Cargirl

Thanks Barney. Does the trim piece that runs the length of the door just pry off? It is on there very securely right now, does not give at all.

I need to run a wire from the trunk to the engine comp. It looks like the best way would be to come down from the rear speaker, under the plastic trim piece that runs between the door sill plates and the carpet and thru the firewall. Is that the best route? How do I remove that trim piece that runs under the door? There are no screws, does it just pry off? One more question, I need to remove the tray that is right about the CD player and below the radio. I am going to mount a switch there. Does the trim plate just pop off which would expose the CD player and just pull out the tray? I hate to start prying things off and break something!! Thanks guys!

Fiero hater may be too strong a term but not a big fan. I like the looks of the Fiero (Pontiac's in general actually) but had the opportunity to drive my friend Julie's Fiero in the 80's. I have never felt as unsafe in a plane, train or automobile ever. It was like driving a glorified go-kart that a neighborhood kid built himself. Way too low to the ground, no suspension, jarring, and generally gave you the feeling you would be meeting your maker soon. I am surprised insurance companies would even offer to insure such a death trap. I think it was a 1984 model and sometime after I drove it, it caught fire and burn away into oblivion. Julie was sad about losing her car but I thought to myself that perhaps the day that car burn up was the best day of her life and she didn't even know it.

Fiero, really?

Today I got in the mail a book I purchased on EBAY called "Reatta, The Premium American 2-seater. by Buick". This book was a Buick publication. It states "we set out to create the best elements of a sports car and a luxury car into one." It also mentions in one other place on the opening page that to drive the car is a sports car experience without the limitations of many sports cars, bone jarring ride, no storage, hard to get in and out of and such. Just sayin.

Looks like it's in great shape, what a beauty! Great color combo-NICE!

Posting photo's: On the quick reply menu there are icons on the top, right about where the print is that you are typing. The third icon from the right is the one you click on and it will prompt you to insert image. That's it, east peasy

Still having trouble with the ECC/HVAC tang thingy. Any further instruction on removing the tang from the housing would be appreciated. I heard a "crack" today and stopped as i figured I was doing it wrong. It still works however.

Not to steal the thread but for leather, Lexol is the best conditioner available. They also sell a leather cleaner as well and it works fantastic. I cleaned and conditioned my steering wheel using Lexol products and it looks like new.

I like the two tone Reatta look. What color is your interior? A matching color to the accent paint would be very pretty! It reminds me of lots of the C4 Corvettes and 1980's 442's that had a similar color scheme.

You may want to take a look here: http://www.eastcoastreattaparts.com/ He has many parts for our cars and is a member of this forum. Good luck with your car!

Isn't life great when your expecting a knock down drag out repair and it's fixed fairly easily!

The all black bezel looks great! I agree with you, better all black than 1/2 the chrome removed. Depending on the condition of the chrome on all your bezels here is a huge tip for the group. Sharpie now makes a silver metallic pen that looks very much like chrome. When you apply it it comes out pretty thick and covers very well. It works extremely well for chrome trim that has black seeping through. I did not need to do this trick with my Reatta but both my 1974 and 1983 Oldsmobiles have had this treatment. The repair is virtually invisible and really freshens up your interior. This would not work with 1/2 the chrome gone like in your case PontiacDude as you would be able to tell where the sharpie lines are and the original chrome is. For a case like yours (not that you would want to do this as your repair looks great) but for someone that wanted to retain the chrome look, you would have to do the whole trim line with the sharpie to look right. I did the script "Oldsmobile" glovebox emblem 100% and it looks great, just like new.

What a beautiful color combo, very nice!

Update: I removed the bezel and got to the radio. I could not figure out how to remove the ECC unit wiring so it stayed on. I did remove the radio and all removed and reattached the wiring harness. I am not sure which ones were the speaker wires--the ones on the bottom? I did not do the speaker check since I was not sure which ones were the speaker wires. I did discover that the antenna wire was not connected tightly and now get lots of radio stations. The guy i bought the car from told me it did not get very good reception, now I know why. So, that's a very good thing! The system sounds so good with the two working Kenwoods and one Polk Audio on the passenger door. I did keep the tweeter hooked up and it does sound great, good advice! Maybe I should have given the module a smack with a hammer? LOL

Thanks for clearing that up for me Barney, I thought it was just me. Next time I am at a pick a part I will look for that and a transmission cooler as well. I still have that as a mental note from another thread

What is the deal with the oil filter placement on this car? Wow, what a nightmare. Is it just me? It is so hard to reach and all the normal oil filter removal tools just don't quite work. I had to take it to a local oil change place and they were nice enough to use the Mobil 1 I had already purchased. My father in heaven must have shed a tear at me actually paying someone to do an oil change :mad:

Thanks for the advise Ed, I will attempt it again tomorrow. I have been toying with replacing the capacitors myself but I am so bad at soldering it's embarrassing. Probably best to get the whole thing checked out and serviced. Your Oldsmobile is very beautiful, a real 10! There's nothing like the feel of an Oldsmobile

I had two issues to deal with since I bought my '91. The stereo which is another post and a error code 041. I finally replaced the cam sensor today and the code when away. Hip Hip Hooray! That being said, the car idles and runs so much better, it's amazing. My other two Reattas always ran so smoothly and I was hoping the 041 was the issue with a rough idle and it was in spades. For anyone with a 041 issue and the much harder magnet replacement, it is worth it to take the time and effort to sole this problem. The joy of a smooth and more powerful performance is worth it!

I attempted to remove my radio today but stopped to avoid trouble. I removed the two torx screws in the HVAC ducts and the right side bezel popped off but the rest of seemed very tightly in place. Am I missing any screws or anything or should I just pry harder? I would hate to break it so I thought posting would be the better part of valor so to speak.

I made up my handy dandy tester today using a D cell battery. I tried it out on a speaker in the garage and yes, it crackled. I will attempt to pull the radio tomorrow and see what happens. I am not sure I am up for soldering in new capacitors but we shall see what we shall see. Ronnie, thanks for the advise on the tweeters, I was wondering what was best!

A very interesting commercial promoting the luxurious and sporty Reatta. Enjoy!

The balance & fade control is integrated into the unit. Yes, I did attempt to put all the power to the front right speaker and nothing is coming out. I am not sure what you mean by a module? The other 3 speakers work just fine at this point.

In my opinion the Reatta is already a collectible car. If you look at prices for Select 60 models and convertibles in excellent shape, people are asking and getting good money for these cars. Trust me I know after a 6 months search for a convertible. Other than a Corvette, what other 1990 and 1991 model cars are people asking 12-20 thousand dollars for? Mustang? Camaro? Any Mopars? Even the 1990 and 1991 Corvette prices are way down. I see good examples of Reatta's turning up at major televised car auctions, on the pages of Hemmings and the like. I have only taken my car to one car show here in Phoenix since I bought it but I can tell you, it drew lots of attention and people loved the car. Another indicator is Hagerty insurance accepted the car and deems it collectible and they do not accept many 1988-1991 model year cars. I asked him what the Hagerty valuation guide listed and he told me $20,000. You can look it up at www.hagerty.com if you like. The Reatta is a rare and special car and has a unique story as well. Time will be good to this model car, of that I am sure.

Looks good! 200,000 miles-impressive! Here to another 200k!