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ol' yeller

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  1. ol' yeller

    Average Age?

    Despite my handle, ol' yeller, I am soon to greet my 49th birthday. I just love the old cars of the 60's, particularly Buicks. The Reatta is one of the few cars from the USA to really turn my head since the early 70's. The comraderie of this site and the willingness to help will keep these cars on the road for a long time to come.<P>Greg
  2. I found a 1989 Reatta on a used car lot today. I am not interested in buying it but it raised a few questions in my mind. I sent the VIN to Barney in a separate post. This car had a real ratty tan interior but the odometer listed only 75,000 miles. It seems to be a lot of work to go to to replace the the BCM(did I get that right?) to reflect lower mileage but the interior looked to have several hundred thousand miles of wear. The seat were unripped but very unevenly faded and cracked. The driver's armrest was not only similarly faded but well broken down from where someone's elbow rested as were the rest of the door panels. The carpets too, showed uneven fading. Those of you who live in sunnier climates may have more experience with this type of weathering but my 1990 coupe with 88,000 shows none of this wear.<P>Also the car was painted a darker blue. was this a color choice in 1989? I didn't get a chance to look at the sticker in the spare tire well to verify. It is not the lighter metallic blue which I believe is called Maui blue. By the way, they were asking $5,200 for it.<P>Greg
  3. I have decided to sell my 1999 Mountaineer and turn my 1990 coupe into a daily driver. I had high and lofty ambitions to keep the miles down on it and outwait all of you. When only mine and Padgett's were left, I would make enough on the sale to retire to a life of leisure. What happened? I finally got it out of storage where Reeta has been since December and fell in love all over again. I have been seduced by the clean lines and sporty luxury of Buick's priciest offering of 1990. Yes, it will be different driving a 12 year old car than what I am used to, but the stares of the great unwashed makes it all worthwhile. So, I just wanted to warn all of you that I will be looking for more advice as I attempt to keep this little jewel on the road. I have already replaced most of the brake system, (not the accumulator yet)the struts and wheels and tires. It only has 88,000 miles and it will still see only limited duty. I await with great anticipation the winking out of the IPC or the bobbling headlights or the wet interior (I live near Seattle) or the recycling trunk lock, or the snapping from the speakers, knowing full well that all the answers reside here in this site. The siren call is too great...must...drive...Reatta.... Greg<P>PS Jerry Sellers, I outbid you on ebay for this car almost a year ago before you got the convertible jones. The jury is still out on who was the lucky one in that transaction.
  4. Way to go Padgett. Your next mission, should you choose to accept it, is to find Jimmy Hoffa. My money is on Padgett.
  5. Sue T, Man, I step out of town for a few days on business and everyone responds! The 1990 coupe is in Meridian Auto Wrecking in Graham, WA, which is just south of the south hill of Puyallup. It isn't clear to me which weatherstrip you need but if it is part of the door, he wants to sell the door as one piece for $225 (it has good glass and mirror). If you need the weatherstrip that the door seals to, it is probably still there although I don't know what condition it is in. They are pretty reasonable to deal with and they are open 7 days a week. If you need any more info email me at powersfam@qwest.net. Happy Reattaing! With so many near by maybe we should do an event of some kind...any thoughts?<P>Greg
  6. Hey, mine must be the only one in the Great Northwest along with the one in the wrecking yard that I know about. Does that make mine more or less desirable? Or maybe people who live in the Northwest don't have computers with Internet access...NAW!
  7. I have a '65 Skylark 2 door hdtp. that I lovingly rebuilt from the ground up. I have way too much into it for what its overall value is but I will keep it forever as it reminds me of the one I had back in the '60s. I also am restoring a '69 Riviera (frame off) that I have yet to drive. If it is as nice a driver as I anticipate, I will probably never part with it either. My Reatta however is probably not a long term keeper as I am more into 50s and 60s stuff. I do like the car a lot but it is just too new for me to keep as a collectable. In the spring I will probably be looking to sell or trade it for a nice 50's Buick driver. This forum however is probably the best part about owning a Reatta. I haven't seen this kind of interest in a special car or comradere since I was into old VWs a few years back. If I don't sell it, I probably wouldn't be too dissapointed.
  8. I guess I should mention that it is the passenger side door.<P>Greg
  9. I have access to a complete door from a '90 Burgundy coupe. I would like to use the door panel but the rest is not needed. The vent glass and side mirror are intact as is all the electrics and power side glass. If someone is interested in the rest of the door or pieces I will buy it and part it out. email me at powersfam@qwest.net with your needs and how much you are willing to pay for it.<P>Greg
  10. Just curious about how many I have seen that read this forum. I left a reply to a message for Puget Sound 88er but didn't hear back. If you have a Reatta and are generally in the Great Northwest (WA, OR, ID, B.C.)let's hear from you. Mine is a 90' Burgundy coupe with a spoiler on the rear decklid. Picture is on reader's rides in the BCA Reatta home page.<P>Greg
  11. J, I wish I could answer but it came with the car. I think it really adds to the rear appearance of these cars. The best part is that this one doesn't make contact with the rear antenna when extended. I'd share if I had more information, sorry. I have more pictures from better angles too. If interested email me at powerfam@qwest.net and I'll send then to you.<P>Greg
  12. According to my dealer's brochure the overall length is 183.5 inches in length, 73.0 Inches in width and 51.2 inches in height. A cover is a great investment.<P>Greg
  13. Just a heads up if you are planning your vacation this summer. Our local chapter of the BCA is hosting our 9th Annual All Buick Open car show on June 22nd. The ROA is holding their national meet the following week in Klamath Falls Oregon. Last year we had 148 Buicks at our show, including 3 Reattas. The cars ranged from a 1914 B37 Touring car that was driven to the show from Lewiston Idaho to the 1990 Reattas. It is a 1 day show with prizes given for 1st -3rd place in each of the classes. It is a peer judged event. If you want more information email me at powersfam@qwest.com and I'll send you an entry form. Make it a Buick week and take in both events.<P>Greg
  14. Congratulations! Don't get scared by all the problems you read about here. These are great little cars! If you take care of it, it will take care of you. Welcome to the forum.<P>Greg
  15. Puget 88er, My '90 coupe is Burgundy. There is a picture of it on the Reatta BCA website. I live in Federal Way so you're not too far away. I know of a few Reattas in the great Northwest, a Maui Blue 90 or 91 coupe with around 45K that will be up for sale soon. Don't know much else about it except for who the owner is and that it was hit and repaired . I know of another Maui blue coupe that belongs to a North Puget Sound Chapter BCA member and a white convertible that showed up for our All Buick Open car show in Puyallup last June. We are holding our next car show on June 22nd in Puyallup. Email me at powersfam@qwest.net if you want details. My Reatta is in storage in Puyallup and I won't be able to get to it until April so you probably haven't seen me driving it around. As to the mileage, I tracked it over 4 0r 5 tankfuls (can't remember)between Chicago and Seattle via I90 last May. It was cruise control most all the way at 65-75 MPH. I averaged 800 miles a day so it was pretty much long days in a well warmed up car. I was able to go 800 miles a day because I was alone. The wife would have cut into available travel time considerably. I had no luggage other than a small bag, so there was no extra weight. I had bad struts and I didn't want to get going too fast. The car drove like a rock but now that I fixed all the little problems I love driving it. The biggest problem is that it only has 87K on it and I like driving it so much, I'm afraid I'll wear it out and be unable to replace it. I also know of a Reatta in a wrecking yard a few months ago. Drop me a line, I'd love to exchange information.<P>Greg
  16. I have a '90 coupe with about 87,000 miles on it. I get around 22 MPG around town and averaged 32 MPG on a recent cross country trip (Chicago to Seattle). I use regular gas but I found the regular here in the Northwest seems to burn better than the regular (Oxygenated ???)in the Midwest. The further from Chicago I got, the better it ran.<P>Greg
  17. I have a passenger side mirror that has a cracked plastic housing. The housing is really messed up good from the previous owner trying to repair it. He did manage to rebond the plastic but it looks like hell. The motor,wiring, rubber, and glass are all good. I paid $235 (ouch) at the dealer for the NOS replacement. I don't know if it can be disassembled without ruining it. Wiser people who post here could probably answer that question. I would be willing to part with this for $50 plus shipping. My email is powersfam@qwest.net.<P>Greg
  18. I've noticed lately a few questions about front license plate brackets. I shared some time ago my solution to the no longer available part. My local Buick/Pontiac dealer gave me access to his license plate holder bin and I found a replacement that works very well. It is not an exact replacement but it mounts up very well and with a little trimming with an exacto knife. It has a molded-in lower mounting that you can bolt in after you R&R the grille. It wasn't a big job and unless you were Barney, you probably couldn't tell it wasn't "factory". The best part is the cost, $15.50. I think it came off a Pontiac so make sure the dealer is a Pontiac dealer. The part number is 22551295 bracket-F 7.800. I did hear from several others who used this replacement successfully. I am pretty particular about appearance, almost as particular as the Washington cops are about the front license plate thing!
  19. I found the perfect way to put my Reatta away for the winter and not get tempted to take it out. As I only have a 2 car garage and I own 5 cars....and my neighborhood is almost Nazi-like in their CC&R enforcement, I had to pay to store my collector cars elsewhere. The plus side is that the person I buy storage from is a fellow BCA member and he only charges fellow BCAers $30/month per car. The downside is that he is a snowbird so he goes to Arizona in December and doesn't return until April. For that period of time, my collector cars are unavailable. I agree however that it makes it very enjoyable in the spring to unwrap them like presents and begin driving them like they were meant to be driven. In the interim, all I have is the screensavers of my cars that I installed both at home and work to remember them by.<P>Greg
  20. Bigrog, What do you have against Ebay? I bought my '90 on Ebay and am very happy with it. Of course, I had it inspected before I bid on it. Buying on Ebay is no more no less risky than buying from Hemmings or the local used car lot. You just have to protect yourself. First have the car inspected by someone you trust, not someone the buyer recommends. Second, get pictures from all angles and interior shots. Third, don't put down a deposit you can't afford to lose. I only put down a $500 deposit, the rest due when I picked up the car. Forth, pay for the airline ticket and go get the car yourself. If you have it shipped, nothing beats your personal inspection before it is loaded onto the transport. Factor in the cost of transport and the airline ticket into the cost of the car. If it isn't a good deal don't buy it. Don't be afraid to walk away if it doesn't feel right. I really wanted one of these great little cars but they just weren't available up here in the great Northwet (SIC). Ebay, Hemmings, the BCA, and other old car publications were my only resources to find what I was looking for. That gave me the whole country as the market rather than my own little corner of the world. I'm sure you can point out many postings where people feel they got taken advantage of on Ebay but when you buy a used car, it is always "Let the Buyer Beware". If you take simple precautions you can cut down the possibility of making a bad choice.
  21. The burgandy 90 coupe on Brad's home page is mine. I'd like to provide some enlightenment but it was installed on my car when I bought it. It does make the deck lid heavy but it does stay up with just the struts. It also clears the antenna. I don't think it was engineered for the Reatta as it contacts the deck lid in the middle. It only has 2 supports. I think it really adds to the rear look of my Reatta. I have some pictures of my car viewed from the rear but I am not enough of a techie to figure out how to post them here. I'd be happy to send them to anyone interested.
  22. Most older Jaguar owners would be happy to only have the problems you have listed. My '90 Reatta has under 90K and I have replaced all the struts (wear item could happen to any car, replaced all the brakes and calipers, no ABS problems (again wear item), Relaced a side mirror, (previous owner driving ability problem) and a power window motor on the passenger side. It still has a nagging turn signal problem, sometimes the indicators blink, soemtimes they don't but the lights outside always work, and one cornering lamp doesn't light which is probably due to a burned out bulb. I view all this as minor problems that could happen on any highly optioned car with 90k and 12 years on the clock. With all car makes and models, there are good ones and bad ones. I don't think that the problems of the Reatta are any better or worse than similar cars of the same vintage. Maybe I'll have a different opinion in April when I haul it out of storage and experience a new rash of problems.<P>Greg
  23. Dan, I'm not sure where the switch is located but I had a similar problem with my 90. It turned out to be the emergency brake cables were rusted and hanging up in the sleeve. My car came from Chicago so I expect that had something to do with it. We just don't seem to have those kind of problems here in the Northwest. The parts were readily available and not too expensive to fix.<P>Greg
  24. This is an "I'm just curious" suggestion/question. I know that the Reatta isn't a Ford but on some '90's type Fords there was a fuel pump shutoff valve in the fuel line that turned off the fuel pump when the car was in an accident. This kept the fuel pump from feeding gas to a car on fire. Not a bad concept. Is it possible that the Reatta has something similar? On my old Ranger there was a reset knob under the carpet on the passenger side. Of course here it is stated that the car backfires so that doesn't sound like a fuel delivery problem...Does the Reatta have something like this?
  25. CReichert, If I understand correctly, your problem is with the brake warning light, not the taillights for the brake. I had a similar problem with my '90 and I traced it to the emergency brake cables not releasing completely due to rust (car came from Chicago). New brake cables put that little light out of its misery. The price for them also wasn't too bad either. <P>Greg
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