Built for speed and finely crafted , the 1933 Reo Speedwagon Model BN pick-me-up is a rarified uncovering today .
Before World War II , Reo was one of the advantageously - known names in the commercial-grade vehicle industry . This was due in large part to the 1915 introduction of the one - short ton Speedwagon – a name both memorable and apt .
The Speedwagon ’s original function was to leave more than the 10 - 15 miles per hour gait common to trucks in the first two decades of the 20th one C . The powerful four - cylinderengine , spiral bevel gears , and three - speedtransmissiondid incisively that .
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A six - cylinder Reo Speedwagon appeared in 1925 , delivering even better carrying out . Despite producing such great cars as the Flying Cloud and Royale , Reo tolerate poorly during the Depression .
By 1933 it was clear that Reo ’s future , if any , lay in commercial vehicles . In that class , Reo registered 3,042 trucks to 2,623 cars – the first time it had sold more trucks than car . Reo miss $ 2.5 million in the process , and realized that it could not continue to ramp up cars at an one-year volume of under 3,000 .
The hand truck operation was shaky , too , but diminished - loudness truckmakers seemed better able to survive .
The 1933 Reo Speedwagon Model BN is a quality example of Reo ’s commercial workmanship . According to Glenn Salada of the Domino ’s Classic Cars Museum in Ann Arbor , Michigan , " The BN was a specially built 1933 - 1934 model , several of which were panel deliverance wagons . According to current authority this rare Reo was build from a combination of component parts from the 1931 - 1933 Flying Cloud and Royale luxury cars and the 1933 - 1934 Speedwagon . "
world power for the 1933 Reo Speedwagon Model BN come from a 230 - cid Reo - build six called the " Gold Crown . " Its 95 bhp was enough to make it one of the fastest hand truck of its Clarence Day . Fine styling and woody bodywork teamed up to make it among the most beautiful , too .
After 1936 , Reo center purely on trucks under the Reo and Diamond - Reo nameplate .
Collectible Pluses of the 1933 Reo Speedwagon Model BN
Collectible Minuses of the 1933 Reo Speedwagon Model BN
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