ol' yeller

If I did this right there should be 2 pictures attached. One showing the mess I had when pulled off the door panel on the drivers door to install the speaker. Obviously, someone had been in there before me. The watershield was hanging loose as was the foam padding. Both were torn in several places. It was obvious why my door panel master switch plate was askew as the wires were just jumbled up and jammed into the door. It only took a little time to lubricate all the window and lock mechanisms and then spray some glue around the perimeter to reattach the watershield. The watershield did require some patching with duct tape and some clear plastic I had hanging around in the garage. The passenger side was almost as bad and the manual door lock switch was not engaging the post which was why it never worked since I got the car. Both front speakers were trashed so I was amazed that they still sounded OK to me. There were paper remnants of the cone all inside both of the speakers cavities. FYI the Metra speaker wire adapters for some Delco cars don't work here either so I had to splice and solder the harness supplied with the speakers. I was very pleased with how nice everything went back together and how it all worked after I reassembled it. So this takes us to the end of my saga. The only thing left is to install the new foam baffles behind the rear speakers when they arrive on Friday. It sounds so great I am in love with my little roadster all over again. By the way, I don't see a need for an amp or a sub as this setup will deliver great sound, even with the top down which I was able to try yesterday. It was cold but beautiful so why not take a top down cruise and listen to GFR Heartbreaker at high volume. The only problem is that I may get kicked out of my over 55 community for being too loud. The costs were $111 for the head unit, $94 for the rear speakers, $50 for the front speakers, $10 for speaker wiring harnesses that didn't work, and $10 for the rear Speaker foam baffles. I bought the 1.5 DIN adapter a long time ago along with the wire harness adapter for the head unit and the antenna. If memory serves I think it was around $30 total for those. So the grand total for this immense improvement is $305 which included shipping. It was well worth the time and money. The other picture is how the unit looks installed in the dash.

If anyone is following, I got the job 66% done today. The head unit is in and wired correctly. I was able to accomplish this without hacking up the wiring inside the dash. The Metra adapter harness worked great. As I stated earlier, the manual for the stereo had the wires mis-labelled for 12V constant and 12V ignition switch. I grabbed my 12V constant from the cigar lighter as I didn't think it would be a huge amp draw. I assume it is for the keep alive memory for the clock and presets. Everything else connected up perfectly through the Metra harness. The install also required a Metra adapter for the Delco antenna to the more common larger one. The Metra adapter plate came apart from the cheap glue they used to hold the 2 plastic pieces together. Some Gorilla glue and a couple hours of cure time took care of that problem. The adapter plate does move the stereo about a 1/2" out from the old location which was helpful as the new unit was almost an inch longer than the stock unit. I also had to trim away some of the plastic support behind the old radio to make room for the longer unit. Both the antenna and the microphone for the phone stick out from the back of the unit which adds to the overall depth of the unit. The Metra adapter harness tucked nicely up in a cavity behind the firewall. The hardest part was trimming for the antenna adapter as it hit right where the plastic behind the stereo had a screw mounting. I was able to trim away enough for the antenna connection and yet leave enough so I didn't disturb the screw mount. I love my Dremel tool. The wire for the Bluetooth microphone tucked neatly under the dash and up behind the A pillar pad. The microphone was placed at the top of the A Pillar which was very close to the driver. It had excellent pick up as my wife heard me very clearly when I tested it. The microphone had plenty of extra wire which I just tie wrapped it in a neat package and tucked it under the head unit. This was a pretty big job as it required removal of the dash panel, the console, and the old CD player as well as the knee bolster under the dash on the driver's side to effect the installation. The new unit sounded good with the old speakers. My convertible fortunately has spent most of its life in a garage so the speakers aren't sunbaked or rotten. The rear speakers arrived on Saturday so after I had the head unit installed and verified all the speakers were operating correctly, I changed the rear speakers out to the new ones. The Metra speaker wire adapters I purchased were useless. They didn't match to the Delco harness at all. Fortunately the speakers came with a harness which I spliced into the factory wiring. The rear speakers were Kicker 4"X10". They are very superior to the factory speakers. My test drive was with Grand Funk Railroad Heartbreaker at a high volume and the separation and the bass was amazing. Given that they were not round speakers, they did tend to distort a little at volume but they are a hundred times better than factory. There was no foam core behind the factory rear speakers so I will order them from Amazon and see if that doesn't help some. My door speakers came today but I was too tired to tackle that installation. I will first try them with the double tweeters hooked up as Ronnie recommended as I also have old ears that could use some help. It appears to be very easy to disconnect them as they have slide on connectors to spade terminals at the wire terminations. The head unit is a great unit, I found it easy to program and pair my Smarter than Me Android phone. I hope to experiment in the future with MP3/4 players. It sounds great and the true sound and separation is very good for a $100 unit. I'll post up some pictures tomorrow.

Today's update, the wiring diagram for my stereo had the 12V constant and the 12V switched wire colors reversed. Both were required. I got so focused on that that I installed the unit and then remembered that I didn't plug in the microphone for the bluetooth so everything had to come back out. Upon reassembly the plastic Metra din adapter's glue came apart. Today I have get some glue and finish putting it all back in. This stereo was a little longer (deeper) than the original so it took some judicious trimming of some of the plastic support behind the radio to get it to fit. It sounds great even with the old factory speakers. The new speakers are coming this week.

On my new radio there are wires for 12V switched and for 12V constant. I assume the the constant 12V wire is to protect the memory and clock functions. Unfortunately, the Metra intermediate harness that plugs into the existing dash wiring harness doesn't have a provision for the constant 12V, only the switched 12V. My plan is to first try the radio without the constant 12V and see if my assumption is correct, then to find a constant 12V source somewhere and just splice into it, probably either from the fusebox or the lighter.I found in a previous posting a list of what color wires from the dash harness match their function and there is a mention of a constant 12V (I think it was an orange wire) but there is no orange wire that plugs into the Metra adapter in the connector from the dash harness. I think it is lost somewhere in the huge CD wiring harness. I may try to remove that harness and see if I can find the constant 12V wire as My new deck has a CD slot and the factory CD player never worked anyway. If anyone knows if my assumptions are right or not, I'd appreciate hearing about it. Barney, as for the speakers, Metra makes an intermediate wire harness ($5 for 2 speakers) that plugs into the Delco harness and then plugs onto the aftermarket speaker which eliminates the need to hack up the cars existing wiring. Also there is no need for soldering. It also enables a smooth transition back to stock if that is ever desired. While I don't see any reason why someone would want to go back to inferior, non visible speakers, I like to keep things as original as possible or at least able to return to original without a lot of trouble.

I'm replacing my stereo today with an Alpine unit. I also have new speakers, Alpine 2 way 5.25" for the doors and Kicker 4"X10" for the rear of my convertible. The speakers are not here yet but will arrive in a few days. I also bought all the correct Metra adapters for the stereo, the antenna, the speakers and the dash. As all my current speakers are working OK now I hope to install the new head unit today and make sure all the connections are correct. That should make the new speaker install somewhat easier next week. So I have some questions and would like my assumptions verified if possible. I plan to solder the connections between the Metra plug adapter and the wires off the back of the head unit and then tape over. It seems to be universally recommended over scotch locks or crimp connectors. This eliminates hacking up the factory wire harnesses. I have read here that the stock tweeters are in a better location for sound than using the tweeters that are installed on the cone of the new speakers. I am assuming that my new 2 way speakers are called 2 way because they have tweeters. I also seem to remember reading that the sound is much worse with leaving the stock tweeters and the new tweeters hooked up. Question, how do I disconnect the tweeters on the new speakers if that is the case. I might be able to better understand once I have the new speakers in hand but from the pictures, it appears that it is all one unit. I also understand it is important to keep polarity the same on all the speakers to keep them in phase. Finally, I haven't removed the rear speakers yet but is there a foam backing behind the rear factory speakers? I see on Amazon that there are aftermarket ones available but I didn't order them yet. If there is anything else I should know about, please pass it along. The last car audio I worked with was an AM/FM converter on my '65 Skylark. I think things have changed a lot since then. Please try not to be too technical as I am not an audiophile. I will post up pics and description when finished. If Ronnie is interested, I can do a write up with pictures for the ROJ.

I have satellite radio (Serius) in my Lincoln MKX. I've had it on a free 3 month trial which I just upped to a 12 month plan that had great pricing. I wasted too much of my free trial period with Christmas music. I'm not sure I like it as where I live, it cuts out often from trees, and mountains. Also, while I like the music on the '60's station, the DJs like to hear themselves talk too much. I find I am often switching between the 50's station, the 60's station and the 70's station. After that, music died except for country. I have Pandora on Verizon but haven't figured out how to program the cell to the radio yet. Does that use data bandwidth?

I bought an Alpine CDE-143Bt after I saw a post here from another member who successfully installed one in his Reatta. It has a single CD slot which is important to me (I know, I'm old school), bluetooth, as well as a USB port and connection for MP3 whatever that is. I'm thinking I may try to play music off my Smarter than Me phone if I can figure out how to do that without blowing through my data allowance. My factory radio never played AM very well and the factory CD player doesn't work anymore. The 2 local FM radio stations that played oldies from the '50's - the '70's both changed formats so there was no station where I could enjoy the sound track to my top down cruising. As my car is a convertible, you need a better system than you could get by with in a coupe. All my factory speakers seem to be working fine but given their age and design, I decided to replace them. I bought Alpine 2 way 5.25" speakers for the doors and Kicker 4"X10" speakers for the rear. The speakers are expected to be delivered next week. I didn't order the foam cores for the rear speakers but when I take it apart, I may order them if I determine they would be useful. I also have on hand the Metra 1.5 DIN faceplate, plug adapter, antenna adapter, and speaker wire adapters so I don't hack up factory wiring. I may, in the future, decide to add an amp, and sub. I had those in my BMW and loved the sound they produced. I am by no means or by any stretch of the imagination an audiophile but I do appreciate all music from good ol' Rock and Roll to Classical and everything in between. Please note that appreciation doesn't include ©rap music. My plan is to install it all without modification to the originality of the car and to keep the original components for a future owner if they desire it. I searched here, Crutchfield's and Ronnie's sites for information and directions before I made the leap. It is a slightly older radio design but I really wanted a CD slot and bluetooth. The reviews on Amazon also helped to lead me to these decisions. My modest budget also helped drive the end results. I'll post up some pics and a review after I finish the install next week. FedEx tried to deliver the stereo yesterday but I didn't know it was coming and the seller sent it signature required. If it comes in time, I hope to install the radio later today. I will do the speakers next week, probably on next Friday. That may take a little longer as my door panels need some work not related to the speakers and as long as they are removed I should correct those issues. They include a slow passenger window, a malfunctioning passenger door lock and reattaching the driver's door control module which has come loose from the door panel. I love doing this type of work on my classic cars rather than repairing mechanical stuff. Here is the http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BMRLK3Q?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=od_aui_detailpages00 link for the radio on Amazon.

If Amazon delivers it in time, I hope to be installing a new Stereo/CD deck along with new speakers this weekend. If not, the next weekend.

Barney, I went to my garage and checked my Polo Green Convertible and it has the same radiator as my '90. The difference might be that mine only has the manual 5 speed transmission.

When I was younger I left a ton of skin on the projects I worked on. About 20 years ago mechanic gloves made their appearance. I wasn't an early adopter but find them very helpful keeping you from skinning your knuckles or scratching your hands reaching where you can't see. Most of my hobbiest tools are Craftsman. Swap meets are a great place to pick the old ones up.

I think that there was a Mazda that used a very similar sunroof that did bolt in in place of a factory sunroof. Maybe their's came with a glass roof panel but I seem to remember reading that the curve of the Mazda sunroof was different from the Reatta so you had to use a Reatta roof panel. The rest of the sunroof assembly bolted right in. No Reatta factory sunroofs for any year came with a glass panel.

I had a '90 coupe with a sunroof that leaked. It was a few years ago so my memory may be a little flawed. I remember drains at the 4 corners of the sliding roof. The front 2 ran down the A pillars to drain out under the car. The rears drained out the B pillar. There are rubber tubes connected to the drain at both ends. These become clogged with leaf and needle debris or in my case, one was kinked down in the B pillar where you couldn't see it. Evidently it was kinked upon initial installation at the factory. I pulled the headliner on both the main roof and the sliding roof to gain access to the cables which also needed some white lithium grease as well as the tracks. It is a common misconception that the weatherstrip around the sliding roof seals the roof. That is not the case. it does eliminate most of the water intrusion but the drains are what keeps water from leaking inside. I found my problem after I removed the headliner and then blew compressed air gently down each drain. Mine didn't have much debris either in the drains or in the tracks. After the fix, my sunroof worked great until I sold it years later with no more leaks.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all my Buick Buddies!

What you are picturing in your OP are actually Regal GS wheels not LS wheels. LS wheels were not chromed but the GS were. I had an original set on my '98 Regal GS and I liked them so much that put a set on my old Maui blue coupe. Buick made them for several years around then. They are 16' rather than 15" as the Reattas came with. That is why I am holding off on getting another set for my '90 convertible. My tires are still fairly new but come replacement time I will have a set of these on hand if I still have my Reatta. They look beautiful and have a trishield emblem in the center cap so they are appropriate to use as is. I always felt that the original Reatta wheels were ugly so I have always upgraded them on my previous Reatta to something that I felt looked better.

Seeing the annual Howard Thanksgiving thread is like a nice visit from an old friend. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Not real valuable but the heads are worthy of keeping for resale if they are in good condition. Often they are corroded from poor sealing of the head gaskets. If yours are good, someone may want them. The 300 block is pretty common. It was used up through '67. If it is a 4 barrel engine the intake could also be worth some money to someone. Aluminum 4 barrel intakes are getting hard to find. They were a 1 year only option. In '65 Buick went to an all cast iron engine for the 300. In '66 if you wanted a 4 barrel, you had to get the 340. The 300 continued on to 1967 as a 2 barrel only engine. In 1968 it was replaced with the 350.The 300 V8 was also used in the lower end LeSabres to expand your potential market. If it is a factory 4 barrel engine they used different pistons to increase compression so it might be worthwhile to keep it all together if it turns OK. I personally know of 2 instances of a stuck 300 that was freed up using penetrating oil down the cylinders and ran for years after that. It is pretty hard to destroy the 300 V8. I have been out of the market for several years so I can't help you establish a value. I also tend to value stuff low.

I second Kevin's comments above. It was obviously a well cared for car as evidenced by the paint and interior. The miles are very high and while the 3800 is a great runner, everything else is getting up there where things start to go wrong. $2K is a fair price but it will take some time to sell. Probably why the dealer is unloading it cheaply.

Some people shouldn't own tools!

Nope I almost never clear history or cookies. Interesting I am the only one with this issue. Must be something in my Chrome stuff. Strange it coincided with the system upgrade and I never have the issue with any other of the many forums I frequent.

As I can tell there are 2 methods to see posts that have been made since I last viewed a thread. One is the dot or star to the left of the thread heading and the other is the last unread button that appears after a thread is opened. Since the upgrade, often when I click on either I am taken to random date somewhere in the thread well before I last opened the thread. An example is in the Buick When did You last drive and old Buick thread. When I click on the last unread, it took me to a posting in 2014. I last viewed that thread a few days ago. This happens often to me in threads that have been up for a long time with lots of posts.

It was my point that "provenance" doesn't add value. What it does add is desirability. A BCA Gold award shows that the car well represents what a well kept car should be. Sort of like the Good Housekeeping seal. The Pace Car thing is just neat to know especially that the car came with the decals. Not sure right now if I am going to sell it as the car does hold a lot of memories and is still in excellent condition. I just dont want to keep it until things begin to break and I can't readily fix them either due to my health or parts unavailability.

It's not the money. It's about driving around with leaks and wind noise because top weatherstripping isn't available. Or parking the car for weeks because you can't get ABS leads. Or the mirad of other issues Reattas have because they were made in low numbers a long time ago. My car doesn't have these issues yet but it makes a strong argument for driving a car that is newer and has replacement parts readilly available. I love my vert but I'm thinking the time may have come to part ways and get something newer before I have those issues and the Reatta is still worth something.

I have owned 3 since 2002,2 coupes and a convertible, all 1990's. I am at that stage once again where I am considering selling my convertible. I almost did sell it last spring, backing out at the last minute. I love driving it but hate the idea of hunting down impossible to find parts when something NLA breaks. At my age,62, I am thinking selling and buying something newer and more practical. That said my car isn't a high dollar, low mileage car. It did win a Gold Award at the Portland National and is in excellent shape for a 25 year old car with just over 100K miles on her. Being a garaged car its entire life really makes a difference. I have been anal about maintenance and other than a baulky radio everything works and service is up to date. My vert also has provenance being a documented pace car for the 1990 Great American Race. I bought it from the original owner and it came with complete documentation of its service history as well as a complete owner's folio. All that considered, I'll be lucky to sell it now for what I paid 3 years ago, not accounting for my expenses since which include new struts, new top, AC rebuild and other lesser expenses. If I wait until next spring, I may find a buyer at $7,000 if I am lucky. I'm not bitter about this as I knew Reatta values going in. Reality bites sometimes.

You have my sympathies! Your only hope is good used and most of them will be in similar condition.

I have used the ATF solution as well in the past with good results. That said it was on back in the day when engines were much more simple.