When I removed the 1/8 " steel plate from the bed of my 1954 Chevy Truck, it revealed that the bed rails, bed wood, bed bolts and angle plate were all painted ocean green. Even after 67 years there was still remnants of the green paint on some of the bed wood. It's my understanding that the painting of the bed to match the truck color only began in 1954. Prior to that the bed wood was a dark charcoal color. Although I have not yet found color pictures of earlier GM Trucks , it would make sense that the bed strips, bolts and angle plates match the bed wood in appearance and would be painted black. Again, I have no proof. The search begins....
