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Two 1991 wheel center caps


Mr. Anderson

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I am looking for two 1991 center caps. Some of the original ones had broken clips on the back. I don't want perfect condition, just daily driver condition that I can refinish with the wheels later.

Shipping would be to Weaverville, NC 28787. If anyone has some available, please let me know. Thanks!

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Two owners are looking for 1991 hubcaps and I wonder what they hope to pay for "drivers". This hubcap has been hard to get for several years.

Earlier this year I purchased a good used one on Ebay and have $59 in it including shipping.

As many of you know, I make a "clone" but it is not cheap. To start with the NEW GM hubcap I use is almost $55 with my discount. I then must modify it to accept the "R" emblem and those are getting hard to find for good quality ones usually selling on Ebay for around $20 each. As you can see, there is $75 in parts without any labor or profit. I would love to offer Reatta owners a inexpensive option for '91 hubcaps but so far there is none.

Here is a picture of a NOS 1991 hub cap next to one of my CLONES..... there is on difference from the outside.

post-30596-143142862964_thumb.jpg

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This is a problem. While both Barney Eaton and Steve Scott offer repro hubcaps, they are costly. I am not saying the price isn't justified for what it costs to make these repros, only that if one has a $2000-3000 car, they probably will be disinclined to go that route as Imperial62 has pointed out.

Having the R-div spearhead a project like this seems reasonable to me on it's face, but then I figure those with 88-90 style wheels would squawk about preference being given to 91 owners, especially when there are far fewer 91's than the other three years.

I could get behind the R-div making new center caps to sell as both a service and a fundraiser (if there is enough interest to profit from the sale of these, which is perhaps questionable). Alternatively, maybe reproductions of just the center cap emblem could be made. These fit all models and years interchangeably, so would have wider appeal and be easier to sell. The latter would also provide an ongoing supply of emblems to use by independent vendors making new or custom center caps.

KDirk

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This discussion about the Reatta Division offering parts has come and gone. The Reatta Div is a small club, only 400 actual members, and the people that frequent this site may only account for 30% or less being Reatta division members. The big issue about making parts was on the convertible weatherstrip. Do a search and you will find a long discussion.

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Oh, I am fully aware of that previous discussion as I was involved in it. I view this as a distinctly different situation however. Making new emblems for the center caps is a much less involved process from making a complete weather strip kit (no acquiring new original parts to work from, no making multiple molds and the massive cost associated with each). That said, I agree the numbers probably don't work out as the R-div would have to sell a goodly number of emblems just to break even, much less turn a modest profit.

Rather unfortunate that there is so little involvement and interest from the majority of owners at large that even a relatively small project like this can't be considered. Maybe someday. As I have come to expect, anything that will be offered as a reproduction or upgrade for these cars will have to be home grown by individual parties who are inclined to put forth the effort and expense to make such offerings available.

KDirk

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The next Reatta newsletter will have updated information on Reattas registered in the US. The only hint I will give is......

looking at just 1990 coupes, there were 6383 made in 1990, the first info I got from Polk was in 2008 and there were 74% registered (26% gone in 18 years) in 2010 65% were registered (35% gone in 20 years) in 2012 59% registered (41% gone in 22 years) the latests 2014 shows 39% registered (61% gone in 24 years)

Note that between 2008 and 2010 there was a drop of 9%, between 2010 and 2012 the drop was 6% now notice that between 2012 and 2014 a huge drop by comparison of 20%

Remember this is REGISTERED cars, there are still a lot out there unregistered, I know of close to 200 owned by two people, on in MI the other in AZ.

This may signal a big change in Reatta collecting. With fewer cars on the road, we are likely to see fewer "drivers" and more held as "collectables". If a "driver" quits it probably will not be repaired. This could mean there are more available parts cars, but it could also mean the remaining good (collectable) cars could become worth more.

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Barney,

I certainly agree that there is a change underway in the overall ownership profile of the Reatta taking place now at an accelerated rate. When I joined this forum in 2007, there were many more active members. Many of those who are now seldom seen or have departed entirely were what I would consider "casual owners". I don't mean that in a derogatory sense certainly, just that they were individuals who availed themselves of the Reatta when it was in the proverbial sweet spot. That sweet spot of course was that period of time when many decent examples could still be found at surprisingly low purchase prices. It also was the era when these cars were still fairly easy to maintain as many things were not wearing out so quickly on these cars as they were still under 20 years old.

Now, we are seeing the effects of advanced age striking even the nice examples with more extensive (and expensive) repairs concurrent with the early stages of difficulty in sourcing parts. The recent accumulator crisis is but one example, though it seems that issue has been forestalled for the time being through the efforts of a group of vendor enthusiasts. We will be seeing a good deal more of that a few years out now. While there will be a glut of parts cars for a while yet, once all the marginal ones have been put out to pasture, finding Reatta specific parts (save for those collected and stashed by those of us with foresight, budget and space to do so) will be a bigger problem. Glass, body panels, interior trim components and the like will become quite valuable, assuming there is a market to keep maintaining or restoring these cars.

It appears that many casual owners who previously frequented this forum have moved on to other cars. Maybe because the commitment to maintaining a Reatta became too much in terms of time and cost, maybe they had practical reasons (needed a back seat), maybe age and health considerations forced them to dispense with an ongoing project and buy something that sat higher and needed little to no regular work or tweaking to keep it decent. That leaves us with two type of owners. The truly committed - these are the ones who chose to own a Reatta because they genuinely like the car. I count myself in this group. The fact I could get these cars inexpensively was a nice bonus, but admiration for the styling and unique attributes of the Reatta are the principal reason I chose to own these cars.

The second type are the ones who are frequently found buying poorly maintained/abused cars dirt cheap precisely because they are dirt cheap. I admire the tenacity and willingness of these owners to slog through a multitude of problems that they end up having to sort out due to years of deferred or improperly done maintenance and repairs to get these otherwise cast-off cars back on the road. At the same time, it is very easy for someone who finds themselves in this situation to finally give up in disgust as they simply cannot justify the nearly unending expense and aggravation of dealing with one problem after another. So, many in this category end up throwing in the towel after a few months or a year never to be seen or heard from again. I expect many of these cars, if they do not regain roadworthy status, end up parted or scrapped in a bid to recover some of they money they tossed into the pit. We have seen owners of this type come and go in the forum for a number of years now.

Once all the marginal cars (those just above parts grade but clearly in need of major work) are gone, this second group of owners will be essentially cut out for lack of any such cars to buy. That leaves the first type of owners I've described to carry the torch. Let's face it - barring a large influx or serious collectors - we will remain a rather small group who carry on for various idiosyncratic reasons. We too will start to decline in number as the cost of ownership becomes too onerous for some, others will loose interest and go on to something else. I've stated before, I would like to think I'll still own and drive a Reatta in 15 or 20 years. Certainly possible, but whether it proves practical remains to be seen. There are 100 year old cars that look new and can be driven, so I would hope that it is possible to keep a Reatta viable for at least 50. Of course, the 100 year old car is much less complex and while not easy to find parts for, can be maintained by someone with mechanical expertise and machining capabilities. The extensive electronics of the Reatta will prove to be a liability to the longevity of these cars in the longer term. Very few will have the expertise and facilities to restore or fabricate those parts due to their inherent complexity.

I guess the point is that it is an interesting and probably challenging road ahead for those of us who really want to hold the Reatta up as a worthy collector car and and viable regularly driven car.

KDirk

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Somewhere we have the paint number for the wheels/hub caps. I can probably find it but anyone can speak up if they have it handy.

I do not paint the ones I make... I use new GM caps that are the correct color.

One item of note.... when you see 1991 Reattas you will notice the wheel and hub cap color are slightly different.

I always thought this was because the wheel is aluminum and the hub cap is plastic they somehow turned out different because they were painted on different surfaces.

However after I had a set of wheels (and hub caps) refinished by a shop, they both turned out the same color/shade. So now I presume that the wheel source and the hubcap source had a slightly different paint formulation....... hence they are slightly off color

You can see the difference in post #9 above

Edited by Barney Eaton (see edit history)
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