Reo retro tow truck

[swamp rat]

I don't think I could have waited 2 years to buy it knowing it needed rescued..

[Tom Vogel]

Originally Posted by flashed

That was a cool old truck ,what happened to it ?

Its in an amusement park somewhere in Ca. I heard they made it into a display carrying wine barrels. If you were talking about the Speedwagon.

[elpound]

Originally Posted by Tom Vogel

Reminded me of my first resto project. Here is me 43 years ago in my 1931 REO Speedwagon.

Cool truck.

[13jraven]

Sorry for the bring up an old post, but got any specs on it?

What axles you running? Transfer case? You keep the stock motor and trans and do a divorced case or swap something else in.

The truck is sitting up pretty good. What springs are on it to clear what looks to be ~37" tires?

I got two 1 ton trucks in the shop getting converted to 4x4 and diesel swaps. A 59 Chevy Viking and 49 REO Speedwagon

13

[elpound]

Originally Posted by 13jraven

Sorry for the bring up an old post, but got any specs on it?

What axles you running? Transfer case? You keep the stock motor and trans and do a divorced case or swap something else in.

The truck is sitting up pretty good. What springs are on it to clear what looks to be ~37" tires?

I got two 1 ton trucks in the shop getting converted to 4x4 and diesel swaps. A 59 Chevy Viking and 49 REO Speedwagon

13

I have been doing the REO pretty much on the cheap side. I was lucky enough to have a friend who had an old WW2 deuce and a half CCKW. The axles and transfer case are from it. They are the GM banjo style. I kept the original REO flathead 6 cylinder and transmission since it runs well. I only plan on driving it locally so speed won't be much of a issue. The front springs are from the CCKW as well. Everything pretty much bolted right in for those. Since the truck was a 2 1/2 ton, the wheel wells were large and the axle no longer had the drop like the original, I didn't need any sort of lift for the 40-41 inch tires except for the back to get it level with the front.

[13jraven]

Thank you and that makes sense.

The wheel wells on the Viking are 40" wide so they will tuck a 40" tire. When the straight axle goes in it is going to make for some big lift. But the front leaves are 2" wide and with a front shackle - they are going to get replaced with a 2.5" chevy leaves and converted to rear shackles. So I can adjust the height based on rear shackle placement.

The D19XA 1 ton REO is going to take some thought. It would be cool to keep the stock frame and add the axles and motor. But the prospect of adding a later model dodge cummins frame with a king pin axle and coilovers is appealing too.

I will post up some pictures when I have a chance.

Thanks.

13

Originally Posted by elpound

I have been doing the REO pretty much on the cheap side. I was lucky enough to have a friend who had an old WW2 deuce and a half CCKW. The axles and transfer case are from it. They are the GM banjo style. I kept the original REO flathead 6 cylinder and transmission since it runs well. I only plan on driving it locally so speed won't be much of a issue. The front springs are from the CCKW as well. Everything pretty much bolted right in for those. Since the truck was a 2 1/2 ton, the wheel wells were large and the axle no longer had the drop like the original, I didn't need any sort of lift for the 40-41 inch tires except for the back to get it level with the front.