2seater

Dave is right. We live not far apart but have never met, although I may have seen one of Dave's stable on the road. Even many years ago, there were almost none around in the winter. Over the years I have noticed several but even though I went looking for them, I never was able to talk with the owners. I purchased mine almost twenty years ago and I looked at three others before I bought. The last one I actually saw parked, was in the downtown area for several days in a row. I stopped and looked at it, whitewalls (uggh) and the wrong muffler, but decent shape otherwise. This was late summer. I intended to stick a note under the wiper the following day but I never saw it again. I think Dave has the majority in this area.

The TV cable does move in tandem with the throttle but it connects to the transaxle vertically on the top side. It connects below the air intake hose. Nothing underneath. The gear indicator switches are also mostly on the top side and they all connect, along with the torque converter clutch, in a large plug at the top front of the transaxle. There are two or three switches, depending on model and the wiring runs under the trans. brace that connects to the drivers end of the engine. The switches do not control the trans. itself, they are only indicators as Ronnie stated.

In the early to mid-80's when the Buick Grand National was being produced, the Regal was also available with the same drivetrain, known as a Turbo T. More accurately, the Grand National was a high end model of the Regal. The engine itself is not compatible with the Reatta. It has a different bellhousing pattern for rear wheel drive cars. The 3800 has the same pattern as the 60* V6 Chevy engine. Even though the engine is a 3.8 Buick, it is a couple of generations older than the 3800, and considerably different internally. The turbo and injectors can be adapted to the 3800, with lots of custom fabrication and tuning, and is a complex DIY project.

I am not a transmission expert by any means, but it looks like no one else has a suggestion either. To the best of my knowledge, the modulator only has an effect on the shift firmness, by altering the internal line pressure. More vacuum = soft, less vacuum = firm/hard. To increase line pressure to maximum, disconnect and plug the vacuum line to see if it makes any difference in the ability for the transaxle to actually move. The throttle cable, which connects the throttle to the transaxle, will have a effect on the shift point. If the cable is disconnected, the trans. will shift up very early. If it is pulled out to the full throttle position, it will hold the gear much longer before it will shift.

Do you mean Vacuum Modulator?

The counterman at Gibbie's told me they call him the turkey man. The way it was said leads me to believe it is a term of respect and appreciation.

I like Jim's story and can sympathize with Dave's. My son drove in from Florida on the back side of the 1st storm, last week, and we intended just to go wander Gibson's ourselves but now the 7" of snow (predicted 2") has made that less than inviting. I still need headlight doors so I can fiddle with them over the winter but it looks like a delay is inevitable.

I honestly don't know if mine does or not and it is storage now, 15 miles away, so won't know soon. I have had all of that area apart for other reasons and do not remember anything like that. I believe mine is an early '90 car, like Aug or Sep. '89. It probably doesn't matter at this point, because it will be getting something even if I don't make the change. I have been running 80/100 bulbs in my Hella's for a long time, and could kick myself for forgetting about making that modification.

No, mine is a '90, but I am not certain if it has the headlight relay. In any case, I agree that relays would be a good idea and were in my plans due to my headlight switch going bad. I don't think it failed due to overload, but something broke inside because it wouldn't latch in the on position. They worked fine if the button was pushed and held.

I don't have the dimensions right at hand but the bulbs themselves are only 2.16" high. The actual headlight bucket is 3.125" total height, and probably be the bare minimum the carrier frame could be modified to. The headlight frame would probably have to be right down to the top of the clearance lights. I forgot a camera to take a pic of the raw lights sitting in place. What you mentioned is pretty much what I have in mind and it will be close. As an aside, I did find there are HID conversion lights available for the low beams for <$150, but the other interesting possibility is the "sealed beam" lights can actually be taken apart. The bulb carrier is just siliconed in place an can be removed, taking the halogen capsule with it. The recommended replacement bulb is the 9005 and 9006 Silverstar, which I just happend to have a complete set of. The replacement bulds insert correctly into the rear of the actual light housing and the location of the filaments is in the same plane as the original, so the beam distribution should be correct. The replacement capsule does need to be siliconed in place similar to the original, although I have seen reference to light housings that have a factory style bulb retainer at the rear. The last thing is the replacement bulbs have exactly the same connector as the original, so get the pigtail for the original lights if possible. My plan would be to add a relay to keep the low beam operational when the high beam is engaged. Not the usual practice in the GM tradition but it is allowed per FMVSS rules (if done from the factory), and my wifes PT Cruiser does actually use all four bulbs on high beam.

I did find the correct area at the pick-n-pull friday. Sort of close to a derelict Reatta were cars with the appropriate headlights and the most flexible of these being a '94 Pontiac Gran Prix. The lights are individually mounted in discrete steel frames, so all four lights are separate, which makes them very flexible for installation. The frames are self-contained and include all retention and aiming functions within a single package. They do just fit inside the confines of the Reatta headlight opening although I doubt they will clear the stock tilt mechanism? A fixed cover to mimic the headlight door may be necessary. Interesting that each light has a built in sideways angle meter as well as an up/down bubble level. These are not important, and may actually be in the way, but a nice feature in any case. May still come to naught, but for $20, I can afford to experiment. Hmm, just thought of something else. I may be able to re-route my intercooler piping for less elbows by using room now taken by the headlights. Regarding a different question I had posted: I never found a single 1988 3800 engine, or car for that matter. I can't say that they aren't there, but not obvious.

I do not know for certain, but the few times I have had the tower brace off, that stud was so rigid, I would bet it is welded in place. It was too firm to be just a captive bolt and never gave any indication of backing out like it was threaded in place. I looked in the FSM and only see notations for the nut, nothing about the stud itself. Oh, I stumbled across the little shock at the passengers end of the engine, referred to as "driveline vibration absorber". Apparently only used for NVH reduction, otherwise, not structural in any way.

I guess I will have to find what I am looking for the hard way. I wonder what other parts may have carried over or maybe even started early? The 1990 Buick Regal was the first to have the L27 engine, but of course that is visually different. Just for info. purposes, I found some information on the L27 camshaft, and it is even milder than the '89-90, at least on the intake lobe. The same exhaust lobe but seven degrees less on the intake lobe. Very strange and not what I would expect with a 5hp bump plus a little more torque. Perhaps the info. is wrong, the bump-up is fiction or it was done in some other way. The intake is obviously different, but the internals of the engine were exactly the same for the early L27 as the LN3. Thanks to all.

Thanks guys. That is what I was afraid of. Stuff being phased in and there is overlap from year to year. I guess a dial indicator will have to be used on a couple of pushrods to find what I am looking for.

I am pretty certain all 1988 engines have "3800" cast into the top of the intake plenum, and I am reasonably sure that the 1989 does not. I am asking if anyone has an engine that doesn't match this description and would let me know. I am looking for a visual way to sort out engines in a scrap pile. I have been looking for an '88 to scavenge the camshaft.

I concur w/Daniel, I just can't get a mental picture from the description. It almost sounds like one of the studs that the strut tower brace is attached to?

Just a guess, but possibly a crack in the overflow hose or connection. Upon shutdown there may be coolant shunted to the overflow from temperature rise but may not return to the radiator as it cools so the level looks normal.

Well, I will have to take another look soon. I see it is snowing steadily right now, so I will have to see what the week ahead looks like. Very small window ahead since Xmas is coming and have kids coming home for the holidays. I don't know if we will have a non-winter like last year but I keep waiting for that other shoe to drop, like most around here.

Nope, I guess I didn't get far enough up the hill. Must be behind the foreign stuff. Nuts. Just grabbed a couple of MAF's for the L27 model MAF I am running now plus a second spare 3" separate mount MAF, also a possible experiment to extend the flow range.

Yes I remember that Riveatta. I thought it was a great job but probably a bit more involved than I am speculating about. Maybe there are others that will bolt up too. Trofeo? I did take a walk through the pick & pull this morning and did not find a Cutlass version. I did find a couple of Camaro's, and I see the light mounting is plastic and extends across the entire front end, and supports part of the nose. That could be removed but the actual light mounts are offset front to rear by quite a bit on each end, due to the rather severe peak to the nose and the far outboard location. Not a good candidate. May come to naught?

Agree on the starting issue but apparently it can do it in the north country too. It does take a small amount of time for the system to go through its verification that everything is in order to start. Usually transparent but apparently its possible to catch it just right to cause this. As a matter of fact, I have a V6 Ranger with wasted spark and crank sensor system similar to the Buick and it can do the same thing.

Thanks to all for the input. I believe what Padgett suggested about headlight height to be true, as well as a styling item. I do know what the headlight requirements are and it also includes the requirement that they be as far toward the outside as practical, so inboard of the turn signal modules would be somewhat sketchy as to the legality. Originally I thought about some sort of projector lights in place of the existing assembly but cost prohibitive for an experiment. The low profile 4351 & 4352 rectangular lights from the aforementioned Cutlass/Camaro et al... of the mid-90's would seem to be a possible candidate, although the light output is said to be less than stellar. I did find that there are conversion housings available for these lights to allow removeable bulbs and HID kits available as well. I do not care about that at this time, but just the feasibility of the physical installation. The height of these bulbs is just a little over 2" so my first impression would be to install them above the front marker light bar and install a modified top cover for the existing pop-up housing with the down angle portion at the front removed so the lights are exposed with the cover forming a sort of eyebrow, sort of like the Camaro. A smoother look would be a replacement for the existing cover made from clear polycarbonate (Lexan?) with the upper portion painted to match and just the front left clear. The existing mechanism would be mostly in place so the door could be opened manually for bulb replacement or adjustment. Just an idea at this time. As to why. My lights work just fine and the only issues I have had are the headlight switch which was just replaced thanks to Jim Finn and the bellcranks were done about 10 years ago. I just find they are butt ugly (IMHO) when in operation. I probably drive using the fog lights at times I shouldn't, to avoid flipping the lights up. I don't imply it is practical or even logical.

I have toyed with the idea of stationary headlights for the Reatta, off an on, for a few years. A basic question is, will the headlights operate normally without the tilt motors being connected? I believe there is some feedback mechanism to keep them from closing if a light burns out, but not sure if the reverse may be true? I probably could have answered this basic question by trying it myself prior to putting the car away for the winter, but I didn't. Any input appreciated. This is a 1990.

Thanks for the video. Apparently they have the TPI version (L27) mixed in with the LN3 information, and don't know what they are looking at. Maybe the plastic cover throws them off? Boosts midrange? Sure sounds like the the TPI description. In any case, it was nice to see an upbeat review.

I wish I had Gen 3's but I do not have any of that style. Maybe sometime in the future if I determine a different flow rate is needed. I believe there was a post about a part number for the Gen 3 on this forum some time back, but I do not remember much more about it. The 19# fuel injector is a very common size and is used in many Fords and Chevies for their standard performance type V8 engines, in the 200-225hp range, such as a lot of the 5.0 Mustangs. Probably just do a search for 19# Bosch Gen 3? There are also newer injectors that have a different electrical connector. You need the EV1 style to connect directly. There are electrical adapters readily available to convert from one style to another.