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What did you do with your Reatta today.


DAVES89

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You're making me feel like the innkeeper in Jerusalem.

 The plates I have on it are good for March of 2020 so anytime in March works for me. I need warmer weather anyhow as I have the Kicker sub woofer and wiring to remove as well. So anytime in March would work for me.

 The car is a great running car and throws no codes. While the body has about 316,000 miles on it the engine has about 200,000 and the tranny [it is the tranny that matches up to that engine I bought from the salvage yard with 5,500 miles on it]m about 50,000. No rips in the interior and the windshield is about 5 years old. One front ABS sensor lead is intermittent. 

 Of course the deal is dead if you don't buy the extra timing chain I bought from that GM dealer.

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You are a funny guy. I did forget about the timing stuff and will call about that. A month from now would be way better I think. Will definitely work something out. Thanks

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Went "window" shopping at Gibson's this morning. Ronnie wants a nicer steering wheel for his newly acquired truck so I thought as long as I was doing that, I would walk through the older Buicks and Oldsmobiles. Found a nice tan T handle from an Olds 88 for the new [to me] '88 Black. Just like T handles over the Reatta shift knob. 

 I also have an '88'89 Tan steering wheel from the Red that I want to put in the '88 Black. Other then that I think I am ready for spring.

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Went window shopping at Daves89 this afternoon and picked up an 89 manual, an E body parts catalog and an oem timing chain, an all around good deal. Dropped off the 12v led lights I promised several months ago? Handshake deal on the fate of Daves present winter car, to be continued.

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While I was waiting for Hal to show up I got out an extra tan '88/89 steering wheel I had in the parts bin. Scuff sanded it and the shifter T handle I just bought and then painted everything with SEM Beechwood flexible paint. Came out good. Bit of a different color then original so I then had to do the horn button. 

 Then Hal showed up and we settled up on the stuff in his aforementioned post and before he left we did a "handshake" deal on the '89 Black/Gray. I have  some aftermarket stuff to remove [truck lite LED headlights, Headlight relay harness, Kicker Sub Woofer, and lead wires]. Also keeping the tires I put on last fall for another "more worn" set. Then the car is his sometime in March.

 It served me well, but as I got such a deal on its replacement, I don't mind it going. I just didn't want to be the one to put it in Gibson's. 

 Hal is a pretty good negotiator as he started asking about my '89 Red/Tan parts Reatta. I need a few things off that and then he can have that as well.

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Today I installed the newly painted steering wheel and shifter T handle. Looks great. I have been driving this car and the more I drive it the more impressed I am. It really is a solid car and my wife said it actually is nicer then the Red [WHAT!!!]. But it really is a nice car.

 I should have looked through the repair receipts before buying parts. The two previous owners did a lot. Within the last 50,000 miles struts, front drive shafts, timing chain/gear/tensioner, A?C compressor, condenser, evaporator. engine cradle washers, swap bar end links, rear sway bar rubber mounts, loaded calipers, transmission filter drain and fill, arm rest cover. 

 I have replaced the radiator and need to have a repair to the suede part of the drivers side thigh extender. Then address the anti lock brake light being on. As it's an early '88 I will be swapping out the Teves unit, and front rubber brake lines. I get a clunk from the front end so I am thinking I need to check the front tie rods and ball joints. The pin stripe is great except there was damage to the drivers front door and the pin stripe was not done on said door. 

 The donor car for the Teves unit is going to be the Red '89 I bought last fall. It throws no codes and the brake warning lights are out so I'm thinking the hub assemblies [to get away from the '88 ABS mounting brackets], EBCM from the trunk, and the Teves Master Cylinder. 

 This will happen some time in May/June. Then Hal can come for this car if he wants it as well. And that will bring him up to 4 Reattas while I drop to 3...

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Sounds like a really nice car. Too nice for a snow car.

7 minutes ago, DAVES89 said:

I get a clunk from the front end so I am thinking I need to check the front tie rods and ball joints.

Check the sway bar links too. My car had a clunk in the front when I got it and that is what it was.

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51 minutes ago, Ronnie said:

Sounds like a really nice car. Too nice for a snow car.

Check the sway bar links too. My car had a clunk in the front when I got it and that is what it was.

I had a clunk once upon a time and it was the frame bushings for the front bar. 

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Thanks guys as both are relatively easy fixes, a ball joint not so much. Tie rod leads to an alignment. Something to look to later this spring.

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  • Ronnie unfeatured this topic

Weather here today was close to 70 degrees. Not having anything better to do I pulled the Reatta out of the garage and gave it a bath.  A bird had got in the garage and left droppings on my car cover and I wanted to make sure it hadn't soaked through to the paint. Had intentions of waxing it later but the water was beading up on it like I had just waxed it yesterday.  The ICE liquid wax I used several months ago is holding up much better than I thought it would. I like the ease of applying the ICE wax. You just wipe it on and go right back and wipe it off. You can use it on just about anything, including black plastic parts, without any chalky residue left behind.  Good stuff.

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16 hours ago, Ronnie said:

.....The ICE liquid wax I used several months ago is holding up much better than I thought it would. I like the ease of applying the ICE wax. You just wipe it on and go right back and wipe it off. You can use it on just about anything, including black plastic parts, without any chalky residue left behind.  Good stuff.

Can't tell you the last time I actually used a paste wax on my cars.  I've been using Turtle ICE and Eagle One Nano liquid waxes for quite awhile now with excellent results...swear by them.  Wipe on , wipe off!  

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Well that's two ringing endorsements so I will get some as well. My old wax was just about used up. 

 So it looks like we will have "ICE" here in Wisconsin in the summertime as well [I'll let myself out].

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Just can't stay out of the '88 Black. Took it for a quick drive over to the local upholstery shop for a quote on a small rip in the suede portion of the thigh extension part. When I got back home I thought I would put a "Reatta" front license plate on. While I was doing that [with the car running] I saw some steam coming out from under the hood at the right front headlight pod. Popped the hood and sure enough my new radiator is leaking from the fin area. Less then 200 miles. So I looked for my receipt and zipped over to the local 1-800-radiator warehouse and they confirmed the purchase as a no charge replacement. The new one arrives tomorrow. So I start the swap right away in the morning and the replacement will be in about noon.

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43 minutes ago, DAVES89 said:

I saw some steam coming out from under the hood at the right front headlight pod. Popped the hood and sure enough my new radiator is leaking from the fin area. Less then 200 miles.

I believe your luck with that black car is going like mine is with the new-to-me truck. I just had it a week and the first time I rolled the passenger window down a frayed cable broke on the window regulator. I started hearing this crunchy sound as it went down and now it won't go up or down. I have one on order from Amazon. Glad it was just a $50 part and easy to change.

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Well Ronnie my luck is a little better. As I thought I was going to just junk the '89 Red parts car I had stored at a friend's house I kept the leaking radiator I replaced last fall to put in that car just so it would look "complete". But now that Hal wants that car I will not swap it out. And as I have both the 2015 and 2019 receipts I can get two radiators as 1-800-Radiator has a "lifetime" warranty. So I will have an extra radiator for if I should develop another leak in any of the cars. And this is legitimate as the '89 Black did get the one in 2015 and then again in 2019. I just didn't put the new 2019 radiator in the '89 Black as I was getting rid of it. I instead put it in the '88 Black and the '88 Black into the '89 Black thinking as that was to be my new winter Reatta why wouldn't I want new parts in that one? 

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All of y'all's tinkerings/doings makes me want to find some time to get back to my tinkerings on my 89.  Will have to try that fine wax you are talking about.  Some bit of good news......if you recall, I was dealing with that darn ABS light being on all the time.  After replacing the front caliper, doing a brake fluid flush/bleed, cleaning those ABS timing discs, etc., the ABS Light was still staying on.  On my last drive, the ABS light actually stayed off the entire time!!  So, maybe it is fixed, and the ole Reatta just had to take some time to think about the situation.

 

Now, I need to get back to tracking down that electrical problem since the electrical warning light pops on after driving a few minutes.......will start a new post to cover that one.

 

Great "luck" on your raidators Dave........great to have more spare parts.   Hey....question on the front license plate:  I just removed mine, and that little hold-down assembly has two brackets that go behind the bumper and connect with small screws to the bumper frame.  One side was bent, and just needed to be bent back to the right angle.  While doing it, I noticed that all Buick flyers show the front bumper with no license plate assembly attached.  Are they just dealer add-ons?  Do most of you sport around with no front license plate?

 

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Were those 2 holes drilled into the white rubber bumper at the factree, or by the dealer:

 

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The Reatta was sold without the front license plate bracket, but could be ordered in the states that front plates were mandatory.

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Those holes must have been drilled by the dealer.  My car was purchased here in Tennessee where no front license plate is required or issued by the state.  All the rubber on my bumper has is two dimples that show where the holes would need to be drilled if you want to add a license plate bracket.

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Interesting.....so, the dealer could drill out those dimple marks and add the bracket kit.  I think it looks better w/o the plate on the front, so I might delete it sometime.  Just smear some drywall compound in those two dimple holes, and dab some interior latex paint over it.....ha ha.  (Thats what I did "back in the day" when I did not know better.....had a 1971 Plymouth Cricket when I was just getting my license, and I wammed it into the rear of a large Ford station wagon......smashed in the front pretty bad.  I used a tractor and chain to "yank" it back out, and then used drywall compound about an inch thick around the front fender areas, and topped off with some green roof paint.  Wasnt very long before cracks started forming in the thick drywall and the green paint began flaking off.  Yep, back in tha day).

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The front license plate bracket part number is 1639026.  The bracket support part number is 1639027.  I concur with Dave and Ronnie in that those states that required a front license, the dealer would include it in the car order form.  MA requires a front license plate.  In fact, if any MA state trooper cannot easily see your front or rear plate "clearly" at 20' you receive a ticket and/or an inspection failure.  This means no license plate add-on's, i.e. plate surrounds, plastic covers, etc.  Not even a slightly dirty/muddy plate.

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