Almost Classic - 1935 Reo Royale 75

In 1935, Reo was on the way out, but still stood proudly

Almost Classic - 1935 Reo Royale 75
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Feature Article from Hemmings Classic Car

September, 2007 - David Traver Adolphus

Reo is one of those names that give us a little shiver. Over the decades, it has taken on the same luster as Stutz or Packard, a name that whispers to us of extraordinary quality, groundbreaking style, and of the deep history of the industry. But as well-built and stylish as they were, most Reos occupied, then as now, a much more modest niche. The shine of the Full Classic Reos of the early 1930s, spread over the rest of the line, illuminates them all.

The Royale debuted at the end of 1930, a streamlined design so revolutionary they patented it, or at least the grille. Urban myth has the rest of the bodyshell patented, but in fact it's only the attachment of the running boards. (In 1978 (SIA #43), we even cited patent #1,854,713 as covering the body design. Thanks to the magic of the Internet, today we can tell you that's a patent for an automatic massage table). No mind: Automotive Industries said the Royale was "the most radical departure in lines that has been made in some time." Alas, 1930 was not the best time to introduce a new line of automobiles, and while it marked the beginning of the 1931-1934 era of Full Classics for Reo Motor Car Company, it also began an ugly period for the company that led to its demise as a carmaker after 1936.

Until the Royale appeared as a 1931 model, Reos, while fine cars, were positioned in the mid-priced field, the sort of quality without the ostentation of a 1960s Buick or Chrysler. And after the eight-cylinder was dropped from the lineup for 1935, that's where they stood once again. In fact, while the all-eight-cylinder Buick line of 1935 sold at a higher price point than the $985 1935 Royale (half of what the cheapest 1934 Royale cost), six-cylinder, streamlined Chrysler (or De Soto) Airstreams make a logical competitor.

However, while 1935-'36 Airstreams are still seen today and are available for purchase, 1935-'36 Royales sell only every few years. They're so scarce you'll probably have to know someone in the Reo community - and subscribe to the club's Reo Echo - to find one. When you do, a tour-quality driver might cost you $15,000, and a concours competitor about twice that. Should you be lucky enough to find the very appealing rumbleseat coupe, you probably won't end up paying too much of a premium for the body style.

But before 1935, it was a different story.

"Streamlined" isn't really the right word for the Royale, as it implies a design created with aerodynamics in mind. Amos Northup and Julio Andrade at Reo's body builder, Murray Corporation of America, went about it the other way around and essentially just rounded off all the edges. No, they didn't intend it to be aerodynamic, but it was, and when Northup and Andrade took their scale models to the wind tunnel at the University of Detroit, they found its coefficient of drag substantially lower than its predecessors. Distinctive, sweeping front fenders arose from later consultation with an aircraft designer, who suggested the shape to reduce high-speed lift.

Mechanically, though, the car was as stunning as it was physically. One thing that really was patented by Reo in 1931 was their Self-Shifter semi-automatic transmission. Patent #1,885,156 covers "a device ... for automatically rendering either one of the two gear ratios effective during different rates of speed of the vehicle." Originally built in-house, the version in our 1935 feature car was built by Dana-Spicer, then only a $50 option.

The action of the Self-Shifter reminds us of the later Fluid-Torque semi-automatic from Chrysler. It's almost two transmissions in one: a conventional two-speed (thus the three pedals on the floor), with a two-speed, centrifugally operated automatic behind it. The T-handle on the dash gives you four somewhat confusing options: halfway out for neutral; all the way out for manual low range; all the way in for manual high, and out with a twist into reverse. With a 4.30-geared differential, first/Lo is a real crawler, and you can usually get away with leaving first out of it altogether, using the massive torque to make your getaway in second.

"If you've never driven one, it seems like you're almost bogging the engine down when you take off," said feature car owner Brian Bazell. "When you warm it up, and you get it [the transmission oil] good and hot, when you let the clutch out, it takes off fine, but it seems to like to slip down into higher gear almost immediately. It'll run right down the highway, but it's slow to take off, and that's why a lot of people didn't like those cars with the Self-Shifter in them."

Automatic shifting is as smooth as silk and fully automatic, though. Set out in second/Lo, and the Self-Shifter self-shifts at around 12-15 mph. That's lower than you might choose, and if you're truly ambitious, you can change clearances for the internal clutches of the automatic from the outside of the transmission housing. For the best acceleration - and under no circumstances is the 3,595-lb. car sprightly - you can start out in first and wind it out past 3,000 rpm to shift manually at 25 or 30 mph, but why bother with the Self-Shifter if you're going to keep using your left foot?

The Dana-Spicer unit is reputed to be a little fragile and can shear off teeth, although both it and Reo's versions require regular changes of 90-weight oil. The engine, however, almost never needed any oil at all.

The straight-six engine - as with most of the rest of the 1935 Royale, aside from a new grille, hood and fenders - carried over from the 1934 Flying Cloud. Rather than the previous Royale's incredible straight-eight, the Flying Cloud's engine, equipped with an alloy cylinder head, lived under the long, shapely hood. Reo declared the new head added 10hp to the previous 85hp, although we're somewhat skeptical of that claim.

Still, the seven-main L-head revs surprisingly high, considering the five-inch stroke to three-and-three-eighths bore. Power actually peaks around 3,200 rpm, and while it's screaming up there, you're never afraid it's going to break. Smoothness at all speeds is the watchword, with a counterweighted crankshaft, light Lo-Ex alloy pistons and an external vibration damper.

The ride on the highway is remarkably easy, with the car easily able to keep up with modern traffic. Equipped with an optional Columbia two-speed axle, you can reputedly cruise comfortably at 90 mph! Trendsetting hydraulic tube shocks smooth things out very nicely, and four-wheel hydraulic brakes are just outstanding for the era. Around town, however, a stiff suspension, the habit of the Self-Shifter not to downshift until around 5 mph and low-ratio steering make guiding the long car a chore.

Brian Bazell's grandfather, Joe Bazell, acquired the car in 1982, having gone looking for another Lansing, Michigan-built car to complement his 1932 Oldsmobile and 1928 Durant. Brian recalls that they started restoration on it in 1984, and worked on it together until Joe debuted it at Hershey in 1987, where it promptly collected its AACA Senior award. "When he got into a project, he went full bore on it," he said. The then-teenaged Brian helped Joe take the car apart, and then put it back together again.

They took it to Hershey for the second time in 1992, but Joe passed away while there and the car came home without him. "That was a sad feeling, bringing it home without Grandpa. But overall, memories of the car are good, because he used to tease me when we were working on my '32 Oldsmobile. We'd take it to some local shows and I'd get second or third place - it wasn't completely finished at the time - and he'd say: 'If you want to go win all the trophies, just pull that Reo out!' "

In the end, it was Reo's legacy of innovation as much as Depression economics that killed the company. The 1931 Royale may have knocked 'em dead with its looks, but was a dog in the showroom, and cost the company a fortune, which was why the look of the big car trickled down to the rest of the line as they tried to recoup costs. Likewise, the Self-Shifter not only led to innumerable lawsuits, but also cost more than $6 million to develop. They never earned that money back, and each unit out the door cost Reo hundreds of dollars. The new, sub-$1,000 range of Reos in 1935 took them well out of the luxury market to a place where they had to compete with Dodge, Oldsmobile, De Soto, Hudson, Studebaker, Nash, Auburn, Hupp and Pontiac. By 1936, sales had fallen from a 1928 peak of over 47,000 cars to only 3,206 in 1936.

Reo got out of the car business on September 3, 1936, and concentrated on their truck line from there on out, while other parts of the company spun off and eventually evolved into today's Nucor Steel. The cars they built in the last two years were part of a rearguard action against an economy they couldn't fight, and were somewhat derided at the time for using the styling of the Full Classic Reos on what had been lesser models in the lineup. With the vantage of the years at our disposal, those complaints have long faded, and we can appreciate the Royale as Reo's last fling with the style that made them great.

Owner's View
Thanks to his grandfather's influence, Brian Bazell has always been around pre-war cars, but more importantly, he's always been around big pre-war cars. "I've got a 1932 four-door Oldsmobile Patrician that used to be my grandfather's. When I was eight years old, I pointed to it and said to my grandfather, 'I'd like to have a car like that someday.' He told me that if I helped him fix it up, I could have it when I turned 16 ... It seems like, when I was growing up, I was always working on something, whether it be helping my dad with his race car, or helping my grandpa with his antique cars.

"As a kid, I would take my grandmother out to the garage, and pretend to drive her around in my grandfather's cars." Today, he says he loves driving the Reo, and drives it to eight or so local shows every year, trailering it longer distances. "When I pull into a cruise-in or show, everyone wants to know what it is," he says.

"Antique cars are something that don't cost a lot of money, after you get them done, to enjoy."



Real brakes
Affordable cachet
Great for long trips

Big and formal
Almost none left
Sluggish Self-Shifter


REO Club of America
c/o Bill Reed
48823 Hanford Road
Canton, Michigan 48187
Dues: $18; Membership: 800


1935 Reo Royale 75
Base Price: $985

Type: L-head straight-six, chrome-nickel block, alloy cylinder head
Displacement: 268 cubic inches
Bore x Stroke: 3.375 x 5.0 inches
Compression ratio: 5.3:1
Horsepower @ rpm: 95 @ 3,400
Torque @ rpm: 162-lbs.ft. @ 1,250
Main bearings: 7
Fuel system: Single one-barrel downdraft carburetor
Lubrication system: Full pressure
Electrical system: 6 volts, battery and coil, automatic spark advance
Exhaust system: Single, cast-iron

Type: 10-inch single dry-plate clutch, Dana-Spicer Self-Shifter semi-automatic
Ratios: Lo 1st: 2.52:1
Lo 2nd: 1.33:1
Hi 1st: 1.90:1
Hi 2nd: 1.00:1
Reverse: N/A

Type: Hypoid, spiral-bevel gears
Ratio: 4.30:1

Type: Ross cam and lever
Ratio: 15.05:1
Turns, lock-to-lock: 3.5
Turning circle: 39.25 feet

Type: Lockheed four-wheel hydraulic drum
Front: 12 x 2.5 inches
Rear: 12 x 2.5 inches

Construction: Body on U-section pressed-steel double drop frame, XK bracing
Body style: Four-door, five-passenger sedan
Layout: Front engine, rear-wheel drive

Front: Reverse Elliott solid axle, semi-elliptical longitudinal leaf springs, hydraulic tubular shocks
Rear: Live axle, semi-elliptical longitudinal leaf springs, hydraulic tubular shocks

Wheels: Pressed-steel artillery spoke
Front/rear: 17 inches
Tires: Firestone bias ply
Front/rear: 16 x 6.5 inches

Wheelbase: 118 inches
Overall length: 198 inches
Overall width: 72 inches*
Overall height: 68 inches*
Front track: 59.175 inches
Rear track: 61 inches
Shipping weight: 3,350 pounds (est.)
*Owner's measurements

Crankcase: 6 quarts
Cooling system: 22 quarts
Fuel tank: 15 gallons
Transmission: 8 pints
Rear axle: 6 pints
*Owner's measurements

Bhp per c.i.d.: 2.82
Weight per bhp: 35.26 pounds
Weight per c.i.d.: 12.5 pounds

0-60 mph: 34 seconds (est.)
Fuel mileage: 17 mpg

1935 Reo Royale 75 535


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