Rattaboy

Easiest thing to do is to go to a tire store and have them remove the locking nuts and replace them with stock nuts. Do away with your present problem and possibly more to follow.

Reatta convertibles are prone to "cowl shake'. Everything in the way of balance, alignment is critical for a smooth ride. Check for a bent wheel. If the balance job consists of weights adhered to the center of the rim, the balance job may not be right-on. Tighten all struts in the engine compartment. Be sure the strut over the battery is in place, they sometimes get left off after a battery change.

The Toyota Supra of not too many years past had two turbochargers. One was to spool up quick to eliminate the lag associated with turbos of the time. Guess it was a real war hoss. The engine used was their inline six which was a good torque motor to start with.

The Aurora could have been the General's Lexus fighter. Was the right size, distinctive styling, good performance. Where'd they go wrong? OR: It could have been touted as the next 442. Needed road wheels, bright colors, stripes, etc. Missed opportunities. I saw a Cimarron running down the street yesterday.

In today's (Saturday 4/24/04) Phoenix Republic: '89 Buick Reatta, 34k miles, white, red leather, spotless, $9400, evenings 602-265-2245, day 602-320-8074

An article in today's Phoenix paper states Velite is pronounced Va-Leet.

As discussed here a while back, the '90 and '91 portfolios had only one plastic key (door) due to the the ignition key containing a chip.

There is a blurb with good photos in the new (May) issue of Car and Driver.

In today's (4/2/04 Fri.) Arizona Republic. Phoenix 1990 Reatta Convertible, Black/Burgandy. New transmission and new canvas top, 60k mi. Remote start. Must sell. $6495, 480/216-4905.

I made a Reatta plate by getting a polished stainless plate from Auto Zone. Had a Dodge emblem on it that was applied with double sided tape. I heated the emblem with Mama's hair dryer and removed it, cleaned off the goo and applied a Reatta hubcap emblem with double sided tape. I painted the edges of the white tape black. Looks good.

Look at Auto Trader. There are some there.

The results of the auction are now posted at barrett-jackson.com

Second screen in glove box, where is first?

Barney, When talking to Phil Hertel, did you happen to look at his convertibles he has for sale? I know they were damaged, but they appear properly repaired. It doesn't take much damage to total a Reatta, more a money issue than amount of damage issue. They are not over priced. I know people don't like to drive repaired cars, but there are jillions of them out there where the damage is undetectable and they are as serviceable as ever.

Some of you, like myself, are old enough to remember the original road tester of autos, Tom McCahill (Uncle Tom, Old Chrome Dome) who wrote for Mechanix Illustrated in the 50s and 60s. You may get a chuckle out of the following quote. "A GOOD SPORTS CAR IS LIKE ANY OTHER PIECE OF GOOD SPORTING EQUIPMENT. IT SHOULD BE SOMETHING YOU CAN WORK UP A REAL AFFECTION FOR. YOU MAY EVEN HAVE A PET NAME FOR IT, AND YOU MAY EVEN TALK TO IT WHEN YOU'RE ALONE. BECAUSE YOU AND THE SPORTS CAR, OUT ON THE ROAD, ARE A COUPLE OF PALS TOGETHER. AND IF YOU ARE INCAPABLE OF WORKING UP SUCH AFFECTION OVER A JEWEL-LIKE PIECE OF MACHINERY, YOU'D BE FAR BETTER OFF WITH A BUICK." You can do a search for him and read some of his road tests and some of his witticisms. What a character.

Two Reattas for sale in today's (Fri. 12/12/03) Phoenix Arizona Republic: '90 Reatta, burgundy, top condition, 94k mi., $4500 obo. 480/488-1442. '91 Reatta, one owner, all records, garaged, non smoker, 82k mi., $6950, 602/674-3030.

What you paid for it a week ago should establish its value.

I once had a shift kit put in a Pontiac TH400. Made the shifts change very distinctly under acceleration. Sorta' sporty. Maybe could be done on a Reatta?

Or the floppy steering column that requires tightening of four bolts down in its bowels?

This subject has been discussed here before, you might do a search. Padgett lowered his driver side seat with limited sucess a while back. The sun roof takes up approximately 1 1/2" of headroom. Could be critical to the comfort of a six footer. I am 6'2" and have to drive my cpe. w/sunroof with the seat down, back, and reclined, not the most comfortable driving position. On the other hand, my convertible has adequate headroom. My suggestion to you is No sunroof. Also does away with potential maintenance problems.

In today's (Fri.10/24/03) Las Vegas Review Journal: 88 Reatta, clean, 37K original miles. $6500 obo. 702/433-1788 773/991-3604

My son and I took my two Reattas ('90 Conv. & "91 Cpe) to a Buick show at a Buick dealer's lot in Mesa last week. We were parked among Buicks of the 50's and 60's. An older couple came by and he remarked to her, "Look, the dealer put a couple of cars off the show room out here". Made the trip worthwhile.

The Valley Of Sun Chapter of BCA is having a show this Sunday, Oct,19, in Mesa, AZ at Coury Buick. 200 blk. of W. Main 9:00 to 3:00.

Go to AUTO TRADER, tell it to pull up your year and model. Look them over and see how their prices run. If you think the prices would help you, print them and show to the adjuster.

The plastic keys have gotten brittle over the years like most things plastic. Be happy the key broke in the key machine and not in one of your locks. A metal key is your best bet.