91alloptions

I have been an admirer of Franklins for some time. Perhaps its the air cooled thing as I am a Corvair owner (64 Spyder and 65 Corsa)!! The Franklin mark appears to have a strong if somewhat small loyal following. I would like to learn more about Franklins leading up to eventual ownership. Are there any good books, technical reports etc that would help me on my way to gaining some reasonable knowledge. Any Franklin activity in Pennsylvania after August of this year ?? Appreciate any help for a franklin newbie ! Ron

I have an interest in purchasing one of the large lighted round Reatta dealer's signs - has the Reatta logo on it. Anyone have one they would like to part with? Please contact me with leads or interest in selling Many thanks.

I had this same motor noise and a replacement motor fixed it. I agree with Mike that this replacement is not an easy job but I went at it systematically, step by step and found it not terrible. If you tackle it yourself I recommend the following: 1) buy a factory repair manual and read the appropriate sections carefully; if you own a Reatta, this will be a good investment for the future 2) The window does not need to be removed - it can be taped up to hold it in the full up position 3) Before you drill out the rivets that hold the motor and regulator assembly in place, knock out the centers with a good metal punch. The rivets are aluminum if I remember correctly and with the steel center pins (from installation) knocked out, the rivets will drill out in a few seconds with a decent drill bit 4) Make sure that you do NOT let the regulator spring uncoil when you drill out the rivets holding the motor to it - the spring must be controlled or bad things will happen (read serious injury). The drill a hole method in the manual did not seem like the best way to me -- I used a big "U"-bolt to hold the sprung arm - worked like a charm !! 5) Use nuts and bolts to replace the motor to the regulator (these were supplied with the motor that I bought) Also, count the teeth on the motor to make sure that the replacement motor is really the exact match -- the first one I bought from my FLAPS had the wrong tooth count. THe next one was right. Glad that I checked. 6) Use nuts and bolts (grade 5 or better) to replace the motor regulator assembly into the door. Be very careful with clearance so the bolts do not protrude toward the glass -- don't want a scratch !! A couple of the bolts I put the head side inside the door with the nut on the front surface of the door. If you have big hands, find a friend with small ones - its a tight fit getting the bolts in place in the holes -- I used a small dowel with masking tape to hold the bolt and start the nut from the front side. If all this hasn't scared you off, give it a try. I enjoy using that window now knowing that the job was tough but went smoothly and the results were great. Good luck !!

With the interior of my 91 coupe nearly entirely renewed, I am now looking to enhance the look of one or two minor pieces. The headliner colored welting strip (beechwood tan) that surrounds the inside opening to the sunroof is a bit dirty and slightly frayed where the cloth has come loose a bit from the rubber strip itself. I could probably carefully reglue the loose edges of the cloth that covers it but was wondering if that part is still available or there is a very good replacement or if someone has a very nice used one to sell Any leads greatly appreciated Regards

Sounds very cool! How about a JPEG of the finished product? Thanks Ron

If I understand corectly, the 1991 wheels are bare aluminum (clear coated) only around the outer edge and the majority of the center portion of the wheel (including the center cap insert) is painted. Has anyone found a paint for respraying the wheels?? A couple of weeks ago it was suggested that "dull aluminum" or "argent" would be good for the center caps. Is it the same for the wheels also? What do the wheels look like if the paint is removed and the aluminum is buffed as in the 88-90 wheels? Anyone tried this ??

It appears to me that the left top corner of the glove box door in my coupe has warped just a tad and is 'leaning in' toward the interior. Has anyone seen this? Is this a heat issue? This is a life long southern car (hurray, no salt) but even though it has lived a garage existence, it still gets pretty warm in there during the summer days. Has anyone tried a fix? I'm tempted to remove it, lay it in the sun to warm up, strap it firmly with a recurve bend and then let it take a new 'set'. Good/bad idea?? Appreciate any advice.

Does this conversion relate to all years of Reatta or just 88-90 ?? Is the 91 ignition different ?

Based on the considerable discussion on the recent inexpensive performance upgrade possibilities thread, I have the following question: If the 1991 3800 engine breathes easier (both induction and exhaust) than the 88-90 version, would the CAI box and the cone filter modification do comparatively more or less good than in the more restrictive earlier models ?? If it will do something I can feel, I'm interested. thanks, Ron 1991 Reatta Coupe 1964 Corvair Spyder Turbo Coupe 1965 Corvair Corsa 140 Coupe

Actually, I bought this set on Ebay a while back and just recently installed it. The number of the company that Alan works for is 1-877-367-2279. He's easy to talk with.

To the good folks of the Reatta forum: I thought that I would post to the group notification of my successful installation of a complete replacement carpet set in my 91 coupe (tan interior). The carpet set included both front and rear main sections as well as ALL of the additional pieces (storage compartment covers, console (3 pieces + fuse door covers) and door panel bottom section) (actually I have yet to add the door panel pieces but this will be easy - next weekend!). My old tan carpet was faded and made this great looking coupe look old (still only a teenager at 13 years, right!). I know that there has been some discussion about replacement carpets from various companies. I want to thank Alan Faircloth in Kennesaw, GA and his colleagues for producing and marketing this carpet set. Details on the set: Color is great. As my original was faded I have to go with the inside of the storage compartments for comparison. It is a beautiful match with the tan leather seats. The nap is a bit taller than the original (1/8" longer maybe ??) but I like the extra plush look and while a Reatta expert would probably catch it for concourse purposes, it is really nice !! Front main piece is molded and rubber backed and fits just great over the interior cross member and up into the foot wells. There was plenty of extra all the way around so there was room to do good fitting with careful trimming. Rear main section (storage area) was not rubber backed (as was the original) but was molded and did roll down smoothly into the storage compartments just like the original. The fit inside the storage compartments was not perfect -- there was a pad glued to the back of the carpet at the base of the two storage compartments that was not found on the original and it needed a bit of trimming to smooth out its outlines from above (no big deal). The area inside the storage compartments could have had a bit more material in that it would not sit against the walls and floor of the inside of the storage compartment without a bit of airspace in one or two places. Here too, no biggie as its all below the closed lids and when you do open the lids the inside area is smooth all the way around. The back outer rear portions on both sides (just below the two bottom corner interior panel sections where the carpet turns vertical) could have been molded a tad better but a couple of relief cuts did the trick and you just can't tell that it wasn't a good molded fit 'out of the box'. Again, VERY very nice if not 100% perfect. The storage door inserts needed a good bit of trimming and this was time consuming for me (but I went VERY slowly and 'snuck up on it' to avoid taking off too much and ruining it). I final nap trimming was done after the carpet was glued down. The console pieces were very good and required only the slightest amount of trimming. Don't trim the excess at the bottom of the console pieces - these turn under after installation (I used the rounded end of a bottle opener as a carpet tool) to give a great smooth finished look!! The fuse door openings were already cut out. If I could make a suggestion, I would recommend that you try to order it with the cutouts not cut out because it is one more thing to line up when gluing. It would be easier to carpet over the two small square holes (with the doors removed!) and then cut out the openings. In general, the longer nap made the trim cuts somewhat critical in order to not cut into the nap at an angle when the cut edges are approximated, like on the console. But in most cases the edges are hidden by the molding at the door openings or folded behind and underneath, like the rear storage area. I was very impressed with the fasteners used on the Reatta internal pieces. My experience with other cars is that once you pull them apart, they break or somehow get messed up and just don't want to go back with the same degree of tightness. The Reatta fasteners came apart and went back together just great. But these are great cars so should we expect less ?? I used 3M #08088 General Trim Adhesive - one can for about $10 at my FLAPS did it all. But the main front piece requires no glue at all - just like the original it is so heavy and with all the hold down spots (seats, carpet retainers, etc) that it stays put all by itself. That glue is amazing stuff - don't expect to put a piece of carpet in place and then decide that you want to move it 1/4" too the left - its there and it wants to stay there !! In all, I consider myself to be a good craftsperson but I am certainly not a professional carpet installer, and this carpet set looks great - no puckers, creases, short edges (= no runs, no drips, no errors) !! If you want further details or help with how it all comes out and how it goes back together, I would be happy to respond. (Console removal took a few prayers but it was all smooth and do-able.) I have derived MUCH great help from this great forum of helpful and knowledgeable people and I would welcome the opportunity to give back to the group. Again - to Alan Faircloth - Thanks - great product !! Long live my newly recarpeted 91 coupe (which by the way has all three options as well as the VERY RARE pin strip delete and the VERY RARE paint colored body side moldings (red versus black in my coupe). It is also a VERY LATE VIN#, within the last 100 Reatta's ever made!! And a southern car - NO SALT - NO RUST!! Sorry - just love my car !! By the way - made a few interesting discoveries on the build dates of interior trim pieces in my coupe. I will post again soon regarding Reatta archeology!! Regards Ron 1991 Reatta Coupe 1964 Corvair Spyder Coupe 1965 Corvair Corsa 140 Coupe

Sometime back, it was reported on this forum that there wasn't yet located a good paint choice to respray the 1991 center caps (silver). Has anyone succeeded in finding a good substitute as yet? I want to redo mine and would greatly appreciate a good lead. Many thanks!!

In taking out some interior pieces in my 91 coupe, I located a wire without any connection. It exits from the plastic wire chase on the driver's side of the car that sits underneath the rear storage (package) area. The wire is black with a white tracer stripe and has a green connector. Its about 18" long. Is this supposed to connect to something? I cannot find anything that appears to be the place it connects to anywhere in that area. Thanks for any help with this mystery!

R-dudes Many thanks for the reply. Just a clarification. I use the term "sill" to mean the black sill plate with the Reatta script logo. In my original post the 'carpet retainers' I refer to are the interior colored plastic pieces that literally go over the cut edge of the carpet and are in two pieces (front and rear sections) held on by metal clips and one screw. I assume the same cleaning strategy will work. Thanks again!!

I have gotten some great info from this list serve and finally joined as a member. Thanks to all you smart Reatta folks for previous info!! First post question = I am doing some detailing on my 91 coupe. The carpet retainers (plastic pieces) have some light scuffing that came from shoe dragging. The interior color is tan. Is there some product that works well as a good cleaner that will not do harm to these plastic pieces?? Same question for interior rear panel sections. Also, tips on methods (rag vs. stiff brush, etc.) would be greatly appreciated. I want to do good without doing harm!!