ol' yeller

Mine goes to 12:00. When it goes to one bar above 12:00 the second fan comes on and lowers it to 12:00 or 1 bar under. I recently did replace my radiator, hoses and thermostat because of it getting too warm. The original owner never changed the coolant and when I purchased my car the coolant was rusty. I had to replace a couple of soft plugs when I first got the car. I have drained and flushed my system several times since then.

First thing I did Dave, when they arrived was to put them in my car in place of the originals and test them. The only one I didn't test was the AC/Heater controls because I just didn't want to bother pulling the dash apart. You bring up a good point and it was probably ringing in my ears when I did the tests as I'm sure I heard it somewhere before. Of course the ABS system would be too much work to test but there enough components in the score to make it worthwhile for the money just to have on hand. I did notice the picture of the car it was pulled from had some damage on the front so it could be something has failed. I figured for $90 it was worth the gamble.

Thanks guys! I will be careful. I couldn't believe that it had such a low Buy it Now. Now with my Hydac Accumulator and if this is in good working condition, I will have no fear of future braking issues. Now if can only score some nice spare ABS leads cheap... Ebay has been good to me lately. I bought a spare ECM for $10, a spare ABS control module for $10, a spare heater/ac switch panel for $10, a PATS training VHS and book for GM techs for $15, and now the ABS pump assembly for $90. All this and I didn't even get my hands dirty at the local Pick and Pull.

I just found and won a complete ABS system (stuff mounted on firewall) for a 90 Reatta on Ebay for only $90. At that price I just couldn't pass it up. Mine is still working with no issues but I have a question. How do I best store this for future use? It will be kept in my non heated but dry and somewhat warm garage. I'd like it not to deteriorate as it sits waiting for me to use it. Any advice would be welcome.

Interesting car. It has the '88 glovebox but a '90 dash/CD player. The lighter is evidently aftermarket. Eliminating the CHMSL makes little sense to me. They also eliminated the airbag steering wheel along with the sunburst medallion on the hood. This was either a pinstripe delete car or more likely a repaint. The mods make it interesting but IMHO it devalues the car.

My top had been down since the 1st of April but yesterday the weather looked a lot more like April in the Great Pacific Northwet.

I took my 90 convertible on a 200 mile trip with our local chapter of the BCA for the Spring "Mystery Tour". The only downside was the weather didn't accommodate top down driving.

The missing buttons can be purchased from Legendary Interiors.

Other thoughts. It could be the phonetic coating on the cam timing gear broke up and fell off making timing impossible. This is a common issue with original 300s. New timing sets won't have this coating. To check, rotate crankshaft and see how much slop there is before the rotor moves. A long shot is the ignition wire where it connects on the engine side of the firewall at the rear of the fusebox. If memory serves it is either a red or orange wire that has a small screw holding the connection together. If dirty or loose it could cause stalling or no start conditions.

I had another thought. A weak point on these engines is the timing gear set if still original. The cam gear originally was coated ( for noise) with a phonetic (plastic) coating. Over the years the coating breaks up and falls off making timing impossible. Replacement timing sets don't have the coating so a one time replacement is all that is needed. To check this see how much slop there is when rotating the crank before the rotor moves. Another long shot is the ignition lead. It is a connection atop the engine side of the fuse box where the engine wiring harness plugs in. If memory serves, it is either a red wire or orange wire. There is a small screw holding the connection together. If loose or dirty it could cause intermittent stalling issues but you wouldn't have any spark if it isn't connecting.

If your spark is weak then you have an electric problem. Either the coil is weak, the points are grounded or not gapped correctly or the condenser is bad. I read where you replaced the coil and condenser. It could also be bad plug wires, too much resistance. I'd check all the wires running both to and from the coil and distributor for continuity as well as resistance. Also make sure you have a good ground from the engine block to the firewall as this is often missing, The fact that it did run is good. You have gas to the plugs and either starting fluid or gas down the carb doesn't produce fire is why I am leaning towards spark problems, not gas or air. To eliminate the possibility of bad gas, you could run a hose from the pump to gallon can of fresh gas and see if it fires then but I think you have spark issues. As an educational aside, what you have is the Buick 300 V8. The decal on the air cleaner is actually the torque rating of the engine, not the engine size. In 1965 Buick made 2 versions of the 300 V8, the 310 version which has the 2 barrel carb or the 355 version which had a carter 4 barrel and higher compression pistons. Later in '65 they added the GS which brought the 401 Nailhead to the party and Buick also offered a V6 in the A Body in 1965.

Yes it would make the car a lot more fun. In 1965 (and '66) when Buick dropped the big block engine into the A Body, they also upgraded the chassis to a boxed frame. It is the same frame they put under the convertible A Body. I do know of some folks who have done this swap without the frame change but It handles much better with a frame swap. Buick also added heavier duty springs and a beefier rear end with oversize rear bearings. Motor mounts may be a fabricating issue. I had a 430 in a 1969 Riviera (much heavier car) and it was a torque monster engine. It did a great job and while some have reported oiling issues with the 430, I had the problem addressed when I had the engine rebuilt. The 430 was the replacement for the nailhead 401 and the stepping stone to the 455. The 455 is better motor all around (my opinion) but the 430 did fine by me. I guess you and I are the only ones who threw a rod through the block on the 300 as these engines are virtually impossible to destroy. I did mine in my '65 convertible back in the 1960's when replacements were easier to come by. I had a 300 V8 4 barrel in my '65 Skylark coupe and with a nice exhaust system and a 355 gearing in the rear end, it was a cruiser with plenty of grunt. I think you would be happier and life would be easier if you could locate one of those engines and spend your money on a rear end gear change. These engines are still around and not as expensive as big blocks either to buy or to rebuild. The engine in my coupe had 140,000 miles on the lower end and was still running great when I sold it a few years ago.

I remember seeing this car on Ebay a few years ago. If my memory is correct (it often isn't) I seem to remember the owner was asking around $35K for it. Other than that, I got nothing.

Here is a 1990 rebuilt titled, rusty, clearcoat peeling, over 100K miles, worn door paneled, coupe that could be yours for only $4,700! NOT MINE nor would it ever be. Or you could get this one from the same folks, only a couple years older with a few more miles but with a clear title for only about a grand more. Please disregard the huge dent in the nose.

Damn, I hate it when I rely on my aged memory and it lets me down. Kevin is right, they are 4X10. I am by no means an audiophile but I really do like how my new stereo and speakers turned out. Also I would take an educated guess that the speaker wires traveled up one of the wiring channels under one of the seats. That would put them closest to the console where they come out at the radio.

Make that, "We're more or less, all in the same Buick here".

Software upgrade to stymie The North Korean Hackers how have been bombarding this site the last week or so. They also changed the URL

No need to give up on a vert. They are out there and available for well under Select 60 prices. You should be able to pick up a nice vert, well maintained for between $5-$7K. Your original question was about collectibility. This thread has given you a good dose of reality when it comes to these cars that we love. They are great cars but don't expect to quietly discover an appreciating asset that everyone overlooked. This is actually true of many collectible cars. Every one I have owned I paid a low amount for purchase, spent more than I should have fixing it up, and sold it for a loss, sometimes for a significant loss. But, when you factor in the fun of resurrecting a piece of automotive history, gaining the appreciation of like minded folks for your skills, and sheer joy in driving a classic car, it is all worth it in the end.

Sure looks like a convertible to me

Also as a point of clarification, what I installed were Kicker 4X12 replacement speakers, not an Amp like what Dave is talking about.

HERE is the link to where the wire colors are posted. It is another discussion on this forum from a few years ago.

I was the editor for our Chapter's monthly newsletter. I agree that everyone likes to see their car, their name, in something published. When I held that position I instituted a feature called "Car of The Month". I came out to the owner's garage and photographed their car and interviewed them about their ownership for the article. In the beginning I had to feature my own cars for a couple of months running before everyone got on board. As our membership was around 60 or so and many had multiple cars, I was able to run the feature the whole time I was editor. It was also a great way to greet new members and to make them feel welcome and included. That was back when the internet was in its infancy. Probably only half of our members had computers let alone access to the internet. Nowadays, I'd bet that most, if not all, do have Internet. For me, I don't have too much interest in the article because I have already read it here. Others may have differing opinions.

HERE is a link to the speakers at Ronnie's Reatta Store which is where I ordered the speakers through Amazon. I went with 2 way Alpine speakers to replace the ones in the door rather than the Infinity ones on Ronnie's website. I figured they would be better suited to my Alpine unit and I wasn't disappointed. My door speakers were falling apart while the rears were in pretty good shape, or so I thought. I was blown away at how much nicer everything sounded with the new setup. I was going to add an amp but now I see no need for it. I am babysitting my grandson today but if I get time later today, I'll dig out the wiring diagrams and let you know the color codes for the wires.

I bought Kickers on Amazon for the rear speakers. They sound amazing. I also bought the foam buckets they sit in. As they are 4x12 they aren't the best type for sound. They did just bolt right in and weren't too expensive. My wiring wasn't hacked up at all and I went with a Metra adapter to keep it from becoming hacked. I also replaced the radio with an Alpine unit. The new radio and the adapter both came with wiring diagrams and colors.

Sorry, it was a joke. Rumors of Polo Green '91 convertibles have fueled debate here for years. If you ever do find one you could be the one to end the debate and it would be a very rare Reatta indeed.