stepside bed front panel question

[ofnaman]

Im in the process of building a '80 stepside. I personally am not into stepsides (it's my friends truck), so I never really paid too much attention to the beds themselfs. The thing I've noticed is the front panel of the bed is taller than the bed sides by maybe a 1/2 inch. I've seen a few around town that the front panel is level with the bed sides, and I've been seeing a few on here like his with the panel a little higher like his. With that being said, the front panel on his truck is the only body panel with any damage to it, so it will be replaced. I was just wanting to know if the panel should be level or slightly elevated. Thank you