tire guage, flashlight, pen

Booreatta · January 26th, 2003

there is not much information available about the flashlight,
tire guage and the pen. were all three of these items part of the car
from the beginning or was the tire guage and flashlight only available on the convertible, there dont seem to be many around. who out there knows??? the pen came with my 89 so i know that part is right. there also seems to be a difference in the owners manual covers, mine is the fold over kind with the pen and others have the zippered case again what year did all this take place.
thanks but everyone needs useless information that could be important in the future

imported_daddy3jr8 · January 26th, 2003

Hi Boo,
My 90 came zipper case, manual, 5 other pamps, and tire gauge. Space for pen and light, but don't have them.
Wayne

imported_ALF1 · January 26th, 2003

Maui blue ('90 convertible) came with the logbook, manual, notepad and all sorts of mini-documents, including a card to fill out and send in to Buick for a brass plaque with your name on it, to go in the small indentation on the logbook cover. It also came with the pen, tire gauge, penlight -- and uncut plastic spare key...all in a black plastic bag emblazoned with the gold Reatta logotype. Everything was taken out once to check it over, then put back in and preserved. I've turned down $1000 for the package.

Jerry <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/image...mlins/ooo.gif" alt="" />

reattadudes · January 26th, 2003

all '90 and '91 models came with the zippered portfolio, which contained the items Jerry mentioned, including a reatta-monogrammed note pad, and a road atlas. we are sold out of portfolios, and have a 20+ person waiting list for them. these were barely $100 last year, and now command a four-figure price. it definitely shows the renewed interst in this fantastic car, and how owners want their car to be totally complete.

Mike

HessLakeGuy · January 26th, 2003

Are 1989, 1990 and 1991 binders interchangeable? I know the owners manuals and warranty info would be different--but can anyone tell the difference from the outside?

Barney Eaton · January 26th, 2003

1988,'89, and early '90's came with the smaller (about 6 x 8) black leather holder for the owners manual and that included the pen.

A change was made in early 1990 to the larger (8.5 x 10.5) black zippered owners portfolio. The zippered portfolio came with the pen, flashlight, and tire gage. They were all done in a flat black color with the Reatta script in gold. It appears that Buick sent the portfolio to Buick dealers that would have received early cars with the smaller holder. The dealer was to place the larger portfolio in the car if it was unsold or see that the owner was given the portfolio if the car had been sold.

Either the dealers did not get too serious about getting them to the customer or Buick sent several, and there were spares, is not clear. I say this because several of the larger portfolios have surfaced still in the protective cover, and in most cases they do not include the owners manual because the car would already have one.

I have a early 1990 coupe with both the small and large cases.

reattadudes · January 26th, 2003

Barney,

our '90 driftwood coupe has one of these "blank" portfolios, with the craftsmens' log blank. do you suppose these may have been replacements ordered thru the parts department to replace missing portfolios?
Mike

Barney Eaton · January 27th, 2003

I would guess your craftsmen signature card was lost. The cost would have been insignificant to duplicate for the replacement portfolios so there would be little reason to leave it out.

My own opinion is that the signature card were a marketing scheme. I believe that several workers signed some masters and they were reproduced and put into the portfolio. I have seen "sealed" portfolios with the signature card. It is unlikely they actually signed the card, put it in the portfolio, and then sealed it in plastic.

This summer, that will be one of the questions we ask at the Craft Centre reunion. If any of you have questions about the Reatta build, post them here and we will attempt to get an answer.

At one time I started an exercise to compile all the names on the signature cards. Several people sent me copies of their cards, and while I never completed the project, it became apparant, there were maybe three different name combinations (on the cards)

nic walker · January 27th, 2003

Barney,
I now feel taken, used, and abused.............. <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/image...mlins/mad.gif" alt="" />

bakersfield · January 27th, 2003

Hmmmm.....

Perhaps I was wise in READING the Last Reatta Newsletter. There was a never used complete 90 Owners package which I purchased from a nice lady in California. CONSIDERABLY less than 4 figures, in fact, less than 3 figures.

Another case of the early bird....