Reo Royale

I'm thinking chrome snap ring and painted wheels. Maybe a darker shade of the body color. Thoughts?

I would agree. Dark wheels look best. Look at Bob Valpey's Packard speedster.

I could go black wheels but not sure how that would work with the red. May need to spray a couple out to see how it looks.

No. Not black. Darker shade of what's on the body, lot darker, and without metallic.

That was my initial inclination. I thought about respraying the whole car in the correct color but I have to draw a line somewhere.

A.J. and West you comprise some of the very last FB holdouts - it's only a matter of time, gents.

How's about a few more pics of the process, A.J.?

FB is a different format than a forum like this one. It is user centric instead of topic centric. I just don't think it is a good way to talk about cars. Here are some more pictures.

What is the 2nd picture of? I see it says DELCO on it.

That is the switch mechanism for the lights that goes at the bottom of the steering column. The contacts were all junk so no lights before.

The Reo Light switch has to be one of the more expansive switches out there. I believe it is the same as the Duesenberg switch.

I think I mentioned this somewhere else but there were 2 Reo Royales in Bill's Junk Yard down in RI back in the 50s,60s & 70s. Any time we were there my dad would pull some other part off of it and tell me it was Model J Duesenberg. I'd ask him what the car was and he' tell me it was some kind of Reo.

Does your dad still have any of those parts?

Does your dad still have any of those parts?

Fortunately he did still have some of the parts and now I have them!

Brakes are almost done:

1. Guts of the Master cylinder are now NOS

2. New brake lines

3. New brake hoses

4. Rebuilt wheel cylinders.

5. New shoes

6. Drums turned.

The Reo Light switch has to be one of the more expansive switches out there. I believe it is the same as the Duesenberg switch.

Just an aside about the light switch....

It will fit the following cars:

1929 Reo C

1929-30 Reo Mate 15

1930 Reo 20-25

1931 Reo 25

1930-31 N 30, 31

1931 N 35

1932 8-31, 35, 53

1933-34 Reo Royale 8 N-2

West, what do you think? This is the body color minus the metallic. Not sure it works.

I think that if you just run body color minus metallic that it will look odd. People will look at it and wonder if they're supposed to match or not. There definitely needs to be some contrast or else an exact match. Pretty close only looks like someone made a mistake mixing paint. That's just my opinion but I'd go for something much darker or much lighter so that the contrast is more noticeable. The wheels alone in the photos above look great, but how do they look against the rest of the car?

The wheels alone in the photos above look great, but how do they look against the rest of the car?

^ What he said. The wheels look much darker in the photo than the body color, so it's hard to say. Take a photo next to the car. For us, it will probably still be hard to give an opinion. I think it's something you have to see in person.

Good advice. Fenders are out at strippers. When I get them mounted I'll put the wheel on. It is much darker but I think it clashes.

My friend Steve Pughs sent these photos to me. These are his comments:

There were 4 Reo Royales on a farm in Fresno in 1970. There were two coupes and two sedans. They were eventually sold and I don't know where they ended up. I bought some Franklin parts some years ago and there was a letter in with the parts that talked about a Franklin ( the one the parts came from) and also mentioned that the Reos were for sale. There were a few snap shots of the Franklin and these two of one of the Reo Royal coupes. The back of one of the photos say "This is the worst one".

Here is a 8-31 for sale in the U.S.A.: http://www.prewarcar.com/index.php?option=com_caradvert&view=ad&section_id=1&id=173591&Itemid=432

928-208-5642

$23,500

Straight body. Runs and drives. Partially restored. Gas tank and radiator have been redone. Engine has been completely flushed out. Luggage rack and headlights have been re-chromed. Missing the chassis lubrication system.

Back in the 1970s there used to be a pre 1942 car meet run by the Fairfield County Region HCCA in Ridgefield ,Ct. every September. It saw a huge turnout of all sorts of odd ball cars, and Peter Helck often drove down from his home in his Old 16 Locomobile racer. . (this eventually evolved into a HCCA/AACA region and moved around a bit, last I heard was a 1958 and earlier meet in Redding, Ct) One car that I was so impressed with was a Reo Royale 3 window coupe, all black with plated wheels. A stunning car, I have not seen since that time. I believe the car was owned by a gentleman of Italian decent, can't recall his name, but he resided in Ct. The Reo Royale is one of the most beautiful cars ever made, someplace I have a separate sales folder that Reo issued on the long wheelbase sedan.

By the way, one of my father's work colleagues had the 4 door convertible Show Car on the long wheelbase - it had lead a rough life though was very restorable (so it is out there still).

John, the one 4 door convertible was supposedly built by Dietrich on the 148 inch wheelbase. Do you remember about what time period this was that you last saw the car?

Correct as to it being Dietrich (and I had a Custom bodied Dietrich Franklin Convertible Sedan). They bought the car in the late 1960's and the last time I saw the car was perhaps 1975. The last time the car was seen by anyone I know was about 2000. The owner moved from the region and took the car with them and unfortunately they lost touch with my parents. It was a nice car but the body had been removed from behind the front doors and the rear body parts had not been stored well and were very rough. I think they actually bought it as a parts car for their other Royale and then found out how rare it was. BIG CAR in the wheelbase department - it filled a garage. I would love to see a picture of the car when new, but never have seen one.

We are trying to determine the best tires for the Royale. I was very high on the Bedfords as I like the tread pattern but it looks like the 33.25 inch diameter is too big. Here are a couple of photos of a friends car with the Bedfords and with firestone whitewalls.

Here are a couple of pictures of a bone stock 8-35 Coupe that was original purchased by the owners great uncle. It is currently be restored.

There is NO choice. You MUST use the Firestone wide white walls, any other choice woud NOT make sense. End of the debate.

Ed, you know how I feel about white walls. Can't do it. I'm going to try one of these Michelin's which has a copy of a late 20s tread pattern on it. They are really expensive though.

Steve Kelly did this rendering of a 8-48 Dietrich Convertible Sedan. Hopefully the real one looks as good as this.

AJ, I was just busting your chops. I never like to run radials on the CCCA era cars. Rim failure is the main reason. They also look a bit off on most of the cars. I just removed a new set of radials from a Pierce, and installed the Firestone 750-17 WW on the car.

Hmmmm, the Michelins are radials? I need to pay attention more closely. I agree with you.

It doesn't look like a radial to me. Looks like the same tire we use on the Packard Speedster.

West are those 18 inch? I went back and checked and they look bias-ply although Coker doesn't seem to come right out and say it.

https://www.cokertire.com/600-650-18-michelin-dr.html

The radials run about 500 each. They are heavy and feel more like a modern 17.5 truck tire. I have seen bias tires like this also, but they were all on European sports cars. From what I remember the tires handled well but seemed to wear very fast.

Just checked the link, that is a bias ply tire. It would be under size for the Reo. That's a Buick size tire. The Reo should run a 700 at the small end, 750 would be what I would use.

The 600/650 18 tire size was popular for mid size cars in 31/32. 1930 cars used a 700 or a 750 18 on the bis series cars, most mid size were still running a 650-19. 1932 only Cadillac,Pierce,Stutz, and Linclon ran the big 18 inch tire making them very expensive. My 32 coupe had the 600/650-18 tires on it and they looked very small and incorrect. They are half the cost of the correct size, and often that is why the cars have under size tires on them. With a wheel base of 130 inches or more you need to run the bigger tires.

Ed, check out the pictures of the Blue sedan I posted above. The Bedford black walls are 700-18 and way too big. The car is supposed to have 650-18s on it. The Bedford 700-18s will also not fit in the wheel well which would require a bunch of rework.

We are trying to determine the best tires for the Royale. I was very high on the Bedfords as I like the tread pattern but it looks like the 33.25 inch diameter is too big. Here are a couple of photos of a friends car with the Bedfords and with firestone whitewalls.

Oh look, his Firestones turned brown just like mine...

The Bedfords look too big but I like the brutal blackwall look and I don't trust modern whitewalls not to turn brown like that. Save yourself the heartaches and go with blackwalls (which I know you want to do anyway).

Looks like I'm a bit late for the Royale party, but I'm a fan for sure. I stand shamelessly guilty for the refinish of the 2 tone purple car from the Detroit area. The customer wanted the all silver finish and dark red leather and pin stripes. With polite and professional input the charcoal grey leather and stripe was chosen over the red. For decades I've taken a little heat for the use of silver on depression-era classic cars. It was indeed available and the formula exists in old paint books. Ditzler (now PPG) called the color "Steel Dust Iridescent", a very  bright silver in it's original form. The poly in those days was ground as fine as possible giving an almost pearl effect when applied properly. Not many silver paints today can match that look. There is 1 that can and that's my "go to" color for anything silver from that time. The comments at shows ranged from ...was never available..." to "...got it right...". I guess one needs to read about finsihes and colors to make good choices. Frankly I felt it came out stunning. We went body-off, rechromed some things, fixed a few oil leaks, but overall it was a fine restoration to begin with. I think the color makes the car. I also think it really shows Mr Notrhrop's wind tunnel efforts the best. In the pictures you can see how the poly in the paint highlights the tucked under fender edges and rounded body shapes. The black top provides a sharp contrast to the windshield frame, further accenting how low the top assembly is compared to ther classic era cars with similar coachwork. At the tail end, the graceful curves were kept uncluttered by eliminating the gratuitous trunk rack. Having seen others minus that appendage I don't think it was a mistake. Enjoy these pictures from Amelia Island 2008. It's all I have of it finished. From the FWIW dept, I also woodgrained this car back in the late 80s or early 90s. That same finish is still there. I'll be happy to share in any comments or questions that I can. 

Highlander: Quite a post!

I read with a lot of interest because on one hand I have a 1931 Reo Royale Victoria coupe project but keep and eye and have tons of pics of most of the surviving Royales, including the silver one with the gorgeous work you did on it, and a few on it's former two tone purple colors. On the other hand, I have a 1933 Packard Eight convertible coupe with apparently an original silver body and silver chassis, and I have to admit I am not fond of silver for old cars, and more so in a 30's car, but that is how it was, that is how it will stay...

But your comment on "There is 1 that can and that's my "go to" color for anything silver from that time" sparks my curiosity and the need to find out about it for when the time comes to redo my car... is it possible for you to share the brand and name of the paint? 

Thanks,

victor

Highlander: Quite a post!

 

I read with a lot of interest because on one hand I have a 1931 Reo Royale Victoria coupe project but keep and eye and have tons of pics of most of the surviving Royales, including the silver one with the gorgeous work you did on it, and a few on it's former two tone purple colors. On the other hand, I have a 1933 Packard Eight convertible coupe with apparently an original silver body and silver chassis, and I have to admit I am not fond of silver for old cars, and more so in a 30's car, but that is how it was, that is how it will stay...

 

But your comment on "There is 1 that can and that's my "go to" color for anything silver from that time" sparks my curiosity and the need to find out about it for when the time comes to redo my car... is it possible for you to share the brand and name of the paint? 

 

Thanks,

victor

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