Leaderboard

After selling my '88 Black to 2 seater's son I was without a winter car. My original thought was just to drive the Red until January [it has "Collector" plates which are 11 month plates and cannot be used in January] and then park it as we winter in Texas staring in February. I could have waited a year as so far our winter has been very mild and we leave the 10 of January for an extended vacation to Asia to celebrate our upcoming 45th wedding anniversary. But I digress. I cannot drive the Red in the winter. It has been my all time favorite car and I refuse to chance driving it in snow/winter/salt especially with the liquid deicer they now spray on the roads. So the search was on. My mom owned a 2001 Supercharged Buick Regal. I drove it a couple of times and liked the ride. She no longer has the car, so I started looking for one and just picked up a 1999 Regal, red in color, light gray interior with a sun roof. There is no rust on the car which has 98,000 miles. I believe it was used a a summer car for the owners who wintered in a warmer state. It does not have the supercharger which is fine by me as I don't like the price difference on the gas price because of the miles I still drive in my business. I bought it in Detroit and drove it back to Wisconsin. That's about 500 miles and I got a good feel for the car. It is pretty comfortable, has good power, but does not have some of the creature comforts I expected. Has dual heat, but not heated seats. Cabin storage for "things" is not as much as I expected. However I bought the car for winter driving and it will fit the bill nicely.

No photos have been posted for a while so here goes. About every year my wife and I drive on a long gravel road that winds it's way for a mile or two through pasture fields and it dead ends at a little church where some of her relatives are buried. Hardly ever see a car on that road so we can just creep along and enjoy the beautiful scenery. We go so slow you could almost walk along beside the car. We took these photos at the end of last summer. We usually park behind the church near the graveyard and just stand there and take in the view. One of the most peaceful places I know of.

I personally think this forum is indispensible for the Reatta community. Although not possible to know, I would venture to guess that the number of views per day or per month is quite high. Ronnie, your effort is most appreciated.

I just happened to see this today 😄 "This is not parallel parking, Christine; this is magic!" Cagney and Lacey, season 7, episode 20. May 2, 1988

My 1990 Reatta with 87K miles needed new struts all around. The job seemed more complex than simply changing shocks on my 1950's classics. But thanks to the guides here on ROJ, I'm proud to say I did it successfully. Some shops gave breathtaking labor quotes, more than my budget is comfy with. So I read through the guides here on ROJ, took my time, with an excellent outcome. All 4 original struts on my Reatta were totally shot. They weren't leaking, but they weren't absorbing road shocks. The pistons just dropped into the bores. I assume every Reatta that still has the original 30+ year old struts either needs or will need new struts. I bought the previously unobtanium rears from ECRP, and Monroe front and new mounts from Rock. ECRP says Monroe will not do any more runs or our 71966 rears, so suffer the ECRP price and get 'em while you can. After following the guides on this site and finishing the strut job, I'm very impressed with the newly refreshed ride, and proud that I was able to do the job myself. I have an appointment at an alignment shop this week, mandatory after changing front struts. Here are some tips from replacing the front struts I will share. This $13 tool from Amazon made it easy to deal with the nut on top of the front strut mounts. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BKZXJ881?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details I ordered front strut dust cover bellows from 2 vendors that claimed their bellows were correct for Reatta, but the "bump stops" didn't fit. I modified the bump stop on the KYB bellows, and it functions perfectly to hold the bellows in position, while fitting into the upper spring seat plate. The supplied bump stop was too tall, interfering with the strut mount, and the inside diameter of the bump stop was too small to fit on the strut piston. My Dremel tool solved both problems. Description of 13 photos: 1. original strut - note the broken bellows. When the strut was unbolted from the strut mount, the rod sank into the bore...totally shot, but not leaking fluid 2. New KYB bellows inside diameter at gripping lip at top is larger than original. Can't use the original GM orange dust cover retainer/bump stop which requires smaller diameter sealing lip on the bellows 3. New KYB bellows with original orange GM dust cover retainer/bump stop, and the new bump stop included with KYB bellows. I cut the KYB bellows at top and bottom, and reamed out the inner diameter to match the GM original 4. New KYB bellows with original orange GM dust cover retainer/bump stop, and the new bump stop included with KYB bellows. I cut the KYB bellows at top and bottom, and reamed out the inner diameter to match the GM original 5. KYB bump stop with crown cut off, inserted into upper spring seat plate. Crown must be cut off so that strut mount fits correctly on top of spring seat plate 6. lower side of spring seat plate with KYB bump stop installed, cut shorter 7. KYB bellows pushed onto modified KYB bump stop, with a smear of JB Weld to permanently attach the bellows to the new bump stop 8. New front strut and strut mount with spring compressor 9. 24mm strut nut tool from Amazon 10. Strut nut tool with 50mm torx bit for original strut, and 10mm hex for the new strut 11. This inexpensive tool is much better than clamping the polished chrome rod with vice grips to keep it from turning 12. New strut assembly ready to install 13. New strut installed

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.

Stopped in at a little car show in New Mexico today

15 Reattas altogether, which really turned some heads. My car was the only ‘88 and got a lot of attention as I had left the windows down so people could poke their heads in to marvel at the touchscreen setup.

Here is my triple Blue 89' Sapphire Firemist

I have noticed my engine making a rattling noise lately and getting louder. I thought it was the timing chain rapping against something. I pulled the serpentine belt off and started jiggling all the pulleys. Lo and behold the water pump had lots of movement and rattled when moved around. Funny thing was, I had changed this pump before, roughly 10 years and 10k miles ago, It was a ACDelco unit. Also, it was not seeping out the weep hole. Installed another supposed Delco unit, rattling noise is gone. I guess I should be glad it lasted 10 years, even with the little miles put on it.

After driving the Regal for about 3 weeks and a bit over 1000 miles I have had to do some "fine tuning". Started with an Idle Air Control, Then on to a Mass Air Flow sensor. Then yesterday I stopped in at Gibson's a local You Pick yard to get a back up battery. [This was after lunch with 2 Seater] Came out to the car and it wouldn't start. It would grind but not start. So I first checked fuel pressure, that was good. Then said to myself " Either Ignition Module or Crank Sensor". The obvious easy answer was to start with the ignition module. I know I was at Gibson's but I had a back up in the car [always carry extra parts and tools]. Had it swapped out in about 15 minutes. Hit the key and it started. I decided that I needed to do a tune up and checked my inventory of Reatta replacement parts. The Regal is a Series 2 so I knew the Delco upgrade I had done on the Reatta would give me pretty much what I needed. I checked online for spark plug wire length and plug number and checked what I had in inventory. Sure enough I had a wire set that was close in lengths and the correct number plugs [#14]. Called up Kendall [my mechanic friend] and invited myself over for a tune up party. Plugs and wires and clean up the plate under the ignition module. About an hour later the old original plug wires [in poor shape] and the old plugs [badly worn] were out and the new ones were in. Drive home was much better as the acceleration was noticeably improved.

Today is my 67th Birthday. 15 years ago I bought the Red as a birthday present to myself. We've been through a lot of parts together and a repaint and I still wouldn't give it up. My plan is to drive it 2 more weeks and then park it until spring. My license plate is an 11 month plate meaning I can't legally drive it in January. That's okay as my wife an I are taking a 3 week vacation to Viet Nam so most of January we''ll be gone anyway. Then February off to Texas for the balance of the winter so I really don't need a second car for me. Maybe next year I'll get a second car as I really don't want the Red to be a winter car. Besides I spent a bit of time replacing light bulbs [cornering lamp, license plate bulb, and one of the high up brake lights], the leak on the Master Cylinder and finally different ABS sensor leads on the front. Baumgharts [My car repair center] did both lower ball joints, both axle shafts and then a tire rotation and alignment. Car runs really good now and is real joy to drive...

Lit

Not a posed photo. My two boys were over this morning and parked side by side so I pulled mine up so the nose was visible in the photo. Left to right, 88, 89 and 90. The 88 & 89 came through Daves89.

So I was driving down Midway Road in Menasha [for the benefit of 2seater] when a guy pulled up next to me and gave me a "thumbs up" on my Reatta. I wave d back and shortly pulled into a vacant store's parking lot to do some paperwork. As I was sitting there the guy circled back and said that he wasn't stalking me but wanted to let me know that his grandfather had a Reatta years back and he always liked them. I asked him if it was a 1990 or newer one and he wasn't sure so I showed him some of the features of the touch screen. He was really impressed, so hope I made another friend today...

I've always felt that the price drop from what I paid for the car originally to what I sold it for was the difference in enjoying it while I owned it.

Two of the more interesting pics of my '91 Reatta are when I was having it repainted right after purchase in 2013:

My problem has been solved thanks to Rogold's suggestion. Bear with me for the following explanation. The photo in the previous post showed the brake reservoir after I pumped the brakes 25 times with the key on and engine running. That photo shows the fluid level right on the full mark. Following Ronnie's comments, I again pumped the brakes 25 times with the key off. The fluid level rose to the top of the reservoir. I did the pumping method 2 or 3 times since the recent repair, and each time I evacuated an excess amount of brake fluid from the reservoir. (I told the mechanic not to overfill and to use the pumping method - he says he followed my instructions.) However, I suctioned the excess fluid from the reservoir. The current level is as is seen in the photo below - probably in inch or so below the full mark. In the photo is also the the bottle used to contain the excess fluid - a combined 7 1/2 ounces. I suctioned 2-3 ounces of excess fluid each time I used the pumping method down to the full mark so as not to be overfilled. The other photo is looking straight down into the fluid reservoir. The circular object surrounded by a black ring apparently is the float mentioned by Rogold. I used a flashlight and a drinking straw to probe the float in an up and down motion. The probing dislodged the shiny object propped up in front of the bottle with the excess fluid contained therein. It looks like a piece of aluminum foil that covers the opening of a new can of brake fluid. Removing the aluminum foil, and starting the engine, the ABS yellow and the Red Warning light both disappeared! Problem solved! Thanks to all for your help!

July of 2022 front yard Minnesota 1990 Buick Reatta 1989 Buick Regal custom

Reatta’s @ 2022 BCA Nationals; Lisle, IL.

Just drove my newly acquired 91 very in Florida and drove home 900 miles to PA. I tried to stick to 65 given my unfamiliarity with the mechanicals but it ran flawlessly and I averaged 30 mpg!

Another Reatta sighting. I was in Oshkosh tonight having supper with my sister and Brother in Law. When I was driving out of the parking lot I had to wait for a car to turn to the lot I was in. He was eyeballing me all the way in while I kept thinking "Hurry up dummy so I can get out on the road and get home". So he gets in and I quickly pull out only to have the car coming down the road heading the same way I am be a white Reatta. He wave as he went by, I flashed my lights at him in acknowledgement. Never saw the car before but it does have one burned out bulb in the taillight. And here I thought I was the only guy driving a Reatta in Wisconsin winters...

From my grandchildren 👍

Today marks the 80th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Many of you know that my dad was a Pearl Harbor survivor, Battleship USS Oklahoma. I read in the news today that another USS Oklahoma survivor is attending the ceremony today at the USS Arizona memorial...he's 101 years old. My mother's only brother served under Patton's 3rd army and was killed in Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge. While reading topics in the "other forum" I find out that Ronnie's dad also served under Patton's 3rd and was in Belgium. Let us not forget those who served our country in time of war.

My daughter took this photo while on vacation in Baltimore this past weekend. I think it is cool. When I first looked it I really thought there was a hole in the brick wall of the building but there isn't.

When you want to use a generic automotive floor jack, but don't want to mangle your Reatta's sheet metal...

Good idea. I recently purchased a rubber pad for my floor jack that has notches molded into it that might serve the same purpose. I can't jack up my Mustang using the pinch welds because the pinch weld area has fiberglass ground effect parts attached to it. The main reason I bought the rubber pad is because the K member (cradle) where you jack up the front of a Mustang is slightly angled making it easy for a floor jack to slide off if you don't use a rubber pad to provide some grip. Using the jack metal to metal is dangerous and using just a block of wood isn't recommended on the front of a Mustang like mine. The rubber gives the jack a better grip on the K member, and the the pad has a lip on the bottom to keep it from slipping off the jack. For only $8 on Amazon the rubber pad is a good addition to any floor jack.

Thinking maybe some of you will be interested in seeing a chart of how active ROJ forum members were last year. The monthly count includes posts, and reactions to posts. Probably 20-25 percent of them were mine.

Just now leaving Saigon for a 3 day stay in Bangkok, then home. Saw a lot in Vietnam. Saw Hanoi Hilton but all the American cells were tore down. They talked mostly about the French occupation and little about our soldiers incarceration There were propaganda pictures of happy soldiers getting physicals, playing volleyball and basketball. Saigon we saw the tunnels the North Vietnam soldiers used and the various traps they used to injure US soldiers. Was very interesting, and gave me a new appreciation for those that came and served. Also saw the killing fields of Penhm Pehm. Walked away thinking how can people be so cruel to each other..

Pretty self explanatory. They are 1/4" longer than OEM. Need to purchase 1/4" plexiglass, and longer bolts. The mounting holes have a metal sleeve, that can either be ground down, or as i did, ground out so the spacer lays flat. The clearance is slightly larger than a razor blade... should be sufficient. The right side sensor can be used also on the left side. It will be about a week before I get the rest of the suspension work completed and I will update on performance and function.

Forgive the less that perfect photos, but there's only so much even the best phone can provide. My girlfriend found me a universal LED kit for models, which I used to add lighting to the front lights, rear lights, and interior light. I am by NO means a model builder, this was a very simple (and totally reversible) modification that I think added a lot of pop to an already cool collectible.

I have never viewed a vehicle as an investment, so the Reatta value is not a disappointment to me. What it does do for me is make me look forward to the first drive in the spring after a winters sleep. Never fails to make me smile. I have never desired to be the member of a large group either. Not on the personal level, but that of things mechanical. Personal appeal is what I desire. After all, as I have mentioned in the past, my first brand new car was a first year AMC Pacer X in school bus yellow and ordered out by me😖 As mentioned above, if the vehicle has a following or personal nostalgia attached to it, the value shoots up. High school cars or ones lusted after during that time make up a fair amount of the market. Rarity doesn't seem to matter much. Just peruse the vintage car marketplace or auctions and a 1 of 100 Camaro will likely bring more than a 1 of 10 Mustang or possibly a 'Cuda. The Chevy will simply be more likely to have been in the buyers personal past. It just seems that simple to me. The Reatta won't be in many peoples past and the high schoolers of the era, now see it as an unusual used car. My two boys, classes of '89 and '93, each have one acquired through Dave, and I suppose I have something to do with it. Different era, different crowd.

Used the Bright Aluminum wheel kit from dipyourcar.com. Closest I could find to the original without getting too creative... or shelling bucks out for those remans. Sanded them down, ground and glazed the curb rash and popped out the emblems. Repainted the bumpers too, as they were crumbling apart the day I bought it. Been a project.

I drove my Reatta about 100 miles this morning on one of my favorite roads. I had a great time cruising in the cool morning air. It had been a while since I've had a chance to drive it so I got that first time feel that always brings a smile to my face. It fired right up and drove like a new car. The road I was on has lots of sweeping curves and gently rolling hills. Just enough of both to keep your interest while allowing you to enjoy the drive . I came home to eat lunch and rest a little before I jumped in the Mercedes and drove the same route on the same road. Both are great driving cars but they have an entirely different feel. The Reatta feels heavier (it is) and it holds the curves really well. The MB feels lighter and more nimble in the curves but it doesn't take the curves as smooth as the Reatta. It doesn't have rack and pinion steering but it does have a steering stabilizer shock on the steering linkage like the old Volkswagens had. I guess that is the reason the steering feels so different. Both cars are a lot of fun to drive. Power delivery of the 3800 V6 and the 2.2 liter inline 4 is completely different. 165 HP vs 148 HP is quite a difference but surprisingly you don't notice it much because of the lighter weight of the MB. The MB engine has VVT and I think that gives it more torque than you would expect but not as much as the 3800. The MB engine really likes the higher RPMs to without feeling strained. Both are really good engines. The Reatta is a much more high tech car. The MB doesn't have an electronic shift transmission or even a lockup torque converter. It's a very simple rear wheel drive car compared to the Reatta. The MB has standard analog gauges on the dash, which I like, and none of the high tech electronic stuff like the Reatta has. The MB does have ODB2 diagnostics. With a good scanner it gives a little more information about some things the Reatta diagnostics doesn't cover. Mostly ignition, brakes and emission problems I think. Comfort is good in both cars with the MB having an advantage in leg room and headroom. The Reatta has more of a solid feel. I think part of that is because the weight of the doors on the Reatta compared to the MB doors. Both have all the power features you expect in a luxury car, seats, mirrors and automatic climate control to name a few. It goes without saying that the Reatta wins hands down in looks and grabs a lot more attention.

We’ve been receiving messages and emails from a lot of you regarding our rear shock project. I owe you all some correspondence, so here’s what I know so far. Firstly, this info may change as I haven’t been able to get up with our sales rep at Monroe all week. They have gone radio silent all week. Secondly, we had to place an order for a minimum 1000 rear shocks in order for Monroe to produce the 71966 shock for us. We committed to that back in April. We were told Monroe would tool up and make them for us with that minimum order and only that minimum would be made. They assured us they had zero interest in holding inventory for what they referred to as an obsolete part number for them. They would produce them, but we had to buy them all. However, it appears that Monroe has been selling OUR order off the top of our pallets in their facility to everyone at well below our wholesale price without requiring the minimum order they required from us. Essentially destroying this project for us. Our order was even shorted with only 976 units or less reportedly coming. If you ordered shocks from anyone and the packing list says 71966-ST, you can thank us for that. That was our special part number for the order. Monroe has been stealing out units off our order and selling direct for well under our wholesale pricing. Monroe has continuously lied straight to our faces saying “we don’t fulfill direct for any retailers”, and that they’ve shipped our order. We still have yet to receive our order despite reportedly shipping from Monroe on Monday. Please bear with us while we try to get to the bottom of this. We have thousands of dollars tied up in this project and are committed to finding a resolution. Our intention is to renegotiate price with Monroe on what is left of our order (given how they’ve screwed us) and still fulfill all orders and offer folks a refund or store credit for the difference. Please stay tuned for more info, and we sincerely appreciate your patience in this matter. We are a small family run business who has been screwed by corporate America big time on this project and we are working to do our best for our loyal customers. regards, Marck Barker EastCoastReattaParts.com

This is probably the best, and most important, topic that has been started on this forum. We had a serious problem to solve with the rear struts being discontinued and no off-the-self alternatives could be found. We kicked around a lot of ideas and then came up with some good solutions to the problem. Solving problems and helping each other out is what the ROJ forum is all about. Thanks to everyone who participated!

I took my Reatta out today and I noticed a new mural has been painted on the side of a building in town so I got a shot of my Reatta beside it.

The 3D plastic printed adapter arrived today. it sides snugly over the Monroe 71801 Riviera struts that I have (which use the same body as the 71966, but with the addition of an air spring bladder). At the time, I made an assumption on the gland nut diameter being 48mm, however DPS.01 has since determined it is M51-1.5 diameter and thread pitch. I am going to have the top mount sleeve adapter printed in plastic for proof of concept of that so the stack up for the OEM bushings and retainers can be determined. Threaded end view (top) and slip end view (bottom). The resolution of the printing makes everything look threaded, but it is not. The threads are 1.5" deep which should allow for everything to come back to OEM suspension stroke, as the 73305 insert cartridge has 0.375" more stroke than the 71966.

My '89 at the Rockville Car show of 500 cars - showing off my new "Survivor Plague"

I live in Conifer, CO and I'm the proud new owner of a 1990 Reatta. Mine is white with Burgundy interior. I am SO UNBELIEVABLY EXCITED to have this car! My step-father had one just like this and I always thought it was such a cool car!This Reatta only has 31,000 miles! I'm loving it! So happy to have you all and I look forward to getting to you cool Reatta peeps! Blessings to you all! Casey

Dropped the top for the first time this year. A nice 75 degrees here in Southern Illinois today. 80 degree weather this weekend.

Reatta Reunion Charlotte Autofair 2022

You know, I get really tired of automotive “journalists” with their snarky reviews of the Reatta. The car does have some shortcomings, but are easily outweighed by the advantages. The YouTube reviews, with an audio track, have much voice inflection, irritating irrelevant comment, and generally poor content. Clearly a situation where they need to boost their egos by putting someone/something else down. Pathetic.

Daves89 and I had lunch today and we solved all the most pressing issues of the day so everyone else can get a good nights rest to take care of tomorrows problems in turn🙄