, working a rocker and cables. Push it down, the bottom cable actuates the lower right latch and it opens like a door. Pull it up, upper cable actuates the upper left latch and it's a tailgate. Upper right latch is the standard slider type, actuated by cables on both sides of the rocker. Then it was just a matter of welding a heavy gate hinge into the left-hand tailgate pivot. Took about a month to figure out how to make it happen, but only a couple days to put together. It was my first welding project, and I surprised myself by not making a pig's ear of it.

Damned impressive!

I removed a few decent parts from the car, as I thought I was done driving it.



Unfortunately, Ma Nature had other ideas, so I did the bare minimum to make it roadworthy enough to drive to work.

She gone.

gone with the wind lol