Paul,
In '51 they started welding the rear sill to the stake pockets. Evidently they were having problems with the sides bowing when the bed was loaded up. Supposed to be two welds, tacks really, on each side, but my 51 has a bead all the way down the rear sill where it meets the stake pocket. You can tell it was done with a stick welder at the factory.
Another little tidbit that I've never seen on a restored truck. My 50's left hand tailight/license bracket had traces of blue paint. In correspondence with an old fellow who worked at a dealer when they were new, he recalled the standard left hand bracket being body color, in other words it was attached to the bed before the whole shebang was painted. It makes sense since it requires a good electrical contact to provide a ground for the taillight. So the left bracket would be body color, and the optional right would probably be in the factory black.
Bob
