reattadudes

Champ, if Reatta windshields were $360 in 2003 and they are $1200 now, does that mean that the $1200 price is a "rip off?". no, it just means that prices have gone up. when you are the manufacturer, you can do whatever you want. by the way, they are selling three times more windshields at the higher price than the lower one. we bought new Reatta hub caps when they were $62.00 each (retail). now they are $131.00. is GM "ripping people off?. nope. if you bought your house for $50,000, and now it's worth $300,000, I guess you would be "ripping people off" selling it for $300,000 then, wouldn't you? some facts here: 1) for security reasons, a person CANNOT buy directly from a lock manufacturer. all sales are thru a licensed locksmith. 2) when we decided to buy the entire inventory, we made the deal with the manufacturer. however, it still needed to be sold thru a licensed locksmith. the free market system DOES allow the middleman (the locksmith) to make a profit. I do promise that we'll never make you buy a single thing from us. <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> Mike

Champ, I've spent some time going thru our customer list, and can't seem to find your screen name. are you speaking from experience with us, or just shooting from the hip? you're right, we're really ripping everyone off. my invoice shows the lock parts kit costs us $52.21 each. the priority mail (included in the $60) charge is $4.05. we don't use parcel post. should I be shopping for a vacation home with the proceeds? do any other posters here selling things take the time to tell you what their cost is for an item, or am I the only one? by the way, we sold all the kits available within hours. we'll have more available soon. Mike

we have purchased the entire remaining inventory of trunk lock parts left in the country. as many of you know, the exterior portions of the trunk lock assembly fall off, leaving an unsightly hole. the kit includes the following: -new shutter cap assembly. this the the section with the little door the key goes thru. black finish, just like the original. -the cap over the shutter section. this holds everything to the lock assembly. this is also black, just like the original. -and last but not least, the two tiny springs that suspend the last two parts to the lock assembly. availability is extremely limited at this time, with only five sets available. each set is $60, including shipping. we strongly recommend removal of the lock assembly for proper installation of the parts. anyone who has ever tried to repair one of these knows how difficult and frustrating it can be attempting to do the repair while still on the car. please contact us with any questions, or thru our web site at orders@buickreattaparts.com we do accept credit card orders thru paypal, with same day shipping. Mike, buickreattaparts.com (480) 239-2788 (Arizona)

I'll try to answer all of your questions. -the bulbs are very standard items. the parking lamps are 194NA (for amber), and are available just about anywhere. the fog lamps are also available just about anywhere. pull one out, and take it with you for a proper match. -the window regulator is not bad; it's the motor. replacing the motor is an extremely miserable job, so if you're not a real masochist, don't even try to do it yourself. your mechanic will tell you the regulator is shot, but it's only the motor. we've heard this from mechanics since we've been in business, and we always make them a friendly bet: if it's the regulator and not the motor, we'll send them the regulator free of charge. no one has taken us up on our offer yet. be sure to buy a new, quality motor from a quality parts house like NAPA (no Autozone junk here), or spring for a new Delco motor. this is definitely a place you don't want to use any used parts. the motor is a standard GM item, used on over fifty different GM cars. -motor and transmission mounts. again, a quality parts house like NAPA. these are (again) not Reatta-exclusive, and most E-body (Toronado, ElDorado, Seville, Riviera, and more) share the same mounts. -the struts are available just about anywhere. Reattas have independent rear suspension, so there are struts back there, too. no shocks. -interior parts. you can contact us for any of that. our web address is below. Mike, buickreattaparts.com

don't want to be the bearer of bad news here, but I seriously doubt they can take any dents out. the Reatta hood is amazingly strong, with a minimum of two layers of steel, with many sections having four layers. if a paintless dent guy can't get behind the damage, they can't be repaired. as a matter of fact, the paintless dent shop I have used for over ten years told me to never bring in another Reatta again. I wouldn't really worry too much about 'original', unless you have a car with less than 10,000 miles. modern paint techniques from a quality shop will produce impossible-to-detect results. Mike

there should be abolsolutely no reason that they should total your car for this damage. 1) they should not use a book value from Kelley Blue Book. they will try, as this will show an incredibly low value. 2) the Reatta is a collector car, and should be valued by either the CPI (Cars of Particular Interest) Guide, or Old cars Weekly Value Guide. either of these guides will put the Reatta value at a minimum of double what Kelley shows. if $5K was a breaking point in repairing a Reatta, we would be out of business. we have had many, many cars hit the $10K repair point (and beyond), and they were repaired by the insurance companies. as a matter of fact, I delivered parts to a body shop in Arlington (TX) in Decmeber, 2004. the parts cost alone was just under $5,000. the owner of the car (1989 Reatta coupe, 122,000 miles) had driven under the back of a semi. the insurance company (State Farm) paid over $11,000 to have it repaired. everything forward of the windshield (with the only exception being the drivetrain) needed to be replaced. the owners did not have 'stated value' coverage, but were just good State Farm customers. I've taken apart hundreds of Reattas over the past few years, and can assure you that they are incredibly strong cars, especially in the roof area where the tree hit. the parts it looks like you need are far from expensive (we've never even sold a single rear window since we've been in business, and the roof is not an expensive item, either), and I can't imagine the labor costs would be that high. this is a simple "cut it off, weld the new one on" repair, and does not require much disassembly of anything. it basically comes down to whether you really want to have the car repaired or not. we would be glad to help assist you in getting a fair settlement, whether you decide to have your car repaired or not. we do not ever charge for this help, and have helped Reatta owners get a fair settlement at least fifteen times per year. please feel free to contact us anytime if you need any help. Mike, buickreattaparts.com

two of the first cars we bought when we got started five years ago were high-mileage cars. both were 1988 models; one was from Connecticut, and the other from Rhode Island. they were both one-owner cars. I drove them both back to Arizona, and the first one had 499,982 miles, and the second, 499,966 miles when they arrived here. neither used a drop of oil, or skipped a beat. they both averaged over 30 MPG. the first one didn't always want to shift into overdrive, but lifting your foot from the accelerator took care of that problem. neither had ever had any internal engine or transmission work done; just normal maintenence. the 1990 convertible I drive regularly is a "low-miler" in comparison; it only has 406,000 miles. it has not had any internal engine or transmission work, either. it is quite difficult to ruin one of these engines; but it can be done, although it is difficult. we had a red 1990 coupe here from Dallas that the owner had driven for 50+ miles (when drunk) with a blown radiator hose. the engine stopped running when it overheated, but did start right up the next day once it cooled off. we bought a 1990 gunmetal gray coupe here in Arizona recently from it's 17 year old owner. he took the prize, and did ruin the engine. he owned the car for six days. it was kind of sad, as we had worked on this car before for it's previous (original) owner, and it was like new. Mike

Richard, either try www.buickreattaparts.com, or reattadudes@aol.com either address will work. Mike

we are the vent glass supplier to Pilkington, and we have had many conversations about windshields. the $1200 is a triple-net price, meaning this is the lowest price they will sell for. no further discounts are allowed. the price on the windshields went up in early 2004 from $360 to the present $1200. they are now selling three times as many windshields now as they did before the price increase. they may date-code a windshield, but the logo will not be correct. the original Reatta windshields had an open square with the "L-O-F" logo in the center. later L-O-F windshields had a solid black square, with the L-O-F logo in the center. the Pilkington logo is totally different, and I'm sure would not be considered "correct" in 400 point judging. making windshields is quite an involved process. is the glass too soft? is there any distortion? is it the right size? does the encapsulation fit properly? we've had many discussions with companies about remanufacturing parts for Reattas. the first question they will ask is "how many?". they need a definite answer, and the price will be based on this. they will also want a considerable amount of cash upfront (like about $150,000) to make this happen. we've just been thru this over and over again with many different items. Mike, buickreattaparts.com

Richard, as Mark Twain once said, "reports of my demise are greatly exaggerated". we are certainly still here, and doing quite well. I was just in Southern California (Glendale, Pacific Palisades, Oceanside) earlier this week delivering parts to customers. I really haven't been on this site for quite a few months. I wouldn't even have known about this post, except three customers called me in the last half hour to tell me. just wanted to let everyone know we were still here. Mike, buickreattaparts.com

Padgett, I do stand corrected. I've always been confused by the FWD/RWD 3800/3.8 issue. I've been told that the only thing they share is displacement, as the RWD version does not have balance shafts. is this correct? Mike

I would say no to that one. during the time the Reatta was built, things had changed considerably from the "good old days". specifically, any engine or transaxle change would require a complete 100,000 mile-plus EPA (and GM) durability cycle, and it just wasn't worth the trouble for such small numbers. there is a big difference between building a non-standard paint or color combination, and changing a drivetrain. there was never a manual transmission offered for any 3800 engine. the largest V-6 engine GM offered with a manual transmission was the 3.4 litre. it was only available with the manual in the Lumina Z34 and certain specific Grand Prix models. this is not to say that some unusual cars have not and will not surface. many of the prototypes have ended up in private hands, especially the hands of folks close to the Reatta project. in the next few years, I think quuite a few more will surface as people either stop driving or pass on. it will be a very interesting next few years! Mike

Barney is exactly right. neither of us are predisposed to arguments; we just look at things differently. with selling Reatta parts being my business, I receive many calls from customers both new and old. one week here answering phones would change a disbelieving person into a convert about what is out there. for example, we have a very good customer in the Palm Springs area. he has owned ten Reattas, and presently has four. he is also a certified car nut, and knows Reattas inside and out. for those not familiar with Palm Springs, this is a highly concentrated area for Reattas. we have over 100 customers in this area alone. recently Marc saw a 1990 convertible that was an unusual color. it was not gold (driftwood), but beige. specifically, Camel Beige, GM color #57. this was not a color "available" on Reattas, but was a standard GM color in 1990. however, here it was. no, it wasn't an Earl Scheib repaint, but was the original color ordered by the original and present owner. it had matching moldings, and a saddle top and interior. I just talked to Marc this morning, and the next time he sees it, he will get the VIN number, and if possible, the numbers on the sticker in the trunk. Marc's first Reatta was a 1990 coupe that was driftwood with a garnet red (burgundy) interior. this was another unusual color combination. I have talked to literally thousands of Reatta owners over the years. one thing that has struck me was the absolute sincerity of everyone. I also noticed that by and large they are a very intelligent bunch, and not prone to stretching the truth. after all, we're not dealing with a bunch of stoner kids with slammed Mitsubishi Eclipses here. if they tell me something, I generally believe it, and don't need to see any documentation for me to believe it is true. they have absolutely no reason to make anything up. my beliefs along these lines come from not only being a car nut, but also a new-car dealer for over ten years. I've seen a lot of strange things over the years that defy explaination. for example, back in 1986, I was in Thousand Oaks (CA) doing a dealer trade on a new Dodge. still on a transport truck were seven new dark blue Fifth Avenues. these were built for the Secret Service for use near Reagan's ranch north of Santa Barbara. the cars all had a gold stripe (dark blue and gold are the Presidential colors), even though this was not an allowable color combination. the stripe would had either been silver or blue. the window sticker showed a "blue stripe", yet here was a gold stripe. Chrysler's internal computer would not allow the input of an unallowable color, so blue was input, even though gold was installed. this is the same explaination given to me about a lot of the variants of Reattas. I believe them, and know in the future that this will be found to be true. I did call on the 1991 Reatta convertible (now sold) that was for sale on ebay at Peacock Buick in Virginia. although it looked black, it was indeed dark blue (specifically code 28, midnight blue metallic, or black sapphire in Cadillac-speak). this would certainly be an interesting one for Barney to follow up on, as the VIN number was clearly displayed in the listing. I firmly believe that there were many Reattas that were painted non-standard colors at the factory. I don't necessarily know exactly how this difference was recorded, but I know what I've seen. Barney is exactly right about the Reatta project employees being the best of the best, with even the assembly workers being hand-selected. this just backs up my understanding that the Craft Centre was given virtual carte blanche to do whatever they felt was best to satisfy their customers, without the usual GM hierarchy. Mike

Barney, you are right about not having a conversation with anyone from Vermont. the gentleman was from Toronto, and had a lodge in Vermont. I had given you the Vermont address, but you had communicated with him via email. my notes show the photos being sent to you on January 22, 2003. a maui blue/saddle convertible would indeed be hard to forget. we met him at the Barrett-Jackson auction in January, 2003 in Scottsdale. I remember this because he called me the next day to tell me that you felt the car was not the real thing. he was quite upset. I never suggested that this was run like a "kit car" company. however, all the management I have spoken to said it was run like no other GM factory. I can't think of any other GM facility that had a customer/factory liason like Tony Alberto. he is the one who personally delivered Barbara Sinatra's car to the Sinatra compound in Palm Springs, and did so for many high-profile clients. Bob Thompson (project manager) also mentioned that if they ever had a car that had problems out in the field of a serious nature, they would build a duplicate within 24 hours and replace the problem car immediately. does this sound like standard GM procedure and protocol? I think not. several points: -if there was nothing off standard that was not recorded, how did Frank Sinatra Jr's three convertibles all come out of the factory with modified Corvette exhaust systems? -I have said for several years that Reattas (also) came out of the factory with non-standard paint. I have seen five white diamond Reattas. right now, there is a black sapphire (blue) 1991 convertible for sale. here is another color that was never available on a Reatta (this is considerably darker than the 1988-1989 sapphire blue), but here it is. I doubt that this was a repaint: it was available on just about every other GM car in 1991, just not on a Reatta. Peacock Buick (sellers of this car) has been around forever, and this just reinforces what Tom Payette had mentioned about the factory bulding whatever the dealer wanted. I'm sure this was especially true in 1991, when dealers couldn't move Reattas at all. -there is no question that the seats could (theoretically) be used in another E-body GM car. this is unlikey, however, as all other E-body lines with the exception of the Toronado already offered white interiors. the seat and sew styles were also quite different. Mike

Barney, its not always a matter of owners not wanting the information made public; it is also our desire as well. I don't feel that this data is required to be in the public domain. I have personally seen 183 new Reattas over the past four years, and do know where every one is. whether it is the two 1991 black convertibles in rural Kentucky, or eleven brand new Reattas in a climate-controlled building in the Cleveland area, the owners' secrets are safe with us. why? these folks deserve their privacy. if their information and location is made public, there will be a bunch of people who will be going to have a look at them. if the owners of these cars wanted to sell them (or show them), they would. at the present, most just want to keep them, for whatever reasons. there have been a few of the cars that have been sold recently. we helped to put a buyer and seller together this past August on a 1990 convertible in central California with 9 miles on the odometer. the sale price was $67,000. by the way, the lucky buyer turned it into a daily driver. nothing like a brand-new 16 model-year old car! we have passed on information before to you about several unusual cars we have seen (that maui blue/saddle 1990 convertible that was used on the Canadian Auto Show circuit comes to mind), and lets just say that the owners did not appreciate being "raked over the coals" about the authenticity of their car. we won't let that happen again...we have way too much respect for them. by the way, the Canadian gentleman who owns that car (he is the one I sent you his ski lodge address in Stowe, VT) sent us photos later showing the car on the auto show turntable, complete with its matching mirrors that were so much "in question". as everyone associated with the Reatta project has told us, the much-vaunted production log, to put it mildly, is not accurate (I believe the term was 'a work of fiction'). we know from what we have seen to believe their statements, not the log's. Tom Payette, a former Buick dealer in Lousiville, KY, has mentioned several times before having the Buick rep come in and ask what special car they could build for him. we have seven photos from a large Buick dealer in Cleveland (not the same one that has the eleven new ones) which show seven different Reatta convertibles (they were NOT select sixtys), all with white interiors. these were some of the most striking cars I've ever seen, with the silver/silver moldings/white leather with gray trim being my favorite. of course, there is not one of these in the "production log" showing a white interior. hmmm. we went thru the same thing with the maui blue/white leather convertible that we sold at Barrett-Jackson in Palm Beach in 2003. you asked for the interior numbers on the data sticker in the trunk; it showed a blue interior. there was no code in 1990 for standard seats in white leather, so what should the code HAVE said? as the Reatta project folks have said repeatedly, they ordered about 500 sets of white seats, not just 65 sets for the 1990 select sixty convertibles. as Tony Alberto said, "do you think that GM could order 65 of anything?" you backed this up yourself when you pointed out that white door panels were still available in your 1993 parts catalog. if there were only, say, 80 pairs of these made (65 select sixtys, plus some replacements sent thru the parts network), there wouldn't be any extra ones left three years later. another good example is the red convertible for sale right now on ebay. pull up that window sticker, and see "black cloth convertible top". it wasn't so long ago that many believed that there were never any cloth tops factory installed on convertibles, based soley on the fact that they had never seen one. my partner Randy and I disputed this (and were ridiculed for it), and then a lowly assembly worker with a scrapbook pulled out several photos of convertibles coming off the line with cloth tops when we were in the meeting in Flint in 2003. 'nuff said. we have hundreds of photos of Reattas that we have seen. as many say, "read about everything in the book". as we get closer to finishing the book, (and several magazine articles coming up), we will be posting here for photos of forum members' fabulous cars (even the modified ones!) for both the book and magazine articles. don't look for any photos of our own cars, however: this is about all of you, not us. we love to see all the passionate owners here, and don't feel this passion is best expressed by a 400 point judging system, but by seeing your very own car in a magazine article...and we promise not to bust you for non-stock valve stem caps. Mike

I know where there are two more black/flame red 1991 convertibles. a GM dealer in rural Kentucky has them. they are both still brand new, and sitting (inside) on blocks. I saw them about two years ago. Mike

there are actually over 4,000 changes that were made from 1990 to 1991, and the majority were items that you couldn't see. one of the biggest changes was with the electrical system. the 1988-1990 Reatta used a Central Power Supply (CPS) to control most interior functions (windows, door locks, interior lighting, radio, A/C, etc.). in 1991, the CPS was eliminated; all wiring is different. there is no question that the 1991 models are by far the most valuable. there have been several convertibles we know of that have sold within the past year in the $40,000 range. these were all cars with less than 10,000 miles. a nice coupe with low mileage will easily bring $15,000. they will only go up in value. I do stand by our original statement about the number of 1991 Reatta convertibles that were sold. there were 106 cars that were destroyed; 46 that were put in the GM executive program and sold to GM employees in a lottery system with they reached 7,500 miles. the balance (153) which were sold thru the normal dealer network. as far as the 106 destroyed cars go, some were sent to trade schools first, with the expressed understanding that they be destroyed when they were finished with them. GM was quite specific about this, requiring that the drivetrain and all wiring be removed, and then the balance of the car be cut in three pieces. this does not mean that all the "destroyed" cars met with this fate. we have the first prototype convertible here, and it had been donated to a trade school in Santa Barbara, California. we found it in a wrecking yard in Santa Barabra, and bought it. the only thing that had been removed was the engine and transmission. this car has only 82 miles on the odometer. it has a 1988 serial number, and a 1990 dashboard. even the air bag assembly has "001" engraved on the back with a Dremel tool, and all the struts have "GM engineering prototype" labels on them. for those who don't believe that the "grim reaper" doesn't get them all, just watch the reruns of the Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale. that 1953 Bonneville that they featured was scheduled for the crusher, too. the reason that we stand by the numbers is that the person who was in charge of the 1991 convertible program, Tony Alberto, is a customer of ours. he spent seven months in Florida overseeing all the testing, and remembers the actual numbers. he drove a "#1" (destroy) car the whole time he was there, and said he couldn't tell the difference between the cars that were to be destroyed, and the cars that were to be sold. the decision was not up to him, however; the decision was left up to the project engineers. his information is also backed up by Bob Thompson (also a customer). Bob was the Reatta project manager, and still has one of the executive program cars. it is black with a slate gray interior, and stays at his winter home in Florida. it amazes me how many of these 1991 convertibles are out there. we presently have 43 customers who own them, and just picked up another new customer today. he lives in Florida, and has two identical ones, both white/white top/white moldings, and flame red interiors. one has 3,200 miles, and the other 18,000. as far as the Gary Witzenburg article in Collectible Automobile goes, I found it left a lot to be desired. there was a lot of incorrect information, and I was amazed how few forum members had photographs of their Reattas featured. I was really surprised, because forum members have some of the nicest Reattas on the planet. it seems strange that there was not a posting on the forum for photographs of member's cars for the article. Mike, buick reatta parts.com

Barney, the factory bellcrank assembly is still available from GM (GM part number 16510108) and does indeed include the rubber bumper. the crank assembly is not $150, but is available from gmpartsdirect.com for $66.00. it is sold as a complete assembly, and does not require any assembly in the hinge portion. I still have the "half" crank assemblies that you had given me, and have had no luck whatsoever making them work. I thought it was my own stupidity, so I sent them to a customer who is an automotive engineer at GM. he had no luck either, pointing out that the factory crank assemblies had a ball swivel and lock washer at the hinge point to allow free movement, which the rigid attachment with a nut and bolt of your design will prevent. he also felt that the nut would loosen over time, as it will be in an extremely high-torque position. the factory design had the free movement allowed with the ball swivel arrangement. I realize that the factory design does leave a little to be desired concerning the "rounding out" of the hole. however, with an average lifespan of about ten years, its more than good enough for me. Mike

Actually, many of the roads in Arizona are in excellent shape. however, I drive on over six miles of dirt roads before I even encounter the luxury of a paved road. these roads are either dusty washboards or foot-deep mud when it rains. I based my opinions on all of these conditions, not just the smooth roads. the most important thing to remember on any Reatta, regardless of tire manufacturer, is the tire pressure. it should NEVER exceed thirty pounds. many of the tire jockeys automatically put in the maximum listed on the sidewall (usually 35 PSI), and the Reatta will ride like a rock, as well as bounce on every bump. it was not designed for the newer high-pressure tires. Mike

Doral tires are very low-line tires manufactured by the Suni Rubber Company in Indonesia. we just had a Reatta arrive here with a set. three of them have tread separation. the tires are about a year old. if you are looking for excellent tires for your Reatta, the Kumho Touring 732 is unbelievable. you can find them at tirerack.com for about $47 each. I've gotten rid of all the Michelins on my cars (with the exception of one; Kumho doesn't make a whitewall in a 16 inch size), and the Kumhos are far superior. Mike

just wanted to put my two cents worth in about the quality of convertible tops here. when we decided to start selling Reatta convertible tops over three years ago, we bought both the Haartz cloth and vinyl versions from the four top specialty companies who manufactured them. Electron was one of the companies. we then took one of our own Reatta convertibles to the auto upholstery shop that we have used for over fifteen years. the shop then put each of the eight tops on, and rated them for ease of fit, quality of materials, and finish quality when on the car. we observed every top installation. the Electron tops were by far the worst. so bad, in fact that both the cloth and vinyl tops had the rear windows sewn in crooked, off by two inches on one side. both tops were the same. a call to Electron had them offering the top to us for free if we would keep it. we threw both of them away. we have had customers in New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Illinois, and California that had very similar experiences with Electron tops. we saw the bad quality from Electron when two of our customers sent us their old Electron tops after they received the new ones from us. poor quality would almost be expected from a cheap top; however, the Electron tops were the most expensive by far. I'm sure many Electron tops probably come out perfect. I'm just not sure if the problem with the Reatta tops is because of a bad pattern, or bad workmanship becuase it isn't one they make very often. once we found the company (NOT Electron) with by far the best quality, we went to see them personally. they are located in the southeastern part of the US. we had them change the top just for us, to correct some inherent problems with the design. by the way, the Reatta top is an expectionally easy installation compared to a "regular" convertible. why? the Reatta top is only attached to the top frame, not the body like a regular convertible. we would still strongly advise always having a professional do the installation. there are many small parts with springs, clips, etc., that can easily fly off and disappear. you wouldn't want to know how much a lot of these impossible to find parts cost...and we'd rather not sell them, either. let the professional do their job, and they don't need a video to do it. when the Reatta came out, there weren't a lot of cars with this top design, but there are now. there were three areas that we felt needed improvement: 1) the section over the side windows. our tops are cut one inch longer over each side, so the top gaskets above the side glass are completely covered. this eliminates about 95% of the common water leaks from either old tops that have shrunk, or inferior quality new tops. the tops also have a more tailored look when the gaskets are covered. by the way, this is the same way the top looked when a new Reatta was delivered to a customer. 2) the rear of the top. as most Reatta convertible owners know, the top rarely comes flush with the tonneau cover when the top is up, resulting in what we call the "flood pants" look. our tops are cut two inches longer in this area, so the top fits flush with the tonneau cover. this results in a superior appearance, too. 3) the rear window. as many owners know, the rear windows have a tendency to delaminate, or come loose from the top itself. this is caused by the adhesive that holds the window drying up and causing the window to leak, or worse, fall in. the basic problem here is that the glass is too heavy to be supported by the adhesive alone. we addressed this issue by having two rows of matching stitching sewn around the rear window, helping to stabilize the glass, and eliminating the adhesive doing all the work of holding the glass in. the real irony with the tops is the cost. a vinyl top with a heated glass window from us is $689; a Haartz cloth top is $889. both prices include insured Priority Mail shipping, and there is no tax. it appears that the Electron tops start at $950 for the vinyl top, with the Haartz cloth being considerably more. that doesn't include tax or shipping, either. for those concerned with originality, the Haartz cloth tops were actually available on both 1990 and 1991 Reatta convertibles from the factory. they also give the car the rich and expensive look that is so sadly missing with the vinyl top. we sell about 90% of our tops in the Haartz cloth, with the only vinyl color ever requested being white. the only cars that the white tops have been requested for are either Select Sixty or Maui Blue cars, but we have had many customers buy Haartz cloth tops for these, too. our tops are also available in over eighty colors. if you would like some custom work (embroidery, contrasting stitching color), we can have that done, too. as far as installation costs go, it can vary greatly. the shop we use charges $250, but Arizona is a fairly inexpensive state. we have found a way to get the top installed very reasonably just about anywhere, though. don't call a shop for an estimate; wait until the top arrives. put it in the car, and drive to a few shops. when they see you are serious and not just shopping, the price will drop dramatically, because it's immediate work for them. we have had customers in both Westchester County, NY, and the Boston area pay about $350 for installation by doing it this way. they were both quoted prices in the $700-$800 range (or more) over the phone. winter is also a great time to get them done, as the shops are not as busy as during the warmer months. hope this helps to clear up some of the convertible top confusion. they are NOT all the same, and top quality doesn't always cost more. Mike, buickreattaparts.com

we are happy to announce that we are FINALLY next in production for the sun visor clips. we have decided to hand over the entire project to our distributor, as we have way too many projects on our plate. PRE-INTRODUCTORY OFFER: the first 500 clips will be available for $25 each, plus shipping ($3.85 for up to 10 clips). this offer will be for the folks here on the forum ONLY. you can buy as many as you want at this introductory price. for those of you familiar with the clips, they are a nearly impossible-to-find item, and have recently sold on ebay for over eighty dollars each. they will be available in all five Reatta interior colors. please contact our distributor DIRECTLY, not us. his name is Russ Vanwyk, and he will be working with us on other remanufacturing projects. he is a great guy, and eager to work closely with all the Reatta owners here. his email address is: Buickreattaclip@yahoo.com he will need the following information from you: name, address, number of clips you would like, color, phone number, and best time to call, and email address or fax number, if available. we will be posting links for the clips from our ad in Hemmings Motor News and from our web site, but will hold off for thirty days to allow everyone here to have the first chance at the clips at this introductory price. Mike, buickreattaparts.com

we just found one of the RWD prototypes in a barn outside of Augusta, Georgia. it is completely intact and running. we are trying to negotiate with the owner to buy the car. the RWD prototypes used the Corvette independent rear suspension, and from what I could see, the trunk space as about half what the normal Reatta has, due to the RWD setup. the driveshaft tunnel appears to be a sheet metal affair. this is one of the dark gray cars, with matching painted bumpers, the aftermarket wheels, and even all the ground effects are intact. the interior is dark gray and black, with the suede inserts in the seats and the carpets being black, the rest the standard dark gray. been away from here for a while,and really glad to see that a parent finally picked up that nasty child who was posting. Mike

there is no way to have a windshield tinted brown instead of blue. these are certainly not "made to order" items. throughout the entire Reatta production, there was only one company that made a Reatta windshield, and that was L-O-F. L-O-F (Libbey-Owens-Ford) was sold to a British company, Pilkington, in the mid-1990's. the only upper windshield tint color was blue, and all Soft-Ray (GMspeak for factory tinted glass) glass had the blue shading. I am in complete agreement with other forum members here: first, Padgett, as they do indeed fade to a gold-brown color as they age, and to Mr. F14, who believes this windshield is not new, but "new to this car." Mike

we have Dunlop wires with 2 blade spinners on our black 1990 convertible. I don't have the capabilites to take digital photographs, unfortunately. wire wheels are exceptionally easy to keep clean. the only product to buy is Eagle1 chrome/wire wheel cleaner. spray it on, hose it off. be sure to follow the directions carefully. be aware that wire wheels will increase the unsprung weight, as they are about twice the weight of the standard Reatta alloy wheels. this may make a slight difference in ride quality, but certainly not to the extent of a 17" or 18" low-profile tire would make. Mike