Jim

Nic, I have seen several times over my 16 years of selling Reatta parts where the teeth will strip on the regulator, and this is why the window will go partially down and then stop and make noise. The gear on the motor is small and will make many revolutions before getting to the spot where the window stops and noise starts. If the motor gear turns that many times the motor gear must be good so that only leaves the regulator gear. I did not receive an email from you but it might be in my spam filtering and I will check. Either way, I will send you an email. P.S. Tuesday is the big day. Two great men were born that day.

My sister, here in Duluth, owns a nice red '89 and a nice black '90 convertible but she would like to buy a blue '89. If anyone knows of one please email me at jfinn@cpinternet.com Thanks, Jim

The caps on it are '55 Olds Fiesta spinners. The '56 Olds Fiesta spinners were the ones that were very popular on hot rods in the late fifties and sixties.

The little shock on the front of the engine near the harmonic balancer was not used it '88 but added for the '90-91s when they changed the mounting arrangement of the engine. I have a good used shock mount and can be reached at jfinn@cpinternet.com

I have a handle and can be reached at jfinn@cpinternet.com.

Nic, I have some extra '91 wheels. Jim

Thanks for all the nice comments. I am leaning towards Barney's thougths that it was made from a green '91 convertible. Back in the 50s Oldsmobile did make several concept cars that were two passenger cars but never made it to production. I just got an email from a friend with a pps attachment of many of the 50s concept cars but I tried and tried to copy and paste the pix of the Olds concepts but couldn't do it. Some were pretty radical looking.

I found this highly customized Reatta on Craigslist in Tulsa so I just had to buy it.

I looked at an old issue of Hemmings and did some searching on Google but didn't come up with any good results. Where can I purchase an interior kit for a '49 Olds coupe? I want door panels ready to install and original covers for my seats. I sell Reatta parts, hence my wanting emails, but for this question a PM or an answer here is also appreciated. Thanks, Jim

I do have a good battery tray available. Please send me a regular email at jfinn@cpinternet.com

I always use searchtempest. I first use autotempest and then go back and use the regular searchtempest. I am looking for a driver quality '49-50 Oldsmobile coupe.

I'll be the first to admit I am not the brightest. What is JAXED?

I had an extra moment so I thought I would post some of my typical prices for parts. All parts have been tested, in good working condtion and guaranteed. '90 headlight switches $ 65 exchange. '91 headlight switches $ 35-65 outright. '88-89 headlight switches $ 65 exchange Front A frames $ 75 Front ABS sensors $ 85 Radios with good working tape players $ 110 CD players $ 110. Floor mats $ 25-45 each. '91 wheels and center caps $ 450/set ABS pressure switches $ 55 ABS pump/motors $ 70-90 Armrests $ 40-60 Hood ornament NOS $ 65 Horn buttons $ 20-25 each Compartment latches $ 20-25 Wood grain dash trim kits $ 75 I usually have most parts availalbe at reasonable prices.

Barney is correct. One of the most important things a person can do with an '88-90 Reatta is change the brake fluid every five years regardless where you live as moisture and dirt can build up and cause major problems in a panic stop with no prewarning. Here are the instructions on how to change all the fluid. 1. It is HIGHLY recommended that all the fluid in the whole system be changed with new fluid to eliminate any built up moisture in the system. 2. Any time the brake hydraulic system is to be opened the brake pedal should be pumped 25 times with the key off to bleed off the 2600 pounds of pressure in the accumulator. 3. Siphon out as much of the old fluid as possible from the reservoir and refill with clean fluid to the top. Another good way is to cut the rubber hose that comes from the reservoir right where it attaches to the ABS pump and let all the fluid in the reservoir run out. Then remove the piece of hose still attached to the pump and reinstall the rubber hose. It is long enough to do this. I like to cut it rather than try and remove it because the hose sticks really hard to the plastic fitting and you might break the fitting trying to take the hose off. Doing it this way you get all the fluid out of the reservoir before putting in new clean fluid. 4. When doing the rear wheels only let out about a half of a cup and then refill the reservoir. This is to make sure you don't take out too much and get air into the system. 5. To bleed the front brakes have the key off and bleed in a conventional method. Have someone pump the pedal a few times and hold it down while the other person opens the front bleeders. 6. To bleed the rear brakes A. Turn on the key and allow the system to pressurize B. Have an assistant slightly depress the pedal and hold it. C. Open each rear bleeder, one at a time, and hold open until clear fluid comes out. (The pump and motor will do the bleeding) When you are done there are high and low marks on the reservoir and after the system pump and motor has run and the lights are out the level should be at the low mark. When you have pumped the brakes with the key off 25 times the level will be at the high mark.

The Reatta division is a very good place to get some Reatta wear and also a good person to contact is Nick Toth. gryfan@hotmail.com Nick has a very good selection of items.

The two pens are the exact same length. The New Yorker pen has a flat top and the P pen has an angled top. The NOS "P" pen I have left I got from Bob Neuman several years ago. I bought about 20 of them from him and they were all individual pens in individual plastic wrappers. I have a complete large folder still in the plastic wrapping and in that folder is a "P" pen like my NOS individual one. The tire gauge says Taiwan on it and the flashlight says USA on it along with "light systems"

I had a great time at the SEMA show. There was so much to see there you had a hard time taking it all in, in just three days. One of the highlights for me was I waited in line for only about 25 minutes to ride in a race prepared Ron Fellows ZR1 Corvette with professional drivers. Chevrolet had a small road course set up in a parking lot. These guys put a couple of ZR!s through the course pretty fast with a "ride along". When it was my turn to ride I told the driver I was glad I got him as he seemed to drive a litte faster than the other Corvette. He said he likes to have some fun and would give me a good ride. We went through the course in about half the time everyone else did. The regular ride you took off as fast as the car would go and then hard braking for the 180 degree turn and then accelerate again. My ride he put it to the floor, did slow down for the turn,, but not as much as normal and we slid the turn coming out quite a bit faster than normal, accelerating again a chirping the tires again through the next turns. The most impressive car I saw there was a '59 Imperial that I found out has been out for about two years but I had never seen it before. '59 Imperials are about a block long but this one is about 1/3 normal size and and really well done. Each year at "back to the fifties" in Minneapolis there is a fellow that brings a one half size '39 Chev or his 1/2 size '49 Mercury and those cars are very nice but this Imperial is really something as there is a lot more to a '59 Imperial than a '39 chev or a '49 Mercury to duplicate in small size. The green Henry J is mine and what they looked like stock. After taking the other picture I told my friend he should tell me to suck in my belly when taking a picture with a pretty girl.

I was looking at two extra pens I curently have and noticed they are different. Was there and early and a late pen? Maybe the one supposed to be in the large folder is different from the ones in the early small folders? The NOS pen did not come in a folder but in a plastic wrapper. The one I have with the worn script is a "New Yorker" and the NOS one is a "P" Parker?

Since I have been in the Reatta parts for quite some time I have a small book I have made up of most of the parts on a Reatta and their size and weight. When I get a request for a part I can simply look in my book and then at the USPS charts on my shelf, I printed out from the USPS both the Priority Mail charts and the Parcel Post charts. If the part is large then I can simply go to FedEx.com and put in the zip codes and get the ground costs. Unless it is a very large part such as a fender, I only charge the actual cost from those charts and no "handling" A steering column for a '90, which I have for $ 80 would ship via the UPSP Priority Mail to say Portland OR from Duluth for $ 43 Priority Mail, $ 21 via Parcel Post or $ 24 via FedEx ground. The best way to reach me is via a regular email. Jim

Starry492, I received your email and sent you an email. Jim

Jon, The tail lights can be disassembled and cleaned inside. It is a pretty easy job. There is a fellow in Orland Park I know of who I believe has a couple of NOS outer lenses. Send me an email and I will give you his phone number. Jim

I also am not looking forward to the travel. We are flying on Spirit Air lines and have not heard good things about them. The tickets out of MPLS were fairly cheap but they charged $ 60 for carry on bags and I heard they are going up to $ 100 for carry ons. I signed up for their members club and am getting about 3 emails per day trying to sell me more trips. As soon as this trip is over I will be canceliing their club. Our flight leaves MSP at about 11PM Sunday night and leaves LV at midnight Thursday night. Not the best flying times.

Richard, I sent you a regular email. Jim

The tan in Reattas is a Reatta only color. I may have some extra snap covers and will check. Please send me a regular email at jfinn@cpinternet.com

The schedule is on the back page of every Bugle