The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Making a Stovebolt Bed 1954 3100 Bed Color

Was the original bed color black with the steel strips a dark gray?
Thanks for the help !!!!

The bed wood was black, but I'm not sure about the strips. They were either black or body color. The angle strips attached to the bed sides were definitely body color.

The metal hold-down strips between the planks would be painted black...the hardware would be tin or zinc plated.

Mike B

There's been quite the discussion on this topic. What I can offer is that the entire bed, including the bed wood was the body color on my 1954 3604, which was ocean green. This was found after removing a sheet metal covering that had been "added" by a previous owner.

Yes, this is a very disputed topic. I believe that I read that Bob Adler felt that beginning in 54, the bed with wood was all painted body color prior to installation. The bolts holding the rear fenders I believe is also involved in the discussion.

Jim Carter - bed wood color -black (no mention of 1954/55st).

Maybe someone has 1954/55st documentation?

Thanks guys for all the good input !!!

Maybe we can get Mark (59 Fleet) to weigh in. He used to own Mar-K. Or shoot a PM to Mar-Ktech.

Roger James of the VCCA truck is bed wood black. Bob Adler is also a tech advisor for 54 in VCCA and I think he is not positive. I wonder if it could be different depending on where truck was manufactured. Different assembly procedures for different assembly lines.

That's a distinct possibility.

Ok, I cannot stop kicking a dead horse or maybe it's just me trying to provide useful information . It would appear that my 1954 3/4 Ton, 3604, truck probably had the bed painted the same color as the truck body. Ocean Green. Its a Kansas City built truck and that may be the difference? Here are photo's of the area under one of the rear fenders , pics of "under" the bed washers and of the bed strips.

Keep kicking that dead horse. LOL!

The more information we have, the better off we are. It sure makes sense that everything was painted the same color.

My eyesight is dimming - what is/was the color of the metal strips between the pieces of bed wood?

Thanks

Dusty's 4th picture shows it clearest. Everything was painted Ocean Green (the same color as the bedside beneath the fender location). You can see that the wood was painted before the offset washers were installed where the hold-down bolts are. I think I can see some green on the carriage bolts for the bed strips also, so the floor and cross-sills would have been installed, then the whole thing painted body color.

Thank You

[quote=tclederman]My eyesight is dimming - what is/was the color of the metal strips between the pieces of bed wood?

Ocean green. I think this limited paint "survived" because the previous owner had installed a 3/16 sheet of steel plate over the entire bed and had welded it to the top of the rear sill. My chop job isn't pretty but it'll get cleaned up later.

Thank you very much, Dusty53/Ronnie