maplelover6 Posted March 21, 2017 Share Posted March 21, 2017 Okay people, my first and current car is a black 1988 (seemingly standard) Reatta with 110,000 miles. I have not been driving for more than a year, but I have the speed bug hard. Today I hit 124 mph on the expressway, and was left exhilarated. I feel the quench to race, whether legal or illegal, and being honest most likely both. I've come to you all to ask for advice on getting the best tuner possible on the tightest possible budget. I am quite new to engines and car enhancements/maintenance, but I plan to become very rehearsed on car tuning ASAP. These are the obstacles I am currently facing in order to go through with this: 1.) Can I convert my Reatta's automatic transmission to manual? If not, what manual transmission can I buy suitable for swapping and what else would I need in order to do so? 2.) Is a Reatta even worth tuning? I love the car to bits, but if it's not up to the task for amateur racing, I am more than willing to look at more suitable models with higher potential. (For examples, I have been looking into ~1990 Camaros, Fox Body Mustangs, Firebirds/Trans Ams, Nissan Silvia etc. If anyone has some classic muscle, a suped up Civic, or literally anything they are willing to trade for a Black 1988 Reatta that runs great(again, it still easily hits 120 mph) feel free to contact! 3.) What are the necessary enhancements and upgrades I need to acquire in order for my ride to stand up against its foes?Ex. Brakes, suspension, turbocharge/supercharge, performance chip, anything and everything! 4.) What exterior/interior body mods do any of you have on your Buicks that make them look badass/improve handling and aerodynamics? 5.)Cassette player/Electrical problems: -Often if I am on an uphill or hit a bump, the dashboard cuts off or all of the service lights come on. -I have not yet seen the cassette player work with any regular cassettes and I have yet to get it to cooperate with my cassette adapter. The Cassette player does not come on when I push the button on the touch screen interface, and needs to be forced open by hand for it to even come out. When I try to put my Cassette adapter in, obviously the cord is going to poke out of the cassette panel when I try to press the cassette in. There is a hook that the cassette panel latches on to on the ride side. If I force it enough I can get the cassette panel to latch onto the dashboard with the cassette adapter cord poking out the left, but that looks totally unnatural and the touch screen interface does not let me press play. I have seen on other forums that people have used cassette adapters in Reattas, so im hoping someone knows, so that I dont need to constantly have my bluetooth speaker charged for when I go driving. Lastly, is the radio connected to the cassette player at all? I know that the radio is more or less locked to the specific electrical programming in reattas, but do I need to have the radio on to used the cassette player? If cassette players are impractical for a Reatta, is their a way to get music coming from my phone out the car's speakers through other means? 6.) What are some useful tips for someone looking to race on not so legal roads, as well as on fully legal racing tracks? Are their any things I can apply to my vehicle so that if it is caught on camera, I wont be traced? 7.) If i was to drive at night, would covering my license plates/my face with black cloth be practical/effective in disguising my car from cameras? If so, Id love advice on how to go the extra mile. If not, id love to know what might work in saving my ass from anything and everything legal 8.) Have any of you gotten new seats/steering wheels/gear shifts for your Reattas? If so, I would love links to cheap and comfy chairs, wheels and knobs that fit a reatta! 9.) I am pretty sure all the wheels on the car are stock wheels, and some of them just seem to enjoy losing air. What are some classic yet cheap racing tires suitable for a reatta? I am sure their are more questions I have, but I have already asked so much and I seem to have covered the more essential points of my interest. Thank you to everyone that takes the time to help me! P.S. If a Reatta is not the way to go for a tuner, then anyone can still send me links to general upgrades and universal parts to make any car look awesome and perform even better, or even model specific body mods, such as for Camaros and Pontiacs, or any car suitable or showing potential for street racing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted March 21, 2017 Share Posted March 21, 2017 Welcome to the forum! The Reatta can be modified to get a little more power out of it. But for any type of racing it is the wrong tool for the job. Sorry but that is the reality of owning a Reatta. The best advice I could give you for street racing is don't do it! If you take my advice the life you save may be your own. As for the cassette player - rarely do they work unless they have been repaired. They have some weak parts in them that fail and cause the problems you describe. It is possible to add a jack to plug in your phone/ipod. Dave will probably be along soon and describe what is needed to add the jack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2seater Posted March 21, 2017 Share Posted March 21, 2017 I agree with Ronnie that it is not the best tool for racing. If you could knock about 1000lbs out of it, it might have a better chance. Don't be fooled by the size, it weighs as much, or more, than a LeSabre of the same year, that's the biggest enemy. It's a great long distance cruiser. It was not a mainstream vehicle the aftermarket adopted like the other brands/types mentioned. Not much available for customizing that is a direct bolt on, you have to use your imagination and ingenuity :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maplelover6 Posted March 21, 2017 Topic Author Share Posted March 21, 2017 Welcome to the forum! The Reatta can be modified to get a little more power out of it. But for any type of racing it is the wrong tool for the job. Sorry but that is the reality of owning a Reatta. The best advice I could give you for street racing is don't do it! If you take my advice the life you save may be your own. As for the cassette player - rarely do they work unless they have been repaired. They have some weak parts in them that fail and cause the problems you describe. It is possible to add a jack to plug in your phone/ipod. Dave will probably be along soon and describe what is needed to add the jack. I really appreciate the feedback! Btw for any of those that simply reply with lectures of why not to street race, I am more than read up on the dangers and risks, which is why I am still only contemplating the idea. If I were to commit to it though, it would be my own decision, and if I were to do it, I would much rather be equipped with some tips on maintaining my safety and the safety of others. I agree with Ronnie that it is not the best tool for racing. If you could knock about 1000lbs out of it, it might have a better chance. Don't be fooled by the size, it weighs as much, or more, than a LeSabre of the same year, that's the biggest enemy. It's a great long distance cruiser. It was not a mainstream vehicle the aftermarket adopted like the other brands/types mentioned. Not much available for customizing that is a direct bolt on, you have to use your imagination and ingenuity :) Any car suggestions for a unique and cheap tuner? My maximum budget for both buying and tuning is maybe 4000-4500 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted March 21, 2017 Share Posted March 21, 2017 Remember this in regards to wanting to go fast. The transmission in our cars are made for maybe 220 HP. Any more and you will blow it out. I myself and in the middle of "upgrading my engine [with the advice of friends, Ronnie and 2seater] and will spend at least $2000 for a rebuilt engine, used but recently rebuilt tranny and a few extra parts. And that might get me to about 180-190 HP. I can give you some advice on a "jack" for your cassette. I don't have a "smart phone" but use an MP3 player however the instructions are the same. If you don't want to use your cassette deck going forward just remove it from the car, unplug the white plug lead, remove the back of the cassette deck, remove the plug and short harness from the cassette deck. You will see that you have four wires coming from the harness just removed from the cassette deck. Two are grounds and can be wired together the other two are right and left speakers. Then take a MP3 extension cord and cut the female end off and wire the three wires from the MP3 lead to the cassette harness you just removed from the deck. I would do tape until you know which wire does which. Once you get it to work you can then solder and heat shrink. Plug back you new lead into the car's cassette harness and you should be set. I run my lead through the console and out through the consoles ash tray. I do have an extra one if you want to buy it. I'll sell it for $20.00 delivered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZ Ron Posted March 21, 2017 Share Posted March 21, 2017 You will be sucking someone else's fumes it you want to go fast on that budget. Seriously; work a part time job on the side and save your money until you get enough to buy something that already has good bones. The Buick Reatta is not the one. One of the best values out there today is the 1997- 2000 C5 Corvette. It was a revolutionary design with a great engine that can be modified to produce great horsepower. Those in the know in the Corvette hobby do not buy them because they had some flaws during those years. The dirty little secret is that most of those problems have been fixed by the owners or under warranty. You can pick one up for $9,000 - $14,000. Corvette scrap yards are fairly plentiful and used parts from the 2001 - 2004 C5 Vettes can usually be retrofitted to the earlier C5s. You can educate yourself on the C5 section of www.corvetteforum.com The aftermarket is chock full of ways to enhance the handling, braking, appearance and power. The permutations are endless. I am glad you are aware of the dangers of high speed on the road. I worked in the ER and saw the results quite often. Be safe out there for you and the other innocents on the road. https://phoenix.craigslist.org/nph/cto/6012109139.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordrodsteven Posted March 21, 2017 Share Posted March 21, 2017 Agreed. The Reatta is not the car to "build" for racing unless you plan to make MAJOR changes and spend lots of $. AZRon is correct in getting something better to start out with. If you're a GM guy you can find many better vehicles out there. If you don't mind being like "just another guy" with a Camaro, Mustang or Corvette that's the best way to go. You can readily buy "off the shelf" upgrades to suspension and horsepower made specific to those cars and make it the way you want it. Drag race, drifting, Road race, whatever in between. You can even build it with an adjustable setup to do different kinds of racing. Just look in one of the "speed" catalogs and you can see what cars have the most parts available and figure out what is the best candidate for your goals. The Reatta is not "the one" if you're racing. You can also buy plug and play tuner equipment and many "bolt on" custom upgrades for body parts to make it look that little bit different than all the other Mustangs and Camaros out there. And don't forget "bolt in" upgrades to the interior also. If you want something "different" you could look toward a Firebird or a Ford Falcon (same parts as an original 64-66 Mustang) Seems to me that not too long ago there was a guy (oldmanJim on AACA) starting on a drag racing project. He was tearing everything out and changing the Reatta to a rear wheel drive setup with a SBC in the front. I think he gave up on it. If memory serves correct too many computer issues along with suspension and too many other things to mention. You're best to start with something else. I should listen to my own advice....lol. I myself am currently starting a 1955 Thunderbird resto-mod. Plan to keep the body stock and upgrade drivetrain and suspension. Already running into roadblocks on front and rear suspension upgrades unless I want to do some cutting and welding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2seater Posted March 21, 2017 Share Posted March 21, 2017 I thought a mid-engine version with the whole front cradle moved to the rear would be interesting, or perhaps twin engines, which I know has been done (not on a Reatta), but much easier to start with a Fiero. How about a Gasser Reatta? Sometimes reality brings you back to the same mold many others are in. Perhaps a bit boring, but practical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZ Ron Posted March 21, 2017 Share Posted March 21, 2017 Another bit of advice to the OP. Only post a thread about one problem at a time so you can get specific advice and more of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordrodsteven Posted March 21, 2017 Share Posted March 21, 2017 One more thought.... again many $ required. Build a chassis / drive train to do what you want then bolt a Reatta body onto the chassis if you really want the "Reatta look". Of course many other things will have to be changed or modified (headlights, wipers, dash gauges) to make them functional. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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