Barney Eaton

Lots of good stories....... all my cheap purchases were running vehicles, around 1959 purchased a 1933 Plymouth coupe for $60 and put a chevy V8 in it. In the '70's people were almost giving away Corvairs.... purchased a 63 convertible that needed a differential for $40 In the '80's I purchased a 1968 Corvair that had been rolled but it was complete and I needed a windshield...paid $75 Sold the interior for $150 and I got the windshield I needed. .... still have the 140 engine, differential, and transmission.

The car does not appear to have a sunroof, so that eliminates one possibility. Try to track down the general area of the leak. Feel under the seats for damp carpet. You mentioned the trunk.... I remember a owner have a leak and found that the water was from the taillight mounting studs. Remove the taillight and each of the studs (there is 8, 10 don't remember) should have a sealing washer around the hole in the body. If all of them were leaking that could let in a lot of water. Another owner has a leak at the rear window. Also check the drain holes in the bottom of the doors.

As addressed by Sage, that style, that the front folds down would have fitted luggage. The more common style has just a lid that opens and tilts back. I have lots of trunk picture and pictures of trunk racks.... the problem is no way to identify what the trunk was made for. Most owners measure their rack then look for a trunk that fits.

Some of the things to consider......... The Reatta is not that different .... It shares quite a few parts with similar year Riviera and some things from Eldorado and Seville If there is a engine or transmission issue.......they are all common GM parts, if a mechanic says he doesn't know anything about a Reatta engine look elsewhere for a mechanic. There are only a few parts that are tricky to find but parts are out there. He might want to consider joining the Reatta Division of the Buick Club of America, lots of knowable owners there.

I was born in'39 (do the math), I still change my oil and do what I can that will not disable me the next day. I still love anything with wheels but my body vetoes many of the things my mind wants me to do. Sold the '39 Buick 3 years ago Christmas ...it did not need anything but I was not giving it the love it deserved. Need to inventory everything and start disposing of parts I will never need. My golden years plan is to enjoy other peoples cars, regardless of brand and condition. Merry Christmas and hope to be around for many more years. See you Buick people in Strongville OH this summer

I just had an owner asking about a replacement ECM for their 1989.... I have a "E" platform parts book but it only compares Reatta and Riviera. I use RockAuto a lot... look up the part on RockAuto, when you find it for your car, click on the blue part number and it will tell you other vehicles that use the same part. Very handy if you are looking for an inexpensive replacement at the pick-n-pull In the case of the 1989 Reatta ECM, good news is the Riviera, LeSabre, and Electra of the same years used the same part.

Go to the post above "Polo Green 91 Reatta...... look at my June 14 2013 post with the document that show the vin number, charge, ship etc Notice the 5 digit charge and ship numbers..... do they tell us anything?

Does anyone know how to give a link to the presentation made last August at Back to the Bricks given by a Buick employee Mike Thodoroff on the special turbo 1989 Reattas. I stumbled on it but cannot now find it online. Denny Manor introduced the speaker and it may have been 30 minutes long. I think others here would be interested in seeing it.

One other unique thing about 1988 Reattas..... the early cars came with the suede bolsters. There are two good arguments on why they were discontinued... (1) is the suede did not wear well, however Buick had history with suede in the Riviera, so they should have known it would wear. (2) is cost, and the real answer is probably a combination of both. You car is 1286 in build sequence, with tan interior which was the highest usage, your car would be around the cut point for tan suede.... other less used interior colors continued up into the 1800 builds. I do not have access to my information as I am away for the holidays but the GM numbers/code that I have on some documents are usually 6 digits.

Looks like the entire connector could use some TLC The white wire is missing the screw and the orange terminal is barely connected. I would take the connector off and clean it up on the bench, also clean up the ground wire connection

The attached link is the 1960 Buick brochure. Page 19 under LeSabre indicates it has a 1 key locking system https://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Buick/1960_Buick/1960 Buick Prestige Portfolio/image14.html

I am not at home so I do not have access to my Product Manuals which list the final ratios for all Buicks. I have Product Manuals for all 4 years of Reatta production, if you are looking for a specific ratio.

2.97 was the standard and only ratio for 1988, 1989, & 1990 3.33 was the standard and only ratio for 1991 There was a 3.06 in a Riviera and maybe some other similar ratios in other vehicles with the 3800 engine. I have owned every year but 1988 and the 1991 does not feel any faster accelerating than any other year.

If you do not intend or want to replace the straps.... unbolt the shock to take the tension off the strap. You might need to somehow compress the spring to remount the shock without removing the strap From the photo, it is not clear how the strap is attached at the bottom, unbolting that mount might be simpler.

In 1988 Reattas were on allotment. A small town dealer might get his Reatta and then traded it with another dealer for another style of vehicle he could sell in his small community. There is also a chance the car could have been used at shows, fairs, and the press. I have some evidence that the 1990 "Select Sixty cars were all staged at some point and held until the dealers were announced. I have not attempeted to figure out the GM codes which could be for plants, service centers and dealers.... I purchased a new 2017 Enclave that had been traded twice before I purchased it.

I have an aluminum road sign that I purchased at the recycling center. It is roughly .080-,090 thick and works for brackets and other task.... I often make and mount the shield to the exhaust pipe....form a spacer and use a worm type hose clamp to hold it to the exhaust pipe. I have never owned a nail head so other than the exhaust pipe I have no suggestions on how to mount a shield I recently made a shield for my GMC truck.... they ran the exhaust pipe under the transmission pan and you know that is transferring heat to the transmission. I attached one end of the shield to an existing factory shield and the other end I attached it to the exhaust pipe.

You need to unbolt the strips that attach it on both ends. They are rusty and may break but you need to eventually replace them when you install replacement strap. I do not know if someone sells the replacement strap but have heard of owners using strips from a conveyor belt.

Some v8 chevys I have owned had similar symptoms.... usually caused by the exhaust pipe near the starter heating it. A heat shield usually solved the problem unless the starter was damaged.

can you put that in a schematic? i might be able to understand

Those short double ended cables are used on electric golf carts and should be an easy find on Ebay or other places. i never had a problem on my 320 Buick with one Optuma ... the question I would have using 2 batteries is could the charger overcharge one ...I don't understand electronics enough

Thanks for sharing a few of your cars. I appreciate the fact that there are individuals out there with the means to buy, restore, house and hopefully show collectable vehicles. I realized many years ago that I could only afford to maintain a couple of cars. I am happy with what I have and will enjoy the vehicles owned by others and I don't mind if they brag a little. I have been fortunate to view several private collections only because I belonged to a car club that was allowed into a collection.

We do not have a sub category for the GN and Turbo cars here but i just heard that a vendor for those cars in the Chicago area is being banned from the Bowling Green meet. I am not showing the name but wonder if anyone here has had bad experiences with this vendor? From others at Buick meets the vendor is well know for his issues.

Thanks for posting the information of fixing the rear rattle. Owners with coupes probably never hear the noise that bothers convertible owners.

Some of us are not that lucky.......nobody wants to come to the south in the middle of the summer, so you will probably never see a National meet in AZ, NM, TX, LA, and other southern states because of the heat. Hottest I remember attending was Charlotte/Concord I have my hotel and am saving my money to register.