Long before the modern rock band, there was another Reo Speed Wagon (spelled, more often than not, as two words), a light truck built by the Reo Motor Car Company of Lansing, Michigan, R.E. Olds’ second company. It was one of the first trucks introduced by a passenger car manufacturer on an entirely separate chassis (vs. the Model T-based Ford trucks), and was turned out by a completely separate division of the company, dedicated to its success. Powered by large Gold Crown six-cylinder engines, the Speed Wagon became highly regarded for its power and high standard of quality. In fact, Reo trucks would outlive Reo passenger cars, remaining in production until after World War II.

The Burdick Collection’s Speed Wagon is among the few survivors of the model from this era, and one of the fewer still that have been restored. Even the engine compartment and chassis are clean, presentable, and in general better-finished than one would imagine on a truck of this era. It features a handsomely constructed and well-finished wooden cab, upright in the style of the era, and an especially large wooden truck bed capable of hauling most any load that one could imagine. Powering the truck is a 1921 engine with a radiator from a lighter-duty canopy express model. The paintwork, striping, and livery are all lovely. The odometer notes 48,501 miles at the time of cataloguing.

One thing is for sure: the new owner will “keep on loving” this Reo Speed Wagon for many years to come.