[Bob Carriere]

Hi Bruce.

I believe that the time pressure on war time production would have eliminated most hand hammering. I believe that a flat die hydraulic press must have finished the last bend and quickly welded the boxed section shut...... that would partly explain the uneven bend radius reported by Jordan.

From what I have read on war time production, a lot of sub-assemblies were done in small shops pressed into war time production....... good being moved in large wooden bins or open top 45 gallon drums. Parts produced in large quantities by shops making only one or only a few sub components. Hooks for the tarps, hinge straps, pre bent partly welded fender well boxes, sub-assemblies of tail gates such as hooks, hinges, etc..... all to be joined (welded) together in a central plant. Spot welds were rarely dressed up like we would do today and unevenly spaced.

Very few small shops would have the means of doing the larger components like the head board of a cargo box or the long narrow drop sides of the cab 11/12 2B1 box.

Over time the design and assembly was modified to its most simple mode of manufacturing keeping in mind what could be done cheaply and as fast as possible.