Another Reatta?

[DAVES89]

So I am attending a Continuing Education class that is required for my job. The instructor asked each of the class attendees to list one thing interesting about us. When it was my turn I stated that I owned 3 collector cars all the same. When asked what they were I said "Buick Reatta". Another guy spoke up and said he had one too. Turns out his was a 1991. He knew nothing of this or Ronnie's forum. He is having some troubles with his so I told him to check us out.

 Hope he does.

 There is also a "mechanic's special" Reatta available on Craigslist near me. I have tried to contact the owner but as yet no response. He is having some issues one of them is brakes.

 Hopefully he responds as I would like to get it for parts.

[DAVES89]

Oh by the way that other guys 91 is a red w/red interior and about 90,000 miles.

[KDirk]

I may as well piggyback here since Dave and I had been in contact via email regarding a parts car in STL. I picked it up Friday evening, a 1990 white over blue coupe. Kinda rough, has been in two wrecks, one in rear repaired some time ago another on front passenger side not repaired. Has a good (newer) windshield with nice encapsulation and a usable rear window. Side and vent windows are all good as well.

 

It actually runs great, Plenty of usable stuff though interior is mostly sun beaten. Dash, some of the color keyed plastics, radio and climate head are all good. Has a 91 style armrest with cupholder that is good. Also has factory CD player (not working right) with mounting cubby in good condition. Has good airbag but missing horn buttons, naturally. Had a 1988/89 headlamp switch fitted (not wired in, had a toggle on a wire pigtail for headlight control) and the IPC is bad. All other modules seem to check out. ABS is weak due to a marginal accumulator but does work.

 

the interior has been stripped save for the dash and column (needs to remain drivable for the moment so it can be moved around) and will start on the exterior today (bumpers and moldings, wiper arms and hood insulator most of which are decent excepting ffront bumper lower skin torn up collision). Front grille is ok but has a chunk missing (concealed by plate holder) and drivers door and fender are both good. Passenger door has dent (repairable but I have other spare doors already) and passenger front fender is broken. Plan to have a glass guy out later this week to pull the windshield at least, maybe the rear too. Then it'll get trailered to the scrap yard.

 

If anybody needs miscellaneous blue interior parts let me know, I have no cars with the blue interior. Seats and carpet are shot but glove box and rear storage latches are all in nice shape, steering wheel is actually not bad (for a daily driver) and the carpet edging and rear interior upper trim pieces are ok. Lowers are a bit chewed up and missing speaker grilles. Door panels are not so good and have already chucked the drivers side as it was cracked nearly in half and all soggy. Not planning on dropping and keeping the power train unless someone steps up and wants it. I will pull some parts off the engine though, since it does run well.

 

 

 

[DAVES89]

Good for you Kevin! I have not yet heard from that guy here in Wisconsin. I even had my wife text him but still no answer. I have had this happen more then once. I just don't understand how someone puts something on Craigslist and then doesn't follow up to sell it.

[KDirk]

I've had the very same issue multiple times with CL. When I was shopping for a replacement work truck in July I went through 4 listings (all current, and these ads were even updated while my calls weren't returned) before I found a seller who was actually interested in doing business.

 

Craigslist has more flakes than the cereal aisle at the grocery store. I don't get it either. You have something for sale, post an ad and then blow off interested buyers. Then again, I seem to have always made out ok, and never felt like I missed out on something because the seller ignored my attempts to contact them. I did ok (well, better than ok) on this current parts car. If I sell just a few things off it I will be easily in the black in terms of ROI. The big thing is the windshield. The vent windows are also very good, better than the last couple I parted.

 

This one sat for sale long enough I was worried about it going to the crusher for lack of a buyer. That would've been a shame, as rough as it is there in plenty worth grabbing. Apparently not many Reatta owners in the area are inclined to part one out themselves. I'll admit I'm getting tired of tearing them down, both because it is a lot of work and because I feel bad further culling the herd. But, regarding the latter,  the cars I've dismantled were by no means restoration candidates. They were at the end of their service life, and so someone was going to do the unpalatable duty of chopping or crushing to make some cheap Chinese trinkets from. Guess I'm the grim reaper of Reattadom.

 

 

 

[KDirk]

Yeah, stuff piles up quickly. The rear cradle is probably look would need cleanup and repainting but looks fairly solid. I will probably keep it, I already have one that is really clean but wouldn't mind a second since it will be a ot harder to find a good rear cross member in the future.

 

The power train is in good shape but if I keep one for my personal stock, I'll keep the one from the 88 I'm going to part out next spring (which will be my winter beater).  It is lower miles and is drop in compatible for my other 88's, mounts, harness and all. If I had a buyer for this one I'd drop it before I dump the body.

 

This car has a newer muffler on it, so I may pull the exhaust to reuse. So far today I've pulled the front bumper and drivers side cornering lamp assembly, the wiper arms/nozzles and then aluminum trim skirt at the bottom of the windshield.a also pulled the trunk trim and found the donut spare has never been run.