luftweg

>> ...waving, greeting, signaling with other Reatta owners on the road ...<< Welly, welly.... I have YET to pass or see another Reatta on the road where I have driven so far... The Reatta will always(?) be there later, to welcome you back, if you choose to get one again.

I'm not sure if it says THEY do it. It DOES say: "DO IT YOUR SELF. PROGRAM 80% OF ALL DIGITAL READOUT DISPLAYS." That site seems to also say 1992-2006, although I'm sure it probably could do Reatta's, no? Of course, I'm not looking to do this... I'm wanting to find out IF it had been done to my Reatta... And geez, you'd think that a site dealing with computer programming would have a fancier webpage....

"You wrote 'registered' speedo shop.... does that mean they have to keep records on any changes in odometers and such?" Then again, I suppose someone could slip the programmer a C-note or something, to do it off-record...

LoL. Well, if they are 'the good stuff', they have to ALL be accounted for -- down to the single pill/capsule... The stuff that does make it to the floor usually will serve no one any purpose -- unless they just happen to be on it already (e.g., who would want an allopurinol or atenolol tab, unless they were already using it for their own gout or hypertension, respectively?) I speak only for myself, but I don't see anyone chasing after rolling prednisone tabs on the floor.... besides, it can be a bit dusty down there sometimes.... The last thing ya'd wanna be caught doing is lifting Viagras or such -- it just ain't a bit worth the potential trouble....

Should I first present the info that I have already found to the seller(basically that I found the seller's ad for the car with 20K more miles on it a year prior to me buying it), to give him an opportunity to 'fix things'?... or would that alert him, and give him a chance to 'hide evidence'?

Hey Padgett: You wrote 'registered' speedo shop.... does that mean they have to keep records on any changes in odometers and such? Is it then possible to determine if such a turnback procedure was done -- either through a record WITHIN the car, or one kept in a database?

I agree. Oil is best. Any metal that's covered with oil will not rust. Undercoatings that harden, often pull away from the metal, and can then allow a nice mixture of water and salt to remain in contact with that metal -- actually hastening corrosion. Of course, the oil has to be reapplied a certain amount of times to ensure that the metal remains coated, but it's probably worth it -- even if you have to do it 3 or more times during the season.....

>> CRT read 56F out and windy ... was freezing. << Of course, when it's cold out, and a girl is in a T-shirt, well, one can just imagine... God, I'm horrible.

I couldn't help but notice the missing center caps.... on the car, that is. But 'seriously' though, this sort of 'smut' is not in keeping with the 'purity' of Buick Motor Division! Besides! Couldn't she have at least worn shorts; I mean, there is no leg skin showing at all. BUT I love these pics!!!!! She seems kinda tall, is she? A pure Mid-West breed, no? A very sweet-looking nice girl. Is this your gf, or date, or .....? If not, ask her if she'd like to move to NH, and marry a pharmacist... K

Here is some more info on the sitch: http://www.carsearch.com/774013.htm http://www.carsearch.com/search/buick.htm http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=cannillo+reatta I have also attached a multi-pane pic showing the NY title and certificate of sale. NOTE: 1.) On the Google web search page, you can see that the seller lowered the price AND the miles on the car (how nice!), from a time when he apparently first tried to sell it in Summer 2004. 2.) On the title, there is a mysterious name (Greg M. Penn?) who happens to have the same address as the dealership. 3.) The dealer's home address is in NY-NY, but his dealership is half-way out on Long Island; if this was his personal car for a year as he said, and he drove back and forth, it would seem that he would have put more than 4,000 miles on it. 4.) I paid a little over $3K for the car, thinking that that would be okay for a nice condition Reatta with relatively low miles. 5.) The car was first placed online for sale on July 12, 2004, although the NY title date is in November, 2004. Anyway, is it possible that I'm mistaken here? I have not checked the 'chip' yet to see if the numbers matchup.... I do have a CarFax report, that has a long lag between the last recorded miles and when I bought it (although it WAS less miles then); this report also claims electrical work was done on the car (dashbaord?); I will dig this report out and post it (I think I gotta scan it)). RMV told me to call AG in NY, and also try to 'resolve' with dealer.... They also said I can 'claim' up to $1500 for the mileage change, through Consumer Affairs (I didn't understand what they were saying). Btw, I have had the car since May, and have put on 6 or 7k miles on it. K

>> I just wanted to congratulate you on your elevated status. (PharmD)<< Hey thanx that's mighty kind.... although I should mention that I don't feel that HIGH (and trust me, I keep my hands out of the cookie jar, as it were)... But the Board exams are gonna kill me, I just know it.... (an ominous sense of impending doom and defeat? or just agita?) Anyway, the Boards are my next gig.... and I'll be sure to tout that victory with braggadocio if and when...

Re: Dealer deliberately misrepresenting mileage. Hello: It has come to my attention (through a recent random internet search), that the dealer who sold me a 1989 Buick Reatta, Red, 2 Dr. Coupe, vin# 1G4EC11C9KB900149, seems to have had deliberately mis-represented the mileage of that vehicle. I bought the car in New York. When I first attempted to title and register the car in Massachusetts, it was noticed that there were discrepancies between the New York title and the dealer's NY certificate of sale. (The certificate of sale claimed mileage as actual; title stated 'not actual mileage' and 'mileage discrepancy'). Somehow I hadn't noticed this. The Registry told me I needed to get an affadavit (on their standard form) from the dealer verifying the mileage, before I could title the car in MA. Subsequently, I contacted the dealer; he agreed, and submitted a Mass. RMV Affadavit supporting that mileage was correct (i.e., what the dashboard read). On a recent internet search, I found that the dealer had listed the very same vehicle (same exact VIN and description), almost a year prior to my puchase, with much higher mileage. There are several locations on the internet with that information, and I strongly suspect that the dealer had changed the reading on the dashboard of the vehicle. The dealer also told me that he had been driving the vehicle, as it was his 'personal' car -- that would make the mileage even higher a year later! The car is nice, and you would believe that the mileage was correct, but of course I'm still p*ssed. Please, advise me on how to proceed with this matter. I never had something like this happen. Anyone have experience with similar? Small claims? MA Registry action? Some Federal agency? K thank you, Kenneth P. Clark, PharmD

Geez..... I wish I was not stuck up here in MA (not that I'm stuck-up, of course)... I would glady get into all the proceedings .... K

I was just wondering if any of this could be related to your little accident (something get bumped underneath?).

Yeah, if the V8 change was a big thing, then it would make more sense doing it with something with much significantly higher power than the L67 SC. Hey, try to shoehorn a V8 455 CI into it... do it as RWD... Did anyone see what Jay Leno did with a 66 Toronado? That car has a chevy 425 smallblock V8 engine up front, a torque tube running in a newly made tunnel, and then a transaxle tranny/final drive in the rear... A main problem with the 455 would be to set it up for fuel-injection and other 'proper' emissions systems so that you get a sticker. In lieu of the 455, there is the old Buick aluminum V8 215 (which is still supposedly used by Rover, and is bored and stroked to around 400 CI)... or just give up and go SBC.

Tom: Very interested in the convertibles.... I'm not far from you; I bought the red 88 parts car from you a couple of months ago... Call me, I left a message on your machine.. Kenni

I think that it's actually -- at least potentially -- bad for many of the moving parts in the drivetrain... The obvious is the wear on the gearshift linkage. Not so obvious would be that due to the change in 'slack' when the transmission is again engaged with the engine; the parts in question would be the CV joints, the final drive ring and pinion (hey, the Reatta DOES have a ring and pinion, is this right?), and the servos/bands in the tranny. Another issue might be the changing of angles of the engine pistons in their bores between upstrokes and downstrokes (anyone remember talk of this effect, especially with respect to lugging and braking with the engine on a manual transmission... and a reason that auto trannies are easier on engines?). K

Sure. The alternator stator or bridge rectifier could be sources of a 'short' (as I wrote before, a diode can end up passing current both ways (some 'newer' design bridges actually intentionally pass current both ways --this is not the case with Reatta), and a stator winding can end up shorting to the stator frame (this happens when the insulation burns off of the stator windings))... remember (and I'm 99% sure this is the case with the Reatta too), the alternator is always connected to the positive terminal of the battery whether the car is running or not running with the key off. To check for a slight short elsewhere in the car, one should really disconnect the terminals on the alternator to rule it out.

A fluctuation in voltage is perfectly normal, as long as it's between about 13.5 and 14.5 v... This is caused by the voltage regulator cutting in and out. Why does it do this?: The only way to get energy to go from the alternator to the battery is if the voltage from the alternator is higher than what the 'sitting' voltage of the battery would be (that is, if it were not connected with the electrical system). Contrary to some common belief, '12 v' cars actually run on voltages in the 13 to 15 volt range. When the voltage falls below a certain point (in this case somwhere in the mid-13 volt area), the regulator engages the field in the rotor of the alternator and causes current to be induced in the stator of the alternator (which also puts a torque load on it); this current both maintains the battery voltage and is used to run the rest of the electrical system (a heavy burden in a Reatta). When the voltage rises too high (the mid to upper 14's), the regulator stops the field current in the rotor (this releases the load from the engine and stops stator current). This 'cycling' continues all the time while the car is running, and is dependent on what is drawing on the electrical system and what rpm the engine is at (as well as what state of charge the battery is in). It's more obvious in the Reatta because of the digital gauge. When the car is off, the battery should be reading at least 2.1 volts per cell, or 12.6 volts total. If it's less, than either the battery has a 'bad' cell, or is otherwise on it's way out, or the electrical system (alternator) is not charging enough for some reason (which could be one of many). I have worked rebuilding alternators, starters, AC and DC motors, and have diagnosed charging/starting systems as a job before (did it for a few years, mostly part time and some full time). It comes in handy... Recently I had an interesting problem: My Reatta's voltage was starting to drop slowly (over a day or two), then the 'brain' (computer) told me there was an electrical system fault, when the voltage read about 13.1v... The voltage continued to drop over the next day or so, even though the car would start and drive... I swapped a known good battery, and the voltage was still getting lower... At that point I knew almost immediately the problem was either with the regulator or the bridge rectifier or stator in the alternator. I pulled the alternator off, and apart, and tested reverse current on all the diodes in the bridge rectifier; sure enough, one was passing current both ways... I went down to my old workplace and bought a new bridge rectifier (also, I replaced the front and rear bearings and brushes in the alternator); tested the voltage regulator too -- while it was out (it was okay). I think the total cost for parts was $25. Put it back together and on the car, and bingo, the codes cleared (of course, the battery had been disconnected while working on the car), and the voltage range quickly became 13.6 v to 14.5 v. K

But seriously, it depends on how non-ghetto it looks and how comfortable they are....

I have the same thing going on, BUT, I don't notice a correlation with temperature...

It'll give us the 'big geographic picture'

Can a PERMANENTLY mounted fuel pressure gauge be installed?? If so, what is the type to use? I know those old ones made by Holley and such seem to be just for carburetor-equipped engines, and are not for high pressures... K

>> ... My eyes are not as good as in my yout ... << What's a YOUT? lol.

I thought alot had to do with it being a 90 degree V6...