Alby505 Posted December 13, 2022 Share Posted December 13, 2022 Stopped at a Cars and Coffee before heading to the garage and covering it up for the winter... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted December 13, 2022 Topic Author Share Posted December 13, 2022 I checked the antifreeze on the Black and it was only good to minus 25 so I removed the overflow tank drained it, cleaned it out reinstalled it and added straight anti freeze which now takes me down to -40 which should be good. Any thoughts on doing this? I believe that by adding fresh straight antifreeze I have restored the anti corrosion and lubricating qualities needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ship Posted December 13, 2022 Share Posted December 13, 2022 I've never had to worry about getting the antifreeze down to that minus degree level in any of my cars, thankya Jesus! My understanding re: effectiveness of antifreeze is a 50/50 mix of water/antifreeze. But adding straight antifreeze to an empty overflow that brings the effectiveness down to -40 is a good thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted December 13, 2022 Share Posted December 13, 2022 Adding straight anti-freeze to the overflow tank will help but it may take some time to get mixed in with the anti-freeze in the engine since there is no real circulation through the tank. It couldn't hurt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted December 13, 2022 Topic Author Share Posted December 13, 2022 44 minutes ago, Ronnie said: Adding straight anti-freeze to the overflow tank will help but it may take some time to get mixed in with the anti-freeze in the engine since there is no real circulation through the tank. It couldn't hurt. Yeah I added it and checked it about a week later which I hope allowed enough time to move around. I'm going to check it at the radiator tomorrow. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted December 28, 2022 Topic Author Share Posted December 28, 2022 On 12/5/2022 at 7:55 AM, DAVES89 said: I'll be driving the Black starting Wednesday for the first time in almost a month. My wife and I were vacationing to Texas [where the 'vert is and that I drove once or twice while there] using her van. But now that she is coming home tomorrow [I came back with the mini van for work a week ago] I will be giving up the heated seats and steering wheel of her mini van for the more spartan life of the Reatta. They are creature comforts I can get used to and may put in the Black [at least heated seats]. I had forgotten that I left the aftermarket heated seat pads on my Amazon Christmas list. My youngest daughter bought them for me so it looks like next winter I will have heated seats in the Black. The Black has 6 way seats so it shouldn't be too bad to take them apart and install. However not going to happen this winter as it's too cold to work in an unheated garage. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted February 15, 2023 Share Posted February 15, 2023 I started up and drove my Reatta today. I think that was the first time in about 6-8 weeks. I closed the battery cutoff switch, then I turned the key on and off a couple of times to prime the fuel system and it fired right up. Installing the battery cutoff switch to keep the battery from going dead is one of the best things I've done to my Reatta. The weather was really nice today so I could drive around with the windows down like it was springtime. I drove it about 20 miles and it ran perfect. Driving my Reatta after it's been sitting for a month or so always brings a smile to my face. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted February 16, 2023 Topic Author Share Posted February 16, 2023 I know just how you feel Ronnie. While I drive one Reatta almost every day it still brings a special feeling when I do the seasonal change and bring out the Red or like right now here in Texas when I drive the vert for the first time in months... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted April 8, 2023 Topic Author Share Posted April 8, 2023 Down here the damp humid air [also with salt in the air] combined with ultrahard water to wash the 'vert with has caused my wheels to needing a good dressing up. I went to O"Reilly's and bought some Blue Coral paste chrome polish and #0000 steel wool. Did the first one in about 15 minutes. I put a floor jack under the frame with 2-2x4 pieces and get it up as high as I can to make it so I don't have to kneel/bend so low. This also lifts the rear wheel up some as well. Jack stand for safety and start in. They are cleaning up nicely! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted April 8, 2023 Topic Author Share Posted April 8, 2023 Just finished. Took about an hour. Mostly hard water lime and road crud. Cleaned up about as nice as they were when I bought them about 10-12 years ago! Las time they got detailed like this was about 8-9 years ago so it was time... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ship Posted April 8, 2023 Share Posted April 8, 2023 Opened the "Reatta" igloo and pulled out the '91 early last week for an oil change, new oil pressure switch, a/c fix, and state inspection sticker. I also had a tack in the rear right tire that had to be plugged. Turns out that part of my a/c problem was that the condenser was toast at the bottom. It's 32 years old so I have to expect stuff like this. Bought a new one from Auto Zone and had it overnighted from CA free of charge (AZone was having a shipping special). I removed the radiator cover in prep for the mechanic. All said and done, condenser swapped, a/c recharged, etc., etc., all in one day. Today I swapped out the IPC due to a cracked face on the old one... easy peezy. I also detailed the exterior for my first of the season cruise-in April 13th. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohjai Posted April 8, 2023 Share Posted April 8, 2023 Just got back from a 40 mile back roads drive through some beautiful winding roads. Dogwoods and Red Buds in full bloom. I love my 91 Reatta. Got it last Friday, and this morning finished bring everything up to snuff. This car handles beautifully on sharp twisty roads. I love it. Tomorrow we will take it to Rolla, MO to have Easter Dinner at our Grand Daughters. A little over 100 miles each way on I44. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarookha Posted April 17, 2023 Share Posted April 17, 2023 (edited) On 12/28/2022 at 3:59 AM, DAVES89 said: I had forgotten that I left the aftermarket heated seat pads on my Amazon Christmas list. My youngest daughter bought them for me so it looks like next winter I will have heated seats in the Black. The Black has 6 way seats so it shouldn't be too bad to take them apart and install. However not going to happen this winter as it's too cold to work in an unheated garage. The Reatta seats have a lot of padding between the leather and the foam seat. Make sure you get the heating elements as close to the leather as possible, or all the padding will insulate you from the heating elements. I did my driver's seat the easy way, just unclipping the hog rings and slipping in the heated seat inserts like the lumbar support repair directions suggest. Easy-peasy. And ineffective, because of all the padding. For the passenger side, I tried un-sewing the seam down the side of the seat upholstery, which actually undid like three layers of material. It was a huge pain to cut without damaging the leather, and an even huge-er pain to sew it all back together. But it heats la derrière much more effectively. BTW, I did all the work with the seats out of the car. Taking the seats out and re-installing them is small change compared to installing the heater elements the effective way. I swapped out the coin dispenser for a square piece of white oak, in which the heated seat buttons are mounted, looks nice. Would I do it again? Yes, better informed, so I could work a little more efficiently and effectively. But I wouldn't look forward to it... I can look up where I drew my power from, if you are interested. You want it to be from a switched source, not an always hot source. So if the ignition is off, the heating elements are off. There is an empty slot in the passenger side fuse block on the side of the console that has what you need, I just don't remember off the top of my head which slot. Edited April 17, 2023 by sarookha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarookha Posted April 17, 2023 Share Posted April 17, 2023 Bought a cassette (Eric Clapton) to test the cassette player in my '90. Worked great! Except it won't eject... Tries, then re-seats and starts playing again. Any suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Padgett Posted April 17, 2023 Share Posted April 17, 2023 The eject belt is bad, replace all three. All of my cars can play from my cell phone, have over 500 albums onnit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarookha Posted April 17, 2023 Share Posted April 17, 2023 (edited) 43 minutes ago, Padgett said: The eject belt is bad, replace all three. All of my cars can play from my cell phone, have over 500 albums onnit. Okay, I'll get me a pack of Amazon generic cassette belts. I obviously don't need a cassette player, but I do like my old vehicles to function as they were designed. Regarding the option of using my cellphone to play my music, yes I want to do that. I tried a Bluetooth FM transmitter powered by the cigar lighter, was pretty disappointing. I'm wondering if the relative locations of the antenna and the transmitter are incompatible? What has worked for you? I'm not really eager to upgrade the whole radio to the Bluetooth compatible unit offered by ECRP, since it is functioning perfectly well in all other respects. Edited April 17, 2023 by sarookha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Padgett Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 Depends on which adapter you used, some are pretty bad.. I like the later Nulaxy products, about $30 on Amazon. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted April 29, 2023 Topic Author Share Posted April 29, 2023 I will be selling the Black and probably going full time year round with the Red here in Wisconsin and the 'vert in Texas. The way I figure it by the time winter really gets here [and I don't drive every day] I will be wintering in Texas. I also considered buying a late model Buick Regal with the idea of the Red being an "occasional driver" like so many of the other guys here. But when I got the Red out I said to myself "No way am I not driving this car as much as possible". So no additional car being bought, Black gets sold, 'vert will be driver in Texas and the Red is truly going to be a daily driver in Wisconsin... 2seater's son wants the Black so I believe it is gone. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted April 29, 2023 Topic Author Share Posted April 29, 2023 2sater's son is coming this afternoon for it. Maybe as winter comes I might reevaluate, but pretty sure I want to give this a try. Last summer I did undercoat the brake and fuel lines so hopefully that will help also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ship Posted April 29, 2023 Share Posted April 29, 2023 Dave, I don't know how late a model of Buick Regal you might be interested in (I believe 2020 was the last year of manufacture), but I had the opportunity to drive a friend's 2013 Regal GS a few years ago (BCA John De Fiore's). I was very impressed with it, great styling, peppy, comfortable, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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