dship Posted June 10, 2019 Share Posted June 10, 2019 12 hours ago, fordrodsteven said: There were seven of us there with our Reatta's and yes it was a beautiful day. Yes, I couldn't believe it....seven Reattas at one local car show...was good to see. I've only experienced that many together at a BCA National. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin M Posted June 11, 2019 Share Posted June 11, 2019 Hit 48000 today 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted June 12, 2019 Share Posted June 12, 2019 I don't even know what that is like to have a car with so few miles. Good for you to have such a low mileage car. All my cars were bought with over 100,000 miles on them. The 'vert only has 129,000 miles, the RED has 287,000 and the Black has 305,000. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted June 12, 2019 Share Posted June 12, 2019 Last night on Craigslist I found a set of 16" Cadillac 7 spoke Chrome Aluminum wheels that I run on the Red and the 'vert. Problem was is that they had 235/60/16 tires on them which are too big for the Reatta. So I turned my brother on to them. He bought them and said when the tire were worn out he would give me the rims for free. Pretty good deal I think. So in two years or so I will have a set of rims and at the right price too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted June 12, 2019 Share Posted June 12, 2019 Good find on the wheels Dave. I thought you would be on the road to OK now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted June 12, 2019 Share Posted June 12, 2019 Thanks Ronnie. I am leaving tomorrow as I want meet the Reatta group in Stroud Ok for supper on Thursday and then follow them back to Midwest City. It's about a 15 hour drive spo leaving about noon tomorrow is about right and maybe I can avoid the big rain front coming through Wisconsin by way of Iowa/Illinois/Missouri. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted June 12, 2019 Share Posted June 12, 2019 Have a great time and be safe! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dship Posted June 12, 2019 Share Posted June 12, 2019 Just now, Ronnie said: Have a great time and be safe! Dave...my sentiments, also...enjoy your trip. Say "hello" to the Reatta folks from Ronnie and me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin M Posted June 12, 2019 Share Posted June 12, 2019 @DAVES89 I bought my 91 reatta as a classic so I was looking for one with low miles. Bought it with 46600. But I totally see why people like you get really up there in the mileage. It’s so damn fun to drive. I’m the second owner and the original owner bought it in November of 91. Only had 1000 miles on it in 1999. So I got lucky I guess. I’m fully planning on doing the full 3k a year my insurance allows though. So I got to put another 1500 on it by the end of July. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted June 12, 2019 Share Posted June 12, 2019 (edited) 21 minutes ago, DShip said: Dave...my sentiments, also...enjoy your trip. Say "hello" to the Reatta folks from Ronnie and me. My plan as I sit here is to head south west and then through Iowa to a little town I was born in called Fort Dodge. I'd like to see it again and hopefully avoid much of the rain heading our way. Then head south to Oklahoma. Of course I will check the forcast again tomorrow and see what has changed. Edited June 12, 2019 by DAVES89 (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted June 13, 2019 Share Posted June 13, 2019 Changed my mind and went through St Louis instead. I am at the Best Western near the Reunion. Just rolled in. Made a "tourist" stop" in Springfield Il to see where President Lincoln is buried. Beautiful cemetery glad I stopped. Then supper at "The Cozy Dog" an original Route 66 diner. Had their original offering which is a deep fried corn dog with fries. Then off to see how much further I could get. Made it to Springfield Mo and stopped for the night. This was at 11:30 at night so I just stopped in a "Rest Area" and slept until I woke up. Then cleaned up a bit and hit the road about 6:00 am. Stopped for gas and that was it. Will take a short nap and off to the Reunion. The Red turned 288,000 and not a single issue. Hope that stays true for the rest of the trip! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted June 19, 2019 Share Posted June 19, 2019 As I wrote on a different post the return trip with the Red was more eventful with me losing the serpentine belt at 10:30 at night. Fortunately I was in a well lit c-store parking lot 35 miles from home. Took a wrecker 2 hours to get to me, load me up and get me home. Turned out to be a water pump as well as the belt which I had replacements of both and was able to do the repairs the next morning. Also did a drain and fill on the anti freeze as well [Believe it or not that I had to go get]. But looks like the cooling system wasn't done with me yet as just today about 75 miles from home I started smelling anti freeze so I pulled over [turned on a county road just off the highway]. Popped the hood and sure enough a pin hole leak on the upper radiator hose right next to the clamp closest to the engine. That looked easy and was. Turned off the car and grabbed a screwdriver, pair of gloves and razor knife out of the junkin bag, loosened the radiator cap to reduce the pressure, removed the clamp, pulled off the hose, Cut the end off, slid it back on with the clamp, tightened it down and put the radiator cap back on. Fired up the Red and everything looked good, so off I went. With the gloves didn't get my hands dirty and took less then 10 minutes. Just now finished swapping in another upper hose, topped off the antifreeze and I am ready for the road tomorrow. Oh yeah, the Red turned 289,000 miles coming back from Oklahoma... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 Luck was on your side again Dave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cargirl Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 Just an update on my 1991 Vert. I have had trouble free service and the car is running great. I needed to add some freon this spring but it is holding a charge. Not sure how that happens. Summer in Arizona means a car cover and monthly warm-up around the neighborhood. I am looking forward to the fall! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 (edited) 8 hours ago, Ronnie said: Luck was on your side again Dave. I was lucky it was a hole that was easily found and cut out. As you know Ronnie I try to keep everything clean and well detailed under the hood. The hose looked great but did feel and a bit soft when I filled the radiator after the water pump swap. But I thought it would be good, but I guess it was just bad on the inside. Just like the vacuum hoses on our cars when the cruise goes out. Looks good on the outside, but dry rotted inside. Running low on inventory. Only one extra water pump, upper and lower hose, serpentine belt, coil pack, starter and lower ball joint left. But alternators, dog bones, idler pulleys, and Teves pump and motors plenty of. Also extra tie rods, front and rear hub assemblies, and lots of electrical boxes and switches. Just yesterday I ordered a rear hub assembly and some close out rear strut mounts from Rock Auto.Don't have rear struts but am watching for a special from anyone. I like to buy cheap and that makes repairs more affordable. I will not be down with car issues if I can help it. I do like to drive these cars daily... Edited June 20, 2019 by DAVES89 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 45 minutes ago, DAVES89 said: The hose looked great but did feel and a bit soft when I filled the radiator after the water pump swap. I don't have many problems out of my car. One of the reasons for that is when someone writes about having a problem I go out and check my car to see if I have any signs that I might have the same problem happening soon. This is a good example. You had a hose go bad so I intend to go out today and check all my hoses. One of the good things about this forum is you can learn from other people's misfortune. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted June 23, 2019 Share Posted June 23, 2019 Should have done this before I left for Oklahoma. I need a front driver's side wheel bearing. It was barely making a noise when I left, but is louder now... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin M Posted June 23, 2019 Share Posted June 23, 2019 Went to my local cruise in night. As always the only Reatta. I did find out about a third one in my county. A guy who’s the mechanic for an old lady says she has a 88 or 89 that’s white and grey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted June 24, 2019 Share Posted June 24, 2019 On 6/22/2019 at 8:06 PM, DAVES89 said: Should have done this before I left for Oklahoma. I need a front driver's side wheel bearing. It was barely making a noise when I left, but is louder now... Got the front hub replaced. I had done this one before about 80,000 miles ago. Driver's side still original. I swapped out a clamp on the upper hose and saw that the radiator has a hairline crack and is oozing just a bit of anti freeze. Again?!? No extras have to order one [which I did] and will be in tomorrow about noon. Should go fairly quick as I bypassed the radiator transmission reservoir for a transmission cooler in front of the condenser. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted June 25, 2019 Share Posted June 25, 2019 Radiator is swapped out and no leaks. Hopefully I am done for a while? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted June 26, 2019 Share Posted June 26, 2019 There is a local drive in that has a "drive in" night every Tuesday. So my wife took the 'vert and me the Red and we drove over and met some friends close to this drive in. My buddy and his wife took the 'vert and my wife jumped in the car with me and we drove in. We were well received as people were interested in the cars, especially two teen age boys who were completely taken by the 'vert as they had only seen coupes before. Then I showed them the touch screen in the Red and they just couldn't believe it. Almost more excitement over the Reattas we brought there then anywhere else I have been. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted June 29, 2019 Share Posted June 29, 2019 My daughter and I took a long drive through the mountains today. We had a great time although the weather was a little hot at 91 degrees. About halfway through the trip my daughter seemed to answer her phone but I didn't hear it ring. When she put the phone down I asked her who called thinking it might have been my wife. She laughed and said it was the '80s calling and they wanted that wood-grain dash in my Reatta back. Now she's got me thinking about going back to the black dash panels that were originally in my car. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 On 6/25/2019 at 3:03 PM, DAVES89 said: Radiator is swapped out and no leaks. Hopefully I am done for a while? Well I wasn't quite done with the leaks. Turned out the little "squeeze" clamp on the overflow tube at the radiator didn't hold tight enough so I had yet another leak. So I go out a hose clamp and put that on. Now I don't have any leaks... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 On 6/29/2019 at 2:02 PM, Ronnie said: My daughter and I took a long drive through the mountains today. We had a great time although the weather was a little hot at 91 degrees. About halfway through the trip my daughter seemed to answer her phone but I didn't hear it ring. When she put the phone down I asked her who called thinking it might have been my wife. She laughed and said it was the '80s calling and they wanted that wood-grain dash in my Reatta back. Now she's got me thinking about going back to the black dash panels that were originally in my car. Well I still like the wood grain with a tan interior... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted July 2, 2019 Share Posted July 2, 2019 9 hours ago, DAVES89 said: Well I still like the wood grain with a tan interior... Me too. I don't have the full set that goes down to the console. I just have the panels that go across the top. You may have sent them to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted July 2, 2019 Share Posted July 2, 2019 (edited) 10 hours ago, DAVES89 said: Well I wasn't quite done with the leaks. Turned out the little "squeeze" clamp on the overflow tube at the radiator didn't hold tight enough so I had yet another leak. So I go out a hose clamp and put that on. Now I don't have any leaks... You might want to check the overflow hose to make sure it isn't clogged. That hose shouldn't have any pressure on it normally. You should be able to blow through the hose with your mouth and hear the air bubble out inside the overflow tank. I had that problem on my '99 Blazer and found that the hose and the fitting coming out of the radiator was caked up with something that looked like brown coffee grounds. Maybe it was the Bar's Leaks that I had put in the radiator years ago. Edited July 2, 2019 by Ronnie (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted July 2, 2019 Share Posted July 2, 2019 (edited) 59 minutes ago, Ronnie said: Me too. I don't have the full set that goes down to the console. I just have the panels that go across the top. You may have sent them to me. I can get that for you as well as the switch covers on the doors.... Edited July 2, 2019 by DAVES89 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted July 2, 2019 Share Posted July 2, 2019 3 hours ago, DAVES89 said: I can get that for you as well as the switch covers on the doors.... Thanks for the offer Dave. I'm happy with what I have and adding more wood-grain panels would just be more reasons for my daughter to poke fun at me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted July 11, 2019 Share Posted July 11, 2019 Well I did it because I had both time and inclination. I was out to Gibson's doing some "window shopping" when I spotted a just in 1991 Riv. Typical situation where the owner starts replacing parts and then decides "That's enough" and then junks the car. So I grabbed a great looking Headlight switch, Instrument cluster, and Temperature Control. As long as I was there I saw that the serpentine belt was new and grabbed that. Then as I always wanted to update my aftermarket transmission cooler to a stock one, I eye balled that and saw that there were new tranny lines connected to a very nice stock cooler. Also had a new radiator but I left that. That was yesterday, so today I installed it. Took way more time then I thought it would as the Riv lines are a larger diameter as well as larger diameter fittings. So another trip back to Gibson's to get what I didn't think I would need and then a trip to two different Advance Auto's to get adapters for the lines connecting to the radiator. By the time I was done I was down about a quart of tranny fluid so I put in a pint of Seafoam trans conditioner and the balance transmission fluid. After I started the car I saw that the top fitting at the radiator was a bit loose and leaked some trans fluid but a quick twist of the wrench fixed that and now everything is good to go. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted July 13, 2019 Share Posted July 13, 2019 Well it's not what I did to my Reatta but what a guy on a riding lawnmower did to it. I was driving down a city street and come up on a guy cutting his lawn. He was cutting away from the road [chute not pointing to me] when he kicked up a rock which came like a bullet and hit the passenger side front fender. Hole in the paint about 1/2" in diameter with residual paint damage about 1" diameter. Contacted my insurance company and they will pay over my deductible for repairs and then paint. Already have an appointment for Thursday of next week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2seater Posted July 14, 2019 Share Posted July 14, 2019 On 7/13/2019 at 1:12 PM, DAVES89 said: Well it's not what I did to my Reatta but what a guy on a riding lawnmower did to it. I was driving down a city street and come up on a guy cutting his lawn. He was cutting away from the road [chute not pointing to me] when he kicked up a rock which came like a bullet and hit the passenger side front fender. Hole in the paint about 1/2" in diameter with residual paint damage about 1" diameter. Contacted my insurance company and they will pay over my deductible for repairs and then paint. Already have an appointment for Thursday of next week. Shouldn't the homeowner/mower driver be responsible? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted July 15, 2019 Share Posted July 15, 2019 The insurance company wanted to know who the home owner was, but I just told them that there was no shoulder to the road and there were cars behind me and oncoming. Truth be told I wanted to redo the hood anyway and this was my reason to get it in the shop with blessings from my wife... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azreattacollector Posted July 16, 2019 Share Posted July 16, 2019 On 6/19/2019 at 9:13 PM, Cargirl said: Just an update on my 1991 Vert. I have had trouble free service and the car is running great. I needed to add some freon this spring but it is holding a charge. Not sure how that happens. Summer in Arizona means a car cover and monthly warm-up around the neighborhood. I am looking forward to the fall! Awesome! I second being ready for fall - this 110-115 is too hot for the Reatta! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted July 18, 2019 Share Posted July 18, 2019 On 7/14/2019 at 8:30 PM, DAVES89 said: The insurance company wanted to know who the home owner was, but I just told them that there was no shoulder to the road and there were cars behind me and oncoming. Truth be told I wanted to redo the hood anyway and this was my reason to get it in the shop with blessings from my wife... Received a very generous check from the insurance company and the car is already in the shop getting painted. Should have it tomorrow. Repaired fender and hood... can't wait! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2seater Posted July 22, 2019 Share Posted July 22, 2019 This previous weekend was the first extended trip, about 400 miles round trip, for my '90 with the original engine installed after installing Dave's donated and ported heads. This engine is also turbocharged which is a mixed blessing in this case. The temperatures were in the mid90's with a dew point of 80*, so it was also a good test of the refurbished R12 a/c system, new compressor, receiver and condenser which performed flawlessly. Fuel mileage was actually pretty good at about 24mpg, considering the terrain which is rolling hills for about 1/3 of the miles. I mention this because the rolling terrain requires increased throttle for extended periods to maintain speed, but the sluggish old style mechanical transaxle wants to maintain high gear/lockup, which coupled with the turbocharger, tries to maintain low rpm with high load. A turbocharger is load based, not rpm, so it was easy to get into knock conditions, which requires additional tuning to compensate. In those cases it was best just to pull out of overdrive to get the rpms up and it liked that. Not a complaint exactly since I created the situation :)) When I returned home after a text from my neighbor I found the power was out in much of the city, my street had police tape blocking it off due to a power line laying in the street in front of my house, so I had no power and two trees had lost large limbs, one on my house and the other on my garage. Oh joy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted July 22, 2019 Share Posted July 22, 2019 (edited) 2 hours ago, 2seater said: This previous weekend was the first extended trip, about 400 miles round trip, for my '90 with the original engine installed It sounds to me like overall you had a good trip. I'm sure you are happy with the way the AC worked. That is one thing on a car that I hate working on. As for your problem with the engine lugging on the hills... that is something I am familiar with. Here in East Tennessee we are usually going up a hill or down a hill. On the Interstate it's not too bad because you can maintain enough speed that the transmission stays in 4th and the converter stays locked. On two lane roads and four lanes where speed is less than 60, the engine RPMs are so low that either your lugging the engine or downshifting and/or unlocking the converter on the long hills. You can forget setting the cruise on roads with rolling hills like we have where you can't get up a lot of speed. The converter and transmission are constantly shifting and unlocking. I find the whole thing to be very annoying. The tall 16" wheels I have only make things worse. The best solution I've found is to install a switch that can be flipped to cut out the lockup on the converter on the backroads and turn it back on when driving on the interstate. I'll bet you would enjoy your turbo car much more if you had a switch to cut out the converter lockup when driving on hills. I think it would be easier on your turbo setup too. You can test it by just unplugging the electrical connector at the transmission and drive it on hills for a while to see if you and the turbo like it..... I talked to a guy at the shop that I've used to rebuild several transmissions for me and he tells me that driving with the converter unlocked for extended periods won't hurt the transmission in a Reatta. He said it might cause the transmission to generate more heat so he recommended a trans cooler to take some of the load off the radiator. I already had one on my car. Edited July 22, 2019 by Ronnie (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2seater Posted July 22, 2019 Share Posted July 22, 2019 Appreciate the suggestion, and I'll bet you know all about that. Ordinarily it's just annoying but the ability to make more torque at low rpm is hard on the engine, some of which can be addressed in the programming but not cured. Overall it works well. It sure points up just how far the technology has advanced: transmission that are continuously variable or twice the number of gears, variable cam timing to vary engine output to suit the need, drive by wire etc. Cruise the same hills in a vehicle with about the same n/a hp but way less rated torque, about the same weight but worse aerodynamics, drive by wire and vvt and the hills just flatten out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted July 22, 2019 Share Posted July 22, 2019 Yep, I have a friend that just bought a new Honda Civic with a turbo (water cooled) and constantly variable, computer controlled, transmission and he loves it on hills here in TN. He says it feels like it's always in the right gear. It has smaller displacement engine than the normally aspirated but puts out more power. Gets about 38++ MPG in the process. He's a high tech type of guy and he just loves it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin M Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 Bought some new tires today. Was very supprised that Goodyear still makes the same tires as back then. Managed to get the exact type that was on the window sticker on my car. Now I’m as close as I’ll probably get to 100% factory looks for my car. Tomorrow I’m planning on going to a fairly large show if it doesn’t rain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin M Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 Went to a fairly large show by me. About 3-400 cars. And today is also my one year anniversary of buying my reatta. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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