My 1946 was manufactured in February 1946 just a couple months after the end of WWII and it is important to remember that steel and rubber were still in short supply. I have owned my $250 truck since 1973 and have many experiences, some of which took place in Edgerton, WI just 13 miles from the GM Assembly Plant in Janesville, where my truck came from.
It is important to remember that trucks were trucks! Purchase for their function first with aesthetics and comfort as secondary conditions, hence the saying "it rode like a truck!" While civilian manufacturing ceased in early 1942, products were provided to the military, mostly trucks along with some staff cars for some officers, usually equipped with black-out lighting and absolutely no chrome.
Then when it came back to manufacturing for the masses that had gone 4 years with no new vehicles let alone being expected to make their original 5 tires last the duration everyone was eager to jump on the waiting list. My truck was delivered to a farmer in North Dakota without a heater. The aftermarket came into play and to this day, the Firestone branded heater is still in my truck. There was just one owner between myself and the original farmer. I made the same inquiry that the farmer had asked, "where were the customary metal strips between the boards in the bed?"
The dealer's answer was that steel was still in short supply and the decision was made to make the boards tongue-in-grove until the supply could catch. While living in WI, I became friends with my neighbor who was second generation at the Janesville plant where his father had retired as the Union Shop Stewart. I inquired of the father if he had worked there in 1946 which he verified and was also able to recall the brief period of the lack of steel for bed runners.
I will attempt to include a photo that shows my original 15-board tongue-in-groove southern yellow pine bed and another exception to the "rules". Tech Tips note that after 1942 there were 5 fender bolts exposed above the bed when my '46 has 3, this reinforces the idea that many trucks were made with left-over 1941 parts that had been stamped and waiting for assembly 4 years later.
