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My '88 bulbs come out like this.

Sorry for the late night post. I suppose I'll introduce myself, I'm Cole, I bought a 1989 Reatta in really good physical shape from a guy who has only driven it 10,000 miles since 2003 and has let it sit for a majority of its life. I have the touchscreen, 16 way seats and a weird fabric roof. I'll post pictures tomorrow when I wash the car. I'm gonna end up needing lots of help and advice as this is kinda my first project car and also my first car pre-2001.

I have to say that hopefully with the last of my repairs I have now a much better opinion of this '88 Black Reatta. Since I have bought it I [Kendall, Bob and myself] have done a number of repairs; ignition module, CCRT module, ECM, struts [front and rear], rack and pinion, timing gear, chain, and cam magnet, harmonic balancer, crank sensor, non stock muffler on a non stock exhaust, and right front caliper, caliper bracket and brake pads. While the list looks long and pricey I think I am less then $1000.00 in parts and labor on top of my purchase price of $1000.00 so the car is still a good value. I also think the interior is at least an 8 as is the body. Of all the Reattas I have owned I had liked this one the least because of the nagging repairs, mostly the louder exhaust [now fixed because of new muffler] and the timing [now fixed with a new crank sensor]. It is now tied for second with the '89 Black that I had [that was bought by 2seaters son] with the 'vert last. The 'vert is a solid car giving me no troubles but I just don't like 'verts as much as coupes. The one that got away from me was a 1989 Red/Tan that I bought from a guy about 40 miles away. It needed a front cradle bolt system repair, but Kdirk and I parted it out. Probably should have "saved" it as it was a nice car, but I guess at the time I wanted parts more and the original Black was still running good.

I washed my car last Friday. The farmers are harvesting crops around here, so dust is easily accumulated. We are in peak fall colors. I’ve seen a few folks from Minnesota post snow covered Reattas. Burrrrrr

SYNOPSIS So I wanted to kind of summarize everything, since I have kind of been all over the place on this topic. Right now, to me anyway, there are 3 main avenues of interest. 1. Finding a similar strut for a different car that is close enough in dimensions and could be modified to fit the Reatta suspension. I will call this the Luke method, since it seems that this has been successfully pioneered by @lukehemstreet. The only difference is I am interested in finding a strut that maybe needs less modification than the one he chose. Currently I found the strut for a 2010-2012 Ford Taurus is a pretty close fit and at least has a similar lower mounting style to the Reatta's. Pros of this method are relatively low cost, availability, and it has been successfully done before. The cons, I think, are labor intensive and unsure about if the damping is right. 2. Using an aftermarket Strutt Insert like the Koni adjustable inserts. Here is a video by Koni that shows the installation procedure, to give an idea. I think this is currently the most appealing option for me right now. I plan to contact Koni to try and ask them a few questions, but I see no reason why this would not work, and you would have a performance strut that is adjustable. What I am not sure of is if the inserts will fit inside the stock Reatta rear strut housing. Long term, at least, I am going to pursue this. My plan would be to try to use the original strut housings, but if they are not dimensioned properly, I will explore fabricating my own custom housing. Really all you need is a tube that has the right ID for the Koni insert, and the right OD for the clamp at the knuckle. The pros of this are you would get a high quality performance adjustable strut that is also rebuildable. The cons are significantly higher cost ($200+ each ), might also be labor intensive depending on how difficult the retrofit turns out to be. 3. Rebuilding factory Struts. So in my research, rebuilding struts, is a thing. Most of the youtube videos I find on the topic are similar to this one and seem to be from foreign countries. I guess here in the USA, when stuff wears out we just throw it out and get a new one , until Monroe discontinues the part and you can't . I question some of the methods here, but I think it is an indication that they do come apart, and can be serviced. I think the hurdles would be sourcing replacement seals and such, and also figuring out how to get apart and re-assemble, since the Reatta struts are welded shut and do not have a nut like you see in the video. My thought was that you could cut the top off and then cut threads for that nut on the inside and then close them up with one of those nuts (seem to be pretty standard on a lot of struts). I think for a lot of reasons this is the least appealing solution due to the uncertainty, expertise needed, and no obvious way to source the replacement parts, seals, etc. (although I am sure they are likely standard parts). This solution does interest me personally though for two reasons. First, I just kind of find satisfaction in figuring out how to fix things that would normally be thrown away. And second, there is the element of keeping the car as original as possible (less of a concern for me personally). It is entirely possible that this would be relatively easy and inexpensive to do and could be something that, if figured out, could be reliably proliferated. Just trying to get all my thoughts in one post. As I said, I think ideally I will pursue #2, but cost may end up being a roadblock. It is hard for me to dump $500 into a project like that right now, especially when there is a potential $100 alternative

I should have thought about Buick engineering and how well thought out these cars are in general. I started at the coat hook and got around to the middle and then realized that the center just pulls off after taking off the two center torx screws. That's okay as someone else was in there before me and broke some clips that I fixed with velcro and insulating tape. All better now.

It’s part of the Reatta design language

I got them from Flatout Suspension. single adjustable. valved for a Grand Prix. I still have to design the plates that bolt to the bearing carrier. Ill see if I cant snap some pics when I get home tonight.

This sort of reminds me of the mid year '63-67 Corvette convertibles which had an auxiliary hardtop which was the same color as the car. This was an option which allowed the owner to have both a convertible and coupe (sort of) on the same car. The hardtop was removeable and had to be stored off the car when not in use. The '67 Corvette had a black vinyl covered hardtop as an option which this photo reminded me of it.

Without knowing where the two separate pipes are routed makes it difficult to suggest anything. At first blush, they would appear to have similar functions and I would just tee them together, or rather combine them at the tank. If one is measuring pressure or vacuum in the tank, like many current cars, I don't know what the reaction would be.

I have not found a color combo for a reatta that I don't like. I do think that the convertibles look best with the color trim though. But I am biased because that is how mine is.

You hit it on the nail. The design language for the Reatta according to Dave McIntosh is a large oval. The molding accentuates this oval as it draws the eyes around the sides of the car. The interior molding does the same thing as it wraps around the interior in that ovular shape. This molding also was on a lot of GM cars at this time.

Welcome to the forum! There are lots of knowledgeable folks here that will give you help and advice. I'm curious about the "weird fabric roof". Are you saying you have a cloth top reatta? I own a cloth top Buick park avenue ultra. It is the only cloth top park ave I have ever seen.

Let's not forget houses of 1000 sq ft versus 3000 sq ft and books instead of electronic devices.

I tried to edit your post so the text matches the photos. Hope I didn't screw it up. Handle that fuel gauge sending unit carefully. They are easily damaged and they don't make them anymore.

I have a medium rise scissors lift but last time I dropped a tank it was with jackstands (have lots) and a racing jack with a length of 1x8 onnit.

My daughter fusses at me for not recycling plastid water bottles and cardboard. She says if my generation had done more to keep the environment clean it wouldn't be in such bad shape now., implying that my generation did nothing to stop pollution of the environment Later on I found the following and emailed it to her. She hasn't mentioned recycling to me since. The older people here will understand the moral of the story. --------------------------------------------------- This Green Thing Checking out at the store, the young cashier suggested to the much older lady that she should bring her own grocery bags, because plastic bags are not good for the environment, The woman apologized to the young girl and explained, "We didn't have this 'green thing' back in my earlier days." The young clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations." The older lady said that she was right our generation didn't have the "green thing" in its day. The older lady went on to explain: Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled. But we didn't have the "green thing" back in our day. Grocery stores bagged our groceries in brown paper bags that we reused for numerous things. Most memorable besides household garbage bags was the use of brown paper bags as book covers for our school books. This was to ensure that public property (the books provided for our use by the school) was not defaced by our scribblings. Then we were able to personalize our books on the brown paper bags. But, too bad we didn't do the "green thing" back then. We walked up stairs because we didn't have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks. But she was right. We didn't have the "green thing" in our day. Back then we washed the baby's diapers because we didn't have the throw away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy-gobbling machine burning up 220 volts. Wind and solar power really did dry our clothes back in our early days. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But that young lady is right; we didn't have the "green thing" back in our day. Back then we had one TV, or radio, in the house -- not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of the state of Montana. In the kitchen we blended and stirred by hand because we didn't have electric machines to do everything for us. When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used wadded up old newspapers to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap. Back then, we didn't fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power. We exercised by working so we didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity. But she's right; we didn't have the "green thing" back then. We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water. We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blade in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull. But we didn't have the "green thing" back then. Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service in the family's $45,000 SUV or van, which cost what a whole house did before the "green thing." We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn't need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 23,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest burger joint. But isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn't have the "green thing" back then? Please forward this on to another selfish old person who needs a lesson in conservation.

As posted on the "other" forum...Today I topped off the gas in the Reatta, put in Sta-Bil, changed both the air filter and windshield wipers, cleaned all windows, detailed the exterior, vacuumed the interior, drove it into the igloo, attached the battery tender, and put the car cover on. It will be in storage now until April 2023.

I installed my newly powdercoated wheels. going for the 88-89 T-type look.

Replaced the front muffler clamp on my catalytic converter with a stainless steel band clamp. I noticed a bit of movement in the joint when I was replacing the rubber o-ring hangers at the rear. I would replace the rear clamp too but the joint is too short.🤨 Went junking’ with Dave’s 89 today to find a replacement driver’s seat belt latch. In looking through compatible vehicles, Riv’s and Reattas, I found many that had a failed latch on the drivers side. It looks like a pattern to indicate they have a finite life span. All passengers side worked fine. Telling tales but Dave was after a very nice seat when we discovered a low mile 89 Riviera. After looking it over, I think he decided other stuff too good to pass up👍

Stopped in at a little car show in New Mexico today