Prior to about 1941 in GM pickups, the bed wood of choice was Oak. The change to Yellow Pine occurred at this time and it was used until the end of the wood bed floors in 1987. This southern Yellow Pine is a hard wood and should not be confused with softer White Pine. Its attractive pronounced grain stains and clear coats well. Its planks, like Oak, tends to warp when exposed to dampness, however, once secured in a pickup with bed strips it is there to stay!

For the perfectionist:

Originally, bed wood planks were not sanded smooth and varnished. Trucks were for hauling merchandise and the idea of bed wood with a furniture quality appearance was out of the question. Prior to at least 1959, bed wood planks were covered with Black paint (excellent protection from water and sun). After all, trucks did the hauling and were not for driving to Church on Sunday!

Here’s Proof that Black was "the way it was":

This 1958 Cameo (the top of the Chevy truck line) was never sold when the Chevrolet Dealer in Pierce, Nebraska went out of business. It was stored with other new Chevrolet cars in the locked dealership building. The odometer shows 1.3 miles!

For more details on this (New 1958 Cameo) check with our Feature truck for November 2013.

Our Feature Truck of the Month for June 2018 is the same story but with only 12,466 miles. This is a 1956 Cameo with its bed floor always covered with carpet!

Both have their factory bed wood still with their original Black paint. Check our website to learn more on this very original Cameo.

More Proof:

This photo is from a 1958 Chevy Fleetside sales brochure. Text below is in their words…

Even More Proof:

The AACA (American Auto Club of America) is the world’s largest and oldest national club. It encourages the restoration of older trucks and cars to look original as they left the factory.

They remove a few points from the 100% maximum if pickup trucks bed wood have any coating other than Black paint.

Whether this is gloss, semi-gloss, or flat, is still up for debate among most. The argument is that the many factories across the U.S. did not purchase Black paint from the same source and for a work vehicle it was not important.