Nice truck Larry! I had a 50 F2 for a while and then traded it to my brother-in-law for the '56 F100 Panel I drove for the next 25 years. Had both the panel and my wagon concurrently for about 10 years. Anyway, know the flat-head pretty well - and that truck. Worst rust location is the seam between the upper and lower front fenders. No doubt yours is rusty there.

As for the question: when the last year for the running board? That was 1956. In 1957 they moved the running board inside the cab. Drove a '57 in high school. It was our family farm truck.

Funny timing. Between you and Nathan and his early 60's 4x4 I've been antsy to get moving on my" pickup situation." I have a '67 F100 that is mechanically sound, but the body is rotten (the '67-72 trucks are known for rusting at every seam). Have been looking for a "donor" truck to transfer all the good '67 parts into and do it on a shoe-string... money being tight as it is. I really like the 61-66 body style, but they're up there in price or rust-buckets too. If I could find a 65 or 66 for less than $2K that would be great. Or a nice F1. Just kidding. Maybe, maybe not.