Reatta Man

Sid, I agree with the others. The car looks GREAT! Another case of a decent car saved from the crusher and turned into an outstanding car. As for the vinyl, the others have also given you some great advice. If the vinyl top and interior are not cracked, dry, hardened or peeling apart, a good vinyl paint is the best bet. Find a good upholstery supply shop that sells automotive fabrics, vinyls, foam rubber and other parts. They will have a color chart of about 35-30 available SEM spray paints available. That would work well on the interior. You would be SHOCKED at how many 1-3 year old cars have SEM vinyl paint on their interiors; if applied well, you don't even know the original stain or fading was ever there. As for the top, I would go with a good paint shop, applying the right color to the top, with a vinyl flex agent added to the paint. Once again, done properly and you will be the only one to know the top has been painted. Keep it rolling! Joe

Also, it COULD be a large but stripped car with that massive V-8. Anyone doubt that an early 60s full-size base model Dodge or Chevy with their largest V-8 wasn't a muscle car? Just go check the price of a pristine early 409 Biscayne or 426 Hemi in a Dodge and you'll see they are certainly priced like all muscle cars! Joe

Those rivets are sometimes called 'Rose' rivets because the head splits to look like rose petals. They are highly controversial, and often they are found being sold at swap meets and flea markets to shops using them for illegal purposes. As others have said in here, DO NOT REMOVE THE PLATE!! If ANYONE suspects the plate has been removed and replaced, the authorities don't care why, your good intentions, or that you had no intent to deceive. We are living in a world where, if 1,000 people remove or reattach a VIN plate, 999 of them did it for illegal purposes. In other words, the authorities will treat you as if you are guilty until proven guilty if they find out you did it. Do as Susan said; have them put a big piece of duct tape over it and go on! Joe

The Century of that vintage was continually refined, to the point that by the time the design ended in 1996, it was winning awards for quality. I don't remember which publication gave it an award for its' inital build quality, but suffice it to say that GM had worked out all the bugs in that car by '96. The assembly line workers could probably put that car together in their sleep by the time that model ended in '96! (I can hear the comebacks now about workers sleeping on the line......) Unfortunately, it seemed to become a price-target car for fleet buyers and rental car fleets. As a result, the higher trim lines (limited) had been dropped before '96, to the point that they were all pretty much exactly the same car. They were good cars, and if you find a rust-free well-cared for example, it would make a good daily driver. However, the 3.1 and 3.3 V-6 engines have been documented for their intake manifold gasket problems, so buyer beware. I've seen good examples at wholesale auctions in the last year or so that are still bringing suprisingly good bids. (Thanks to Cash 4 Clunkers for driving ALL used car prices up!) Joe

The skirts kinda give it a Roadmaster look! Joe

DEFINITELY go retrofit with a replacement, modern kit! Chasing parts for a 50-year-old system will be expensive and time-consuming! I know Vintage Air has a top-notch reputation, and their kit will work for your car. Good luck! Joe

The tire industry recommends ANY tire be replaced after 10 years. I have also seen some cheaper brands go bad long before then, while some (Michelin) still look good. But, for the few hundred dollars you would spend on replacement tires, you are protecting your family and your car. Do you really want to find out in the middle of Timbuk-Nowhere that you should have bought new ones? Joe

Can you say C-A-L-I-F-O-R-N-I-A??? We have tort reform here in Texas; last time I called my insurance company (USAA) and got a phone rep, he was in California. He told me they would KILL to have my insurance rates in CA! As for fault, I learned this trick years ago from an over-the-road truck driver. His company had one of those single-use cameras in every truck. In the event of an accident, if able, they were to take pictures of EVERYTHING, including the impact (before any vehicles were moved) and skid marks, the road surface, etc., etc. I would recommend anyone do that now with their phone camera. And, sad to say, if your camera has a video or voice recorder, I would have it running, hidden in my pocket, when the other driver admits they were at fault. A taped confession beats a lawyer 99.9% of the time! Also, get the names and info of any witnesses.

As for being paranoid--NO. If you have something nice where others can see it, there will always be one punk who will resent you because you have something he doesn't. (Doesn't the Bible says something about coveting? Oh well.....) And he may want to act out with a can of spray paint or breaking off a mirror or antenna. A few days ago, a punk was caught tagging (BIG problem here) and when the news crew asked him why he did it as he was led handcuffed into police HQ, he just replied "hey, the city has money!" No remorse, no denial! So, to some, you are rich and don't deserve to be just because you have a nice car ( or wall or sign or anything else they haven't tagged yet!) Recommend all of the proceedures mentioned here; I even learned a few myself!

Big Beat, The insurance company numbers, including numbers of deaths, serious injuries, types of cars inwhich people were hurt, and much more, bear out the crumple zone design of new cars. I know there are a lot of stories out there of Car A vs. Car B, and Car A wins on size (I have had some of those accidents myself) but the newer cars always win unless you are in an extreme example ('60 Ford Galaxie vs. 2010 mini car).

It might be a good time to scarf up a bargain!

Based upon the prices I saw some Buicks bring at the Leake-Kruse auction in San Antonio on Friday and Saturday, you could cut most of those prices by half. Their auction results are not posted; as soon as they are, I'll provide the info. Joe

As for the car, let it go. You stand a very, very strong chance of chasing gremlins in virtually every component of the car, from the electrical system to the transmission to the A/C system over an impact that hard. There are other cars out there. If you buy it back, only do so to get the unique parts found on your model, and then scrap the rest. The salvage value of that car to buy it back from the insurance company shouldn't be more than $300-400. As for you, see every doctor and specialist that is available and recommended. Keep all receipts and document any time lost at work. Have the insurance company reimburse you for every dime. Good luck, Joe

Definitely go with the newer Roadmaster wagon. You will enjoy lots of benefits: * Updted fuel injection, more horsepower. * Lots of safety equipment. ABS, airbags, and seatbelts anchored in the car instead of on the door. * Updated A/C that operates on R-134a instead of R-12. Cheaper to repair when it breaks. * More towing and carrying capacity with a V-8 instead of a V-6 and that HUGE rear cargo and seating area.

If you have issues about breakins, as was said, don't leave anything visible. If you are worried about loosing the entire car, I would remove a key component from the engine, like the wire going from the coil to the distributor. Most car thieves (kids) have never even seen a distributor, so they won't know what is missing, even if they can figure out how to open the hood. Joe

Kevin, Pick N Pull ususally leaves cars out in the yard about 4-8 months before crushing. I work about 20 minutes from the yard. If you are thinking of making a trip, and need a specific part, let me know; I will go see if it is still on the car and send you a photo via my cell phone. The tempurature here will be reasonable until mid June. Joe

Barney, Did you harvest anything off of that car? Joe

Adam, If you know you have a good key and can't get into the trunk, try GENTLY moving the key up and down, in and out, in very, very small incriments while you try to turn the lock. It sounds like you have a worn notch on the key, or a piece of debris has gotten into the lock. Moving it around while trying to get it to open may be your best bet without damaging the lock. Also, call your locksmith and see if he thinks he can get it to open. Joe

If it is stalling, chances are the torque converter is stuck in lockup. I don't think the trans can be stuck in OD, unless you are talking about the transfer case. In any case, have it towed to a transmission shop. It sounds as if it could be badly damaged if he tries to drive it like that.

Yes, Barney, it is....the Buicks are waaaaay in the back now, behind the Chryslers. The Reatta is in about the third row from the back fence.... Joe

Just for grins, here's a 1971 BUICK Opel commercial: YouTube - 1971 Buick Opel 1900 commercial

Sorry to report seeing a '91 white coupe with red interior, factory sunroof, VIN 1G4EC13L1MB900923 at Pick N Pull in San Antonio.... I was there when it was being placed in the yard. The body panels are fair, engine is intact, right door panel is gone, tail light is gone, vent windows OK, seats OK, not great, windshield and back glass OK....the wheels were OK, but I think the center caps were gone. Someone get down there and harvest those parts for YOUR Reatta! Joe<!-- google_ad_section_end -->

Sorry to report seeing a '91 white coupe with red interior, factory sunroof, VIN 1G4EC13L1MB900923 at Pick N Pull in San Antonio.... I was there when it was being placed in the yard. The body panels are fair, engine is intact, right door panel is gone, tail light is gone, vent windows OK, seats OK, not great, windshield and back glass OK....someone get down there and harvest those parts for YOUR Reatta! Joe

The discussion reminds me of a couple of things: 1. New car introductions (to car nuts, Christmas in October) were big deals. Paper-covered windows hid new, bright chrome-covered rolling art. High school kids talked about them for weeks before and after the intro dates. Moms and dads sat at the kitchen table, convincing themselves their 2-3 year old car 'needed to be traded in.' Search lights, dealerships bringing down the local radio station, and late-night 'Midnight Madness' sales made seeing a new car a BIG DEAL. 2. When you shopped, you drove downtown, parked at a 45-degree angle in front of 'Bob's Hardware' or while mom went into the 'Smart Shop' to buy a new dress and hat for Easter. You saw the new car the Jones bought, waved at your friend Billy in the back seat of his dad's new Bonneville, and everyone commented on your (freshly washed and waxed) car as you walked down the sidewalk. (Think 50's scene from 'Back to the Future.') Nowdays? Well, here we are in late March and some of the 2011 models are already out. The rest of the new models trickle in between July and December. New models look like last year's grey, dark grey, silver or dark blue four-wheel appliance. The only so-called excitement is someone offereing 0% financing for 60 months (yawn.....) And shopping? You drive as many mentioned at 60-75 MPH to the mall or the big box store. The only looking you do is for a parking space or to see if any suspicious characters are loitering around the parking lot. You rush in, then back out with your plastic bags, pop the trunk, throw them in and drive to the next big box store or mall. If someone talks to you, you make sure your door key or remote is close by in case you need to make a quick exit.... In other words, as the great B.B King once sang, "The Thrill is Gone....." Joe

Adam, Brian is right! It should be the same key. Thanks, Brian. Joe