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Cam sprocket and balance shaft gear is retained by three small bolts. It isn't an issue to hold the cam still while torquing. Use blue Loctitie on the bolts. It will be nigh on impossible to spin the engine over from a cam bolt. Use the crank bolt. Without the chain connecting the cam to the crank, the cam and balance shaft are free to rotate on their own, but the tension from the lifters and valve springs will tend to keep it in place. Balance shaft at top, balance shaft gear installed on camshaft in middle, crankshaft at bottom. , c

Well it’s not completely rusted I’d still have most of my fenders if I cut 1/4-1/2 away from the rust. I know I can do it I just needed to know what metal to buy. Thank you guys for the answers, this forum is great Ronnie.

This is a pic from my teardown of the 1995 s/c engine, the last of the true Series I engines. The cam uses a large single center bolt as a retainer and no cam button. I imagine Series 2 are similar.

That might apply to the old 3.8 that didn't have a balance shaft. Your 3800 should have a cam button in the center and three small bolts hoilding the cam sprocket on. Be sure to install the cam position sensor magnet from the rear of the sprocket. 2seater gave you good advice. He is the go-to guy on 3800 engines.

$500 per pair, they will be Monroe 71966 OEM Spectrum. I will be offering the modified Regal struts for less. Good to have options.

Don't forget there are other E-body cars that used the Reatta style strut as well, unless of course it had the air bladder addition. I hope it all comes to fruition and as stated, yah can't have too many choices. I also think Ronnie laid out the situation well.

Marck offers a great service and yes he will charge well for it. He has to as it is how he makes a living. I'm betting the struts he will be offering will be close to $200.00 each. And I state that on the list price for the Riv rear struts I bought from the local Buick dealer that charged me about $125.00 each about a year ago. Kind of weird how that came down. I bought 2 for $125.00 each and then when he found the 3rd one he offered it to me at a better price [I had told him a good friend of mine worked at the dealership when I picked up the first two] so I paid somewhere around $80.00 for the last one.

I see your point but there are advantages to being a business vs selling to a buyers group of individuals. 1. Monroe is not a retailer and probably only sells wholesale to a business. 2. As a wholesaler they do not collect taxes but somewhere along the line sales tax has to be paid. A business like ECRP has a tax number (so they don't pay sales tax up front) and a business license that allows them to buy from Monroe. 3. IF Monroe would sell to a buyer's group, they would want a point man who would represent the group and handle collecting the money and accepting delivery. Collecting from all the buyers would be like herding cats. I've been involved in something similar and you quickly find that there are a lot of people who talk a good game and say "I'm in", but collecting the money is a different story. 4. The buyers group would have to order a sufficient quantity to justify Monroe making a run of the struts. I suspect that would be a hefty number of struts. Then they would ship to the point man who would need to distribute (ship) the struts to everyone in the group. As you can see, buying from Monroe as a group is much more complicated than buying them as a business who keeps them in stock and collects tax and shipping cost at the time of sale.

ECRP, as an established company that supplies Reatta parts, may have enough clout and buying power to convince Monroe to make another run of rear struts if a large enough quantity are ordered. I think Marck is sincere in saying he is trying to get them in stock. I expect they will be expensive. Most things that are in short supply are. People with nice, low mileage, Reattas will be happy to get them at any price. The rest of us with average drivers will continue down the path we are on of modifying a strut that will fit at a lesser cost. It's always good to have options. Most of us here on the ROJ forum have a common goal, trying to figure out ways to keep our Reattas on the road. I'm proud of what we have accomplished so far on finding a solution to the discontinued rear struts. Although I don't think Marck is a member of this forum, my hat's off to him for taking the initiative to try to make new rear struts available. I don't think he is partnering with someone here to make a reproduction strut. If he is it would really look bad on him, his company, and the person on this forum he is partnering with...

I'm not a body man but I've known a few over the years and had them do some work for me. The ones I know wouldn't weld in a piece of sheet medal to make a repair if rust is a problem. You can't weld to rust. If there is a lot of rust around the wheelwell for example, they wouldn't attempt to patch it with sheet metal. They would replace the whole quarter panel with a good, rust free one. The cuts to replace it would be made inside the trunk and inside the door jambs so they could easily be hidden without a lot of body filler. Not trying to discourage you. Just throwing in my two cents.

Be thankful that Reatta owners have this and other forums where you can ask a question and get replies without being spammed to death with advertisements that pop up so much that you can't hardly read a post. I joined the Mercedes forum, which is a huge forum with lots of information, but the popup advertisements render it almost useless. Every time I get on it I get so frustrated I can hardly wait to get off. If this forum had to be like that I would shut it down.

Most 1990 vintage body panels were 1006 to 1013 steel. Very low carbon for formability and welding

I received a damaged shock for my truck and they immediately sent me a replacement and I got to keep the old one. That was good. On another order they sent the wrong parts and when I informed them they said send it back for a refund. When I got the refund they had deducted shipping both ways. That soured me on buying from them.