Yes, I like dump trucks, especially of about this vintage and size. Just the ting to haul some gravel or a really big load of compost, or with which to pull a rented excavator. And they look so good, especially a vintage Reo. I can Dig It.
I shot this in Cottage Grove last February, a bit south of Eugene. In doing some research on these just now, it turns out to have been for sale. Good thing I didn’t know that then.
I might well have bought it on the spot, slipped behind the wheel and had Stephanie follow me home; a bit slowly, undoubtedly.
Love that two-tone dash. Even Stephanie agreed.
This major redesign first appeared in 1941, and it’s always been one of my favorites. It’s a got a bit of a forward cant, not unlike the 1940 Graham shark-nose. Reo used this for some time well into the fifties, including the legendary Reo Speewagon pickup, which I also found and wrote up here. It was called “Moreload”, as it shifted the cab a bit forward, leaving more room for the payload.
I love it when there’s no question as to what model an old vehicle is; makes the research so much easier.
Let’s lift the hood and check out the legendary “Gold Comet” engine. If I got it right, it had 331 cubic inches and 128 hp. That should get me down the highway at about 50-55, depending on the gearing.
No doubt about it being a Gold Comet. I do wonder if that’s the original carb; looks a wee bit too modern.
Looks like it’s tuned up and ready to work. An alternator has replaced the old generator; good call. They might have taken the paper label off the radiator hose before clamping it; bad form.
This is a Gar Wood three-yard dump bed, just about right for my use. Except of course that I’ve sworn off building anymore new houses. Oh well; I could have really used it back in 1997.
But I can still dig it, eh? How about you?