Differences between the 8-31, 8-35 and 8-48

From John:

A J you are right that the top side of the radiator shell could be not perpendicular and tilted sightly toward the cowl of the body, causing my measurements to be slightly off.

I will try to find some place on the shell to measure that is like to like on the 8 31 and 8 35. Ok folks, I measured it and both cars measured the same, so the only difference I can find is in the hood where in the center of the two halves, the 8-31 measures 66 1/2" and the 8-35 measures 69 1/2"....hence a three (3") inch difference. Next I will have to measure the wheelbase of one of my 135" Royales
ON A TOTALLY DIFFERENT ISSUE:

I am needing the three inch or so piece that holds the bumper to the body. Actually I need about 12 of them. In your pieces and parts do any of you have these? DO ANY OF YOU NEED THEM TOO? If others of you also need them maybe we could have some casted.

John

On Sun, Feb 15, 2015 at 8:33 AM, Al (A.J.) SanClemente wrote:

It makes complete sense that the bodies would be identical as that would be the hardest thing to shorten. I would have guessed that the difference would be in the hoods as that would be the easiest. I'm surprised there is a difference in the radiator shell. Seems unnecessary to stamp out two shells for such a small difference. It is possible that the shell is mounted further towards the front on the 8-31 also.

I did not break down the measurements on my car other than the 74.5 inches from windshield to tip of radiator shell. I'm pretty sure the 5 inches is in the cowl.

When we get this sorted we should post it to the forum so it isn't lost to time.

A.J.

On Sun, Feb 15, 2015 at 9:21 AM, Mark  wrote:

Hello John , If it is only a 130 inch wheel base that is better for me . Because I am trying to make some sense out of the measurements .

I mentioned about the accident and the replacement springs .

Thanks , Mark

On 2015-02-15, at 9:08 AM, Virginia Phillips wrote:

> I know what you are saying, Mark. I did not measure the entire car just the front parts and from the most rear part of the back door opening to front of engine cowl. I can only account for a 3" difference from the front tip of the radiator cowl to front tip of the windshield.
>
> When I can get Virginia in the mood, I am going to measure the wheel base of the 8 31 sedan.
>
> I wish Mr Neal would weigh in as he probably has the answer.
>
> John
>
> On Sat, Feb 14, 2015 at 4:22 PM, Peters wrote:
>
> Well 135" to 131" is 4" to start with, not to be an ass, but 1" could easily be made up in the positioning of the tape measure.
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Feb 14, 2015, at 3:52 PM, Virginia Phillips wrote:
>
>> After getting home, I could not wait to get some measurements that compare the 8 31 to the 8 35.
>>
>> From forward tip of the radiator cowl to the front of the windshield frame
>> 8 31 66 1/2" 8 35 69 1/2 " 3" difference
>>
>> From front of the windshield frame on the cowl to the first indention for the hood (toward the radiator)
>>
>> 8 31 15 1/2' 8 35 15 1/2" SAME
>>
>> From the first indention for the hood to the forward front door opening:
>>
>> both cars the same: 14 1/4"
>>
>> Distance between the forward opening of the front door to the outside opening of the rear door:
>>
>> both cars the same: 65"
>>
>> The width of the hood at the chrome piece at the center of the hood:
>>
>> 8 31 42 1/4" 8 35 44 3/4" 2.5" difference
>>
>> MY CONCLUSION IS THAT THE 8 31 AND THE 8 35 HAVE THE SAME BODY FROM THE ENGINE FIREWALL TO THE REAR OF THE CAR, AND THE HOOD AND RADIATOR COWL IS 3" DIFFERENCE WITH 1/2" DIFFERENCE IN THE RADIATOR COWL AND 2.5" DIFFERENCE IN THE WIDTH OF THE HOODS.
>>
>> This makes no sense at all to me since of course there is 4" difference between a 131" wheel base and a 135" wheel base car. If it is true that the 8 31 is really a 8 30 (per Joe A) then there would be a five inch diference, not 3" as I have measured it.
>>
>> Anyone got any opinions???????
>>
>> John.
>>
>>

Bringing this discussion back to the top. I believe the following is true?

1. The dashes are different between 8-31 & 8-35
2. The door hardware is different between 8-31 & 8-35
3. The wheels and hubs are different between 8-31 & 8-35/

A.J., From what I have learned so far you are correct on items 1 and 2 . Item 3 the hubcaps are different . What is difference with the wheels ?

And from the surviving cars and pics I believe that also:

4. Wood trim on the interior is different between the simpler 8-31 design versus the 8-35 with their more impressive smoking set.

5. Bumpers are different... 8-35 uses a sort of straight design with squarish angles and again straight towards the ends while 8-31 uses a more curved design.

6. Running boards are rubber on 8-31 and formica type reddish material with rubber strips on 8-35... but better check on this one.

I found an article in The Classic Car, December 1979, Vol. XXVII No. 4 that mentions another big difference between 8-31 and 8-35 models:7. Headlights, that I know we've mentioned during our conversations... if viewed from the front, round in the 8-31 and oval shaped with the lense indented on the 8-358. Front fenders are different, beaded in the 8-31 and rolled edged fenders on the 8.35... it shows these two pics... first one is 8-31 and this second one is the 8-35

Furthermore, in the same magazine, an article by Raymond M. Wood, whose father worked at REO, has a paragraph that describes and solves the doubt some of us had about Reo having a 130" wheelbase chassis for a 8-30 Flying Cloud and a 131" wb chassis for the 8-31 Royale, which of course doesn't seem to make sense to have two different chassis for such a small difference... here is the explanation:

"There was also a 130 inch wheelbase Reo with the same body stampings and engine as that of the Reo Royale 8-35, known as the 8-30. It had less trim, five inch shorter hood and a flat chrome radiator shell. In April, 1931, this car came out with a V-radiator grille and became known as the model 8-31"

By the way, on a recent visit to John, we compared the cowls on 8-31 and 8-35 and concluded they are identical and therefore the difference between the length of the cars is in the hood only, just as the paragraph mentions.

Great stuff Victor. Thanks!

Excellent detective work Victor . One question regarding the front bumpers . Don Olson's front bumper on his 8 - 31 looks like the one in the above picture . Like the 8 - 35 . But when I saw Tim's 8 - 31 Sedan I think his bumper has a V shape on the front bumper ? ? I believe . Would the Sedan and Victoria have different bumpers ? Thanks

All of the factory or old pics I have seen show the bumpers just as in the two prior pictures... and I would guess the bumper design goes with the series, 8-31 and 8-35, not with the body style, or in otherwords, I would think all 8-31, be it Victorias, like yours, sedans or coupes, would have the same bumper, more curved towards the ends... and the same would be true for the 8-35 series with the sort of squarish or angled bumper.