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What did you do with your Reatta today.


DAVES89

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I just looked at my dash. No cracks but it is slightly warped near the defrost vent on the passenger side. Only noticeable if you're looking for something.

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I've always purchased a dash cover rug for whatever car I acquired.  I don't Velcro them on...just slide them in place...but I do keep them on the dash full time.  They keep the sun from beating away on the dash, and they eliminate the sunshine flashback in your eyes.  

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3 hours ago, BlakesReatta said:

Mine was a Florida car and the plastic piece that holds the defrost grate was cracked on my car when I bought it. I ordered a replacement from Jim Finn and replaced it. One thing I noticed about where it cracked was along the spots where the brackets go into the dash to secure it. I think that when the car heats up and cools down the dash goes further into the bracket and eventually cracks from the stress of the temperature change and pressure from being in those slots. Mine was mostly cracked on the passenger side. The tabs are a pain and then some to remove and get the thing out.

 

Be careful replacing it. I damaged the soft touch spot of my dash from pulling out the hard plastic piece. It isn't noticeable from the driver's or passenger's seats but one of those little things that irks me knowing it's there.

Some really knowledgeable guy developed a tool to pull that defroster grill and listed the lift points. I think it's in the "How to" section on the top of the page.

 Can't remember the guys name though...

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50 minutes ago, ship said:

I've always purchased a dash cover rug for whatever car I acquired.  I don't Velcro them on...just slide them in place...but I do keep them on the dash full time.  They keep the sun from beating away on the dash, and they eliminate the sunshine flashback in your eyes.  

When I bought the '89 Black/Gray that 2seaters son now has it came with a dash cover velcro'd in place. When I went to remove the velcro adhesives I ruined the dash. That was the first dash I replaced. Manikmakanik and I replaced it as he had one laying around. Cost me a trip to Kenosha, lunch and a $100.00.

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21 minutes ago, DAVES89 said:

Some really knowledgeable guy developed a tool to pull that defroster grill and listed the lift points. I think it's in the "How to" section on the top of the page.

 Can't remember the guys name though...

Oh man, I wish I had known that before! It's definitely not easy to remove. Jim Finn gave me some instructions.

Edited by BlakesReatta
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These cars are at least 31 years old. Almost everything someone is asking about has probably happened at least once before with a "How to" to repair. Why people don't look around [especially for those who are repair book illiterate like me] is beyond me...

 This is not directed just at you Blake I'm just making a general comment.

Edited by DAVES89
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I tend to look for information about more technical matters about the car. I've pulled door panels and interior panels on a lot of vehicles so it wasn't really on my mind to look for that specific topic plus I had Jim Finn's instructions to follow. Pulling the door panels on a Reatta is pretty comparable to any 80s and 90s Buick from my experience. I wasn't expecting the dash grills to be so difficult to remove. I believe they were almost melted in place.

 

I think some people just don't know how to search or what to look for. Some people don't know that a lot of information is available. The option to post a forum on it makes it seem like that's how they can find answers. Lol I know it gets annoying answering the same questions over and over again, but that's how people are. I think you guys do a good job referring people to the information that is available. Some people just don't have research skills. Ever met somebody who doesn't like to read?

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I can deal with answering the same questions over and over, but what is tiring is when people come on just to get their issue addressed and then disappear until they have a new problem and when they get that answer they disappear again.

Whatever happened to building relationships and having conversations?

I come on all the time telling about what I am doing to my Reatta or what new blind spot mirror I bought and how well it works. Not because I'm bragging but to invite participation. Other then one or two guys [Ronnie, Ship, 2seater] no one else seems to want to add to the conversation, but yet these same guys are expected to give an answer for some newbie that as I said before asks and then disappears like a fart in the wind.

When I see someone new come on with their question the best I'll give them is to look in the "How to" on the top of the page, and not even give them the link to make them look and see what is there. Then if they have questions I'll offer advice. If all they want is help it's where I pointed them, if they want to hang around and be a part of what Ronnie has put together so much the better.

Edited by DAVES89
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Well said Dave. These same people who pop in to ask a question and then disappear are going to be disappointed when they pop in to ask another question and this website has disappeared due to lack of participation. I don't want that to happen, but there isn't much incentive to keep the doors open when everyone seems to want to play the quiet game.  Donations are almost nonexistent and I have to pay money out my pocket to keep this website going. I keep it open because I enjoy the conversations and the opportunity to help other Reatta owners, but it's hard to justify doing that when only a handful of people participate.  

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Ronnie, how much is the annual cost/expense for hosting the website?

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2 hours ago, BlakesReatta said:

Ronnie, how much is the annual cost/expense for hosting the website?

This is off the top of my head. There are other costs I'm forgetting but It won't come to me right now.

 

Hosting fee= $166.00

Domain name fee= $19.00

Forum software subscription= $80.00 ($40 per 6 months x 2)

 

It's not a huge amount of money, but it is quite a bit to put out for something that is hardly used.  I never expected this website to make any money, and it never has. Donations use to help offset the costs but they are few and far between now that we have such a small number of visitors.

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I thought I'd show a pic of each of the blind side mirrors that I placed on my cars, but don't know how the pics loaded sideways:  Top left = Reatta, top right = Caddy ATS, bottom left = Eldorado

Ronnie, maybe you can turn them right side up.

 

ship1 (2).jpegship2 (2).jpeg

ship3 (2).jpeg

 

 

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1 hour ago, ship said:

I thought I'd show a pic of each of the blind side mirrors that I placed on my cars, but don't know how the pics loaded sideways:  Top left = Reatta, top right = Caddy ATS, bottom left = Eldorado

Ronnie, maybe you can turn them right side up.

 Reattaimage.jpeg.0955fd178be2f5a148c17cb191431f50.jpeg

image.jpeg

The mirror you put on the red one is more like how mine looks. Have you taken it for a drive? If so what do you think?

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1 hour ago, ship said:

Ronnie, maybe you can turn them right side up.

Fixed it. They look great. Amazon now says mine should be here tomorrow. 

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5 minutes ago, DAVES89 said:

The mirror you put on the red one is more like how mine looks.

Dave, could you measure the distance from the right edge of the sport mirror to the right edge of the main mirror for me. Knowing that distance will allow me to install mine in the same location you have yours.

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Oh my goodness! A machinist wanting dimensions from sales!

 Seriously once you look at the mirror you'll see that measurements are hard. Just hold the mirror in place without removing the adhesive and eye ball it up. If you are still unsure let me know via pm and I'll get it for you.

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It's all about the top left rounded edge matching up to the rounded edge of the Reatta mirror.

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I took the red caddy out today to go grocery shopping.  I used the blind side mirrors, and they work great.  I will be taking the Reatta to a cruise-in shortly today and will check out their function.

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20 hours ago, DAVES89 said:

It's all about the top left rounded edge matching up to the rounded edge of the Reatta mirror.

I do plan to very delicately reposition the Reatta's stick-on mirror more in line with the top left-hand side of the driver's outside mirror.  If I take my time, I know they will come off and re-stick with no problem (I've done it already on the Eldo). 

 

Caution:  Taking off the blind side mirror to reposition is not advised!  The 2 sided sticky pad got all ripped up.  Luckly, I have 2 sided sticky squares that are very thin and small enough to use.

Edited by ship
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When I did this I rested the two first fingers of my left hand along the top edge of the original mirror. The left small finger went on the left outside edge of the original mirror. I then with my right hand I slid the new mirror up to those same three fingers. This gave me an idea of where to put the mirror once I removed the backing tape. 

 Don't worry about the original mirror being in any certain place while testing the placement of your new mirror. When you go to stick it down I then put my fingers behind the mirror to help hold the original mirror in place while pressing the new mirror in place.

 Then once the new mirror has "set" for a minute or two adjust the original mirror [using the controls located on the console] to your desired position and test it out. Because I have a one lane driveway I went to a parking lot and did my tests there with a parked car already in the lot. 

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