14 years later my 1931 REO Royale is ready for its public debut at Pebble Beach next month. Shipper is showing up in 10 days. Just finishing up minor details but the car is ready to go.
On Monday we did a 75 mile ride to RI and back to prove it will do the 80 mile Pebble tour. Nice 80 degree day and the ride was very comfortable. With the 4.07 rear end the car is very comfortable at 50-55 mph.
The car looks fantastic, AJ. Those painted wheels were definitely the right choice too.
I agree! Those wheels look great. You did the right thing.
The car is fabulous and makes a statement. The length, proportions and color all add up to something special. Good luck and try to enjoy the process.
Just wondering, you’ve had it 14 years. When did the focused work of the restoration start? Has that been the last 2-3 years?
John, you silly goose! We never stopped, but progress ebbs and flows mostly based on how distracted I get and how busy the shop is with other high priority things. For example, everything else has stopped for the last 6 months while we focused on getting this car done. There was a 2 or 3 year period where zero was going on but for probably 10 of those 14 years there was some amount of progress being made.
Many cars in the Pebble show field were bought with the intention of bringing to Pebble and they are on an 18 month or 24 month schedule to be done. Those cars are getting tremendous time and money thrown at them in a short amount time. Two things I'm in short supply of.
The other thing plays a part is how hard you push to get stuff done. I never tell anyone to stop working, but if money is tighter I won't push. You might have noticed my Stutz is going on 20 years, mostly because I haven't pushed it. Something I need to start thinking about soon. John continues to work on it and I encourage him to but there are not deadlines, which means progress is slow.
That is a good explanation. I assumed there has been attention and different "sub-projects", going on with it since the day you brought it home. searching for any missing parts, research, etc..... I wondered when it left your garage and went to a professional shop and things started coming apart. Sounds like that started early in the process as well.
I totally get it that time and money and "pace" of the process is fluid. You would likely be a good client for a restorer. I'm sure some of the well heeled .00001% percent who buy a car, write a blank check, and tell a restoration shop it needs to be done for Pebble Beach in 18 months and they're expecting a Best of Show........puts mind numbing pressure on those shops. They love the publicity and marketing it brings, but might shorten their life by 10-20 years in the process from the stress.
This is the day I got it. The plan was to clean it up a bit and make it mechanically drivable. The mechanical rat hole became so deep that full restoration became impossible to ignore.
What a great argument for closed cars, careful color selection and blackwalls on Classics AJ! Expecting a ride...
Fantastic! Wish I could be there to see it.
I have videos I never knew I had. My dad is 89 here and My son is 16. I have others with them directly in to the same spot with different cars. Nice to hear my dad barking orders.
You've had a lot of compliments on the color and I'll add mine here too! It is just fabulous. The blue (to me, but I could be incorrect) has just a tinge of green to keep it interesting and then a good dose of black to tone the color down and darken. I think most/many prewar cars look best in dark shades and you and your restorer team have knocked it out of the park. If you have any insights on the decision please share but I know some people just "know" when something is right and don't dwell on some things. Best wishes for the caravan and show!
Dan, I agonized over the paint color for a long time. The original colors were a version of what was on the car when I got it. I just could not bring myself to do it. The blue is a within a shade or two of the REO blue available on the Royales and it probably was the right thing to do. At least for me.
This would be one of the rare exceptions where we’re all thankful you didn’t put the car back to original colors.
Astonishing! I can't think of a better word. Really gorgeous car! I am sure it will do great on Pebble Beach!
Best of lucks, A.J.!!
Thanks Victor!
