JeremyD Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 A very good Canadian friend just bought it in Colorado and is driving it back here to Vegas tomorrow.. upon closer inspection of the pics i think this owner was a Reatta fanatic. badges shaved, center brake light filled and removed, some conversion stuff done. anyone know of it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barney Eaton Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 Give me the last 6 digits of the vin and I will see what I have. Or take a photo of the Service Parts label in the trunk (next to the spare tire, under the insulation) and post that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ol' yeller Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 Interesting car. It has the '88 glovebox but a '90 dash/CD player. The lighter is evidently aftermarket. Eliminating the CHMSL makes little sense to me. They also eliminated the airbag steering wheel along with the sunburst medallion on the hood. This was either a pinstripe delete car or more likely a repaint. The mods make it interesting but IMHO it devalues the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 Seems to be a 90. The glovebox is a direct fit but the yellow trunk and gas & two other buttons (glove box and headlight retract ?) are now under the CD. No radio antenna either & a bin behind the shifter. Feels like a mod done in the last century. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDirk Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 This car was written up by a member here, who was the (now prior) owner. Cannot remember his screen name now - shame on me - but he owns (owned?) several Reattae and had posted some time ago about the mods on this car, specifically the drink bin in the console and the third brake light delete. The lighter is stock, just relocated from the now removed ashtray to make way for the ice bin. I find the placement of the Reatta hood emblem on the passenger interior door panel a bit curious; it is not mirrored on the driver side so unsure why that was done. Perhaps to hide a flaw in the panel? Trunk and gas door buttons were simply relocated from the stock glovebox to accomodate the 88 power release glovebox (a worthwhile mod I've also done). Save for the hood emblem delete, antenna delete and third brake light removal, none of these mods are particularly substantial or difficult to do. The non-SIR steering wheel has been done by a few people here in the past and has been posted about in terms of the procedure to disable the SIR telltale in the absence of the airbag. Removal of the radio antenna would be an issue for me as I still listen to terrestrial radio with some regularity, unless some type of hidden antenna was added to offset this. I saw this car on ebay, looks like it was a rather decent deal for the buyer. Now, subjective analysis of the modifications may cause more purist minded owners to knock it's perceived value down a bit. Others may find the changes an improvement. The only one that would really give me pause is the lack of 3rd brakelight and the potential for hassles over passing safety inspections in some jurisdictions. As long as the car is titled and registered in a locale that isn't overly hard-assed about OE equipment being present for safety inspections (or doesn't do any such inspections) then it should be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeremyD Posted April 25, 2016 Author Share Posted April 25, 2016 The VIN is 1G4EC33CXLB905788 .. My understanding (and I may be wrong) is that the car comes from a collection of Reattas and that the owner is deceased. The ebay seller is in Paonia, CO. and has two convertibles, a running driving coupe, and a parts car. Supposedly the ebayer is selling the cars for the family (I have very limited info since im not the buyer) As far as the mods.. I dont mind the badge, trunk key, antenna deletes... the likely cup holder in place of an ash tray, to me, is a benefit. The badge on the passenger door is wonky (is that the hood badge?) Seller also claims other modifications were done, possibly mechanically. The missing center brake light makes for a cleaner tonneau cover but I prefer safety over vanity when it comes to brake lights. Why go to all this trouble and body work but didnt paint the black moldings? They look OK on a white/white top car but white/tan top makes them look busy and chops up the car visually Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handmedownreatta Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 i always hated the hood orniment.the back looks better too.you need a third brake light but maybe make it less noticeable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barney Eaton Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 Checked the information available.....no info on earlier owners.......GM data has no dealer listed to which it was delivered. CarFax might give you some history. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kingsley Posted April 26, 2016 Share Posted April 26, 2016 The mention of Paonia, CO and mention of a deceased owner now brings to light some info passed along to me several days ago. William Rule - "Rules Reattas" here on the Forum- passed away recently and his Reattas are being sold now on Ebay by, I believe, a relative of his. Mr.Rule had a nice spread in Colorado and believe he posted pictures of it on one occasion.as well as a lineup of his Reattas. My recall is that his last post on the Forum was back in January 2015 in one of the long discussions about ABS accumulators. Kingsley. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDirk Posted April 26, 2016 Share Posted April 26, 2016 Kingsley, thank you. It was bothering me that I couldn't remember his name (screen or real) today. That it has been over a year since he posted probably explains that. I'm sorry to hear of his passing. He did own several Reattas, and I believe at least one small airplane that was seen once or twice in photos he posted here with his collection of cars. Seemed like he was on some acreage in a more rural portion of Colorado, and I recall he had an aircraft hanger/quonset hut type structure on site in some of the pictures here. I never met him but he seemed to be the sort of guy I aspire to be; doing things his way and enjoying life in what looked like an exceptionally scenic and relaxing setting. I do like that part of the country, though the winters are harsh. Maybe I'll get there one of these days, though those of my age group are not looking forward to a retirement anything like that of our parents I suspect. At any rate, based on his past postings here, his cars were all in rather nice condition. He did have his own ideas on how the Reatta should be, and apparently possessed the skills to do much of the modification work as seen on this roadster himself. Not many owners around with the tools and talent to do all of that. I cannot say if any of his other Reattas were similarly modified, as I don't recall him posting much about them, only this white convertible. I hope that his cars end up in the hands of appreciative and respectful owners, though I'd like to think his surviving family would keep at least one for the sake of posterity. I know I'd hate to think of my collection, and the work that went into it, being sold off piecemeal (liquidated really, for what Reattas are generally selling for presently) were I to check out. But, aside from one of my brothers, nobody in my immediate family shares my serious interest in cars, much less the Reatta specifically. I suppose selling them could be a matter of financial need as well, depending on the circumstances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machiner 55 Posted April 26, 2016 Share Posted April 26, 2016 (edited) It seems that after I made this post he kind of dropped off the radar. Prior to that he was pretty active posting, working on his cars and flying his airplane. I was surprised when he mentioned the he was 70 years old. Seemed that he was really enjoying his retirement. It's a shame it ended so soon. Let that be a lesson to all. Get your licks in now. You never know when it's your time. Rest in peace William. John F. Edited April 26, 2016 by Machiner 55 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScarredKnightfan Posted May 1, 2016 Share Posted May 1, 2016 On April 26, 2016 at 4:58 AM, Machiner 55 said: Let that be a lesson to all. Get your licks in now. You never know when it's your time. Rest in peace William. It is amazing how many people take life for granted ... without a thought. I tell people all the time to do things now while you can; I'm glad I took my own advice when I was able to road trip. As for the Reattas ... I agree, hope they all go to someone who will care for them. This particular one is my favorite color combo ... white & tan! Cort > www.oldcarsstronghearts.com pigValve.paceMaker.cowValve | 1979 Caprice Classic (needs new owner) "Tell me tomorrow will be brighter" __ KT Oslin __ 'Hold Me' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted May 26, 2016 Share Posted May 26, 2016 On 4/26/2016 at 4:58 AM, Machiner 55 said: It seems that after I made this post he kind of dropped off the radar. Prior to that he was pretty active posting, working on his cars and flying his airplane. I was surprised when he mentioned the he was 70 years old. Seemed that he was really enjoying his retirement. It's a shame it ended so soon. Let that be a lesson to all. Get your licks in now. You never know when it's your time. Rest in peace William. John F. I just was over at Ebay and another one of his cars are up for sale. BTW I looked up some of his last posts and he said he was 75. As I am turning 60, 75 now seems too young... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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