Think Reattas are bad ?

[Padgett]

A year ago prices dropped so far that I could not resist and now have a pair (one nice, one not so) of running driving, cold AC '89 Allantes. Both with hardtops. While I see a lot of the same design language as the Reatta, and even some of the same parts, much is either stupid or unobtanium. Does have 200hp/270 lb-ft torque which the Reatta always needs and other than a beefed up 4T60 called, not a 4T60HO, but an F7. That is just the start.

 

Then there is the "worldwide" design picture that never mentioned Japan. However the Center Stack aka Combo Panel aka CCDIC (different places in the FSM). A unrepairable "black box" that was $3400 in 1993. Exchange. And the major visible component, the 1984-era LCD displays, fail when exposed to sunlight. Right. It uses a pulsed serial square wave feedback to determine if the coolant fans are working. It also has nine (9) Output Switching Modules (OSM) to correct for a bad light bulb. All of there are (1) complex and (2) no longer available (NLA).

 

Have determined that I will find a replacement for the center stack displays but nothing is marked (lotsa little white wires), no schematics exist, and have not found any tutorials for 1980s LCD technology.

 

Allante sites/forums have been no help as has Yazaki (sub who built the stacks in Japan) so expanding the search to anyone who might be able to help, particularly someone who was employed by or knows someone from  Delco Radio Kokimo at the time. Please help.

[Ronnie]

I've thought about getting an Allante before but decided against it. I would like the extra power. I think they look more dated than the Reatta with all the angles and sharp edges on the body lines and the interior is dated for the same reasons. I prefer the more rounded look of the Reatta and I wish the Reatta designers had continued the rounded look of the front of the Reatta like the rear has. I think the more rounded look of the front end of the Fiero Formula I had would have looked great on the Reatta.

 

I think we are going to have to expect the parts for the Reatta to be a real problem soon like you are starting to experience with the Allante now. As Reatta owners we should be gathering all the info we can on people and businesses that can recondition hard to find Reatta parts, especially the electronics. There will come a time when good used parts will be almost nonexistent in the junk yards. We will have to repair what we have or find substitutions from other vehicles and figure out how to make them work in a Reatta.

 

For those who want to keep their Reattas factory original, I think it is going to get really expensive to do so. I'm not in that group so anything I can do to keep my Reatta going to enjoy it without butchering it or compromising the safety of the car is what I'm going to do. I'm not going to spend a ton of money on mine just to say it is factory original.

 

[BlakesReatta]

Is might be just me, but the Allante is an ugly car that has not aged well at all. It is too angular and boxy in an era that was all about aerodynamics and curves. I love the Fiero's design and of course the Reatta but I hate the Allante. It's like a bad Mercedes SL knock-off in my opinion.

 

I will give credit to the car for performance, which most Reatta owners envy. However, those electronics are more nightmarish to fix than the Reatta's.

[Ronnie]

If my Fiero had been bigger inside I would still have it. I love the way it looked and I loved driving it but it wasn't near as comfortable as the Reatta. With just a 2.8 V6 performance was about on par the Reatta. Another thing I liked about the Fiero was how many different engines you could put in it without too much modification to the Fiero. Lots of engine swap kits available for it. If I had kept mine ti would've had a 3800 SC in it by now.

[BlakesReatta]

6 minutes ago, Ronnie said:

If my Fiero had been bigger inside I would still have it. I love the way it looked and I loved driving it but it wasn't near as comfortable as the Reatta. With just a 2.8 V6 performance was about on par the Reatta. Another thing I liked about the Fiero was how many different engines you could put in it without too much modification to the Fiero. Lots of engine swap kits available for it. If I had kept mine ti would've had a 3800 SC in it by now.

How many miles did your Fiero have on it when you got rid of it? My Aunt had one she daily drove from 1985-2017. It had been repainted but as far as I know it had the original engine in it. I think the speakers in the headrest are really cool. It was more of a necessity for the Fiero because of how tiny the interior is.

[BlakesReatta]

I would also say the Fiero is probably the reason we have the Reatta today. If you read and watch the advertising for the Fiero, a lot of the same things were echoed in the Reatta advertisements about building a "different" automobile with spirit, style and quality. Both achieved the mark for these philosophies.

[Ronnie]

I don't remember the miles on my Fiero but it was less than 100k. I don't remember my Fiero Formula having speakers in the headrest but maybe it did.  I think of my Reatta as a big Fiero and that had a lot to do with me buying it.

 

I can't agree with you on the Allante being ugly. Lots of people like the boxy look. It's just not for me. I do like it's younger brother the Cadillac XLR which has some of the same angular lines. Look at how many people liked the DeLorean. It has somewhat the same angular look of the Allante and they used it in a movie and people loved it. John DeLorean might have had a big influence in the design of the Allante since he was a big wheel at GM for years. I've never looked into that possibility.

 

 

[BlakesReatta]

Some Fieros had the speakers, some didn't. It seems like most of the ones I come across that are for sale do not have them. I can see the Allante as a scaled down DeLorean. But I feel as though these two cars are in different segments.

 

The coolest thing about the Allante to me is how they flew it to Italy for the bodies and interiors to be assembled, then flew back to the US for engine installation. Also, there are a certain number of buttons that the car has that is supposed to mark it as luxurious. I just cannot stand the way the car looks and I do not think it is elegant in any way. It looks very techy in that 80s-90s fashion. The Reatta has a taste of this techy look but it is incorporated in a much more tasteful manner that makes it elegant.

Edited August 12, 2021 by BlakesReatta

[Padgett]

Shall we say I outgrew my Fieros ? Not sure exactly how many I had, first was an 84 automagic, most of rest were 86 SE and GTs with manual transmissions. If ever had a 5 speed I might still have, 2.8 V6 had the most beautiful sound I know.

 

But then despite air horns had one too many SUVs look over and see nothing in the next lane. Reatta is tall enough not to have that problem. Had a percentage of Reatta converts before switching to SLK retractables. Almost continued that trend with an XLR & almost bought a couple before deciding "what kind of a GT car has no luggage space with the top down ?". But still had a bit of an itch (note: am a GMI grad and spent five years with Delco Remy, tend toward GM cars).

 

Then last year Allantes (89 with larger engine) got too cheap to resist so bought a nice 64k one with both tops. Then another not as nice but half the price appeared three miles form my house. Did some calculating and both fit in the back garage. Barely.

 

Am discovering that a lot of undocumented electronics came from Japan and used (then) cutting edge LCD displays. That are not sunlight tolerant. Also would love to know who added 9 separate  multi-connector modules spread around the car in case a bulb goes bad (discontinued but $168 in '92 parts book. Each.). Or that coolant fan operation requires a module that accepts a pulsed square wave (Reatta has relays. Works well).

 

Oh well my task has been to find a modern replacement for the LCD displays. That can accept commands form the backplane. Are the same commands the Reatta uses (off-warm to get into diagnostics) so some commonality.

[Padgett]

The deeper I get into Allantes, the more I appreciate Reatta engineering. Things that are simple on the Reatta require a major shop with a hoard of parts to repair Others are just plain stoopid and appear to have been engineered by interns.

 

Take the convertible top (please). Where the Reatta has a steel tonneau (can sit on) that pops up and you grab the top. Then pivots down and to push the pins in. Simple. Elegant. Easy.

 

The Allante has a double hinged plastic toneau that is best described as "flimsy" so no pins. Instead it has  a glorified and complicated trunk pull down bolted to the bulkhead with a release cable in the trunk. Two levers and a rocker switch to operate. Maybe. Only service manual I ever saw that the first instruction is "cut the cable".

OK so get the assembly off. When in lowered position the bolts are inaccessible, needs to be up. An experienced engineer would put an allen or torx socket on the exposed end of the shaft to wind up manually. Reatta even has one for the headlights. Nyet Allante, if down you may be able to snake in ignition (everyone have ?) wrenches. To service manual it is a black box replaceable as a unit. Like the center stack. Like the coolant fan module.

Add to the fact that the vendors seem to feel parts is their rice bowl and charge $200-$350 exchange. Guess it is worth it to a typical Allante owner.

 

As a toy it serves admirably and does have the reliable and pretty drivetrain the Reatta always should have had. Wonder if it would fit...

 

Edited August 14, 2021 by Padgett

[Ronnie]

19 minutes ago, Padgett said:

does have the reliable and pretty drivetrain the Reatta always should have had. Wonder if it would fit...

Wouldn't it be great to find out the engine cradle (subframe) could be swapped - complete with engine and transmission? I doubt it is that simple or someone would already have done it.

 

"Only service manual I ever saw that the first instruction is "cut the cable".   Some of the railroaders (AKA Sledge Hammer Mechanics)  I worked with must have wrote the Allante FSM. 🤣

[Padgett]

Suspect would require a bit of reprogramming the ECM. No big but for many, impossible. OTOH many do an L67 swap and the 4T60 is borderline. The F7 is supposed to be stronger (mythical 4T60HO ?)