bhclark

Did a little more investigating on the parking brake before I have to leave for the day. When released, the cable hangs low, the drivers's side rear cable is taught, but the passenger side is very free and loose. Driver's side is about 1/4" from against the stop, passenger side it at the stop. When set, the cable get taught under the door, and the driver's side wheel will still spin, while the passenger side wheel will not roll by hand. The passenger side cable is pretty crusty at both ends and should probably be replaced, but I'm not sure that's the problem. I'm assuming I should replace the rear cables as a set?

Well, I guess I'm not going far after all. Today, I get in the car to go pick up my nephew and the red brake light is on....ARGH! I'll have to do some troubleshooting tomorrow or Thursday, but based on my brake test results, any ideas on where to start?

Thanks for spelling it out! I wasn't grounding the light green wire. Electrical certainly isn't my strong suit....not sure I have a strong suit! I am now able to move the seat forward and back using a battery and some leads. I now have access to the rear bolts. I will put the repairs off for just a while now that I can position the seat correctly for my son and I to get some driving in. Taking it out today! Thanks! You guys are awesome!

Yes, I have had it disconnected and reconnected several times. I have not heard any click or indication that the motor is trying to move either forward or reverse. There is enough slack with some effort, I will try grounding through the harness as you suggest. At this point, I would welcome a mechanical method of moving the seat. I'm leaning toward a sawzall through the floor at this point! Thanks!

Thanks. I'll wait to hear from Jim.

Another fun thing! These fell off the front end somewhere when I was replacing the serpentine belt. I've shot a pic of the rear body mount as well. Weird how this car has so little rust for an Ohio car, but all the rubber seems shot. What am I looking at in the second picture?

I took the rear wheels off and inspected the caliper area. I see the spring at the end of the cable. They appear to be pushed all the way toward the back making the cable as tight as it can get? Correct? Is this readily apparent or is it an internal failure? Here's a shot of the connection in the rear. Is that where the intermediate cable ends? Does the other end go all the way to the pedal or does it get attached at the compression clip just to the front of the seized bolt? I've emailed Jim as well to see if he has another. Thanks!

Awesome. Thanks. Now if I can find a spare fuse box and "directional signal connector bodies" so that we don't have to harvest from the original, that might save some time.

Email sent to Rhode Island Wiring, no 1958 harness is listed in their on-line catalog. Cars lists wiring harnesses for 1958, but only for convertibles? Can't imagine there would be too much difference, a few extra wires maybe. Someone else is obviously making them for CARS...but a cursory google search was rather uneventful.

All tilts work just fine. Seat is all the way back, but motor does not activate when I push the forward or reverse lever. I think there is a broken wire between the switch and the plug under the seat, but it appears that will be easier to chase with the seat removed? The wiring visible inside the door panel looked good, except for a single small (18ga?) orange wire that wasn't connected to anything. I was going to try the passenger side switch, but didn't want to risk breaking anything by disassembling the 2 switches. I much prefer the '60s style of plug and play switch. Passenger seat works in all directions. Driver's seat switch also works in UP and DOWN positions...making me further think that it's not the switch? Correct?

First the good news, I think. Performed the brake test on the "new" Reatta. 1. 8 2. 15 (a little low?) 3. 23, 25 (a bit low?) 4. 39 (a bit low?) 5. 2 (edit...actually, closer to 1) 6. 1/2" 7. tap and thump felt. So, I overfilled the M/C originally (it was low, so I put in extra...duh.) The system appeared to have purged the extra fluid all over the driveway making me think there was a problem. It is still a bit high as the fluid is at the fill line when it should have dropped 1/2" below the line. Should I suction this out? The fluid is at the bottom of the fill opening when depressurized, about 1/2" above the fill line. Some of the above numbers are a tad low...are they withing acceptable range? I am still waiting to go pick up all of the service receipts from the PO to see when the last flush was done, then I'll flush them if necessary or there are no records. Bad. Parking brake cable is screwy. The system will pump as designed, but it doesn't hold. Behold my parking brake cable. Note, I have not pulled off the rear wheels yet to inspect the system there, as this appears to be an obvious problem area. The adjusting nut is frozen. I have tried penetrants and it won't budge. Ideas? It seems to be dropping quite low....is the amount of adjustment on there going to take up all that slack and tighten the parking brake enough to hold?

Insurance company told me today to find a local shop to quote the repair and troubleshoot what caused it. The mechanical part that caused the fire is not covered, but all resulting damage is. Bernie, there is no one I would love to have work on it more than you, but I'm not sure the insurance company would cover the tow! I'm going to have to call a few places tomorrow and see it I can find a local shop that is qualified....

Reposted from another thread. I've got the door panel off and the front 2 bolts of the seat loose, but I just can't figure out how to get to the back 2 bolts with the seat all the way back. I can't even SEE The bolts. I'm guessing they have a plastic cover over them with phillips screws that I can't see or get to? My other idea was to bypass the switch and apply 12 Volts to the motor to try to get it to move forward, but I don't know how to apply the power. I tried applying 12 volts to the tan line input at the connector under the seat, but got nothing? I grounded it to the motor, does it need another source of power or ground to get the motor to move? Is this possible? Electrical is my weak spot for sure, so any help appreciated. I'm perusing the on line FSM, but am having trouble locating help...The first 7 pages of 10-10 seem to be missing. Update: I did check the power from the seat switch to the motor. no power on the tan line which should be the forward wire. I need to remove the seat to chase the wire all the way back to the switch to find the fault. Any assistance in getting the seat moved forward or figuring out how to remove it in the all the way back position is appreciated! Thanks!

Yes. Barry Fitzjarrold had a similar issue.

I just can't have nice things! No aftermarket accy. I was running the heater on the drive over. If I remember correctly, one of the relays above the voltage regulator was glowing, but it was all a blur as I was more concerned with the extinguisher. The insulation on the other side of the body plug, inside the car was glowing as well. Took me a while to figure out where the additional smoldering was coming from. When I hit it with the extinguisher, it disintegrated. I had to tear away the cardboard covering the insulation to get to it.

I took my '58 Super over to the other garage for winter. Upon pulling in the garage, smoke was coming out from under the hood. The wiring was on fire. Melted everything from the headlights to and through the body harness before I got it out with the extinguisher. What a mess. I've called in to my insurance company. They said I wouldn't hear from the adjuster until probably Tuesday. I'm sure hoping they cover this! Then, I'll have to figure out who to send it to. I've got too much else going on to deal with this! I certainly can't do the work to repair it. No pictures yet. I'll take some when I meet the adjuster this week.

Ok. Bypassed the AC Compressor- SUCCESS! Replaced window motor- SUCCESS! Remove the stuck cassette tape- No change in operation, the radio still clicks trying to load it, but switches to radio after a few clicks. The brake system is leaking fluid from somewhere around the master cylinder. I think I'll take it for an estimate before I tear it apart. Brakes work, but there is a telltale puddle of fluid. I've got the door panel off and the front 2 bolts of the seat loose, but I just can't figure out how to get to the back 2 bolts with the seat all the way back. I can't even SEE The bolts. I'm guessing they have a plastic cover over them with phillips screws that I can't see or get to? My other idea was to bypass the switch and apply 12 Volts to the motor to try to get it to move forward, but I don't know how to apply the power. I tried applying 12 volts to the tan line input at the connector under the seat, but got nothing? I grounded it to the motor, does it need another source of power or ground to get the motor to move? Is this possible? Electrical is my weak spot for sure, so any help appreciated. I'm perusing the on line FSM, but am having trouble locating help...The first 7 pages of 10-10 seem to be missing. Update: I did check the power from the seat switch to the motor. no power on the tan line which should be the forward wire. I need to remove the seat to chase the wire all the way back to the switch to find the fault.

The noise is there all the time. I would need clear instructions to attempt what you are recommending. I'll do a google search and see what comes up. It's turned damn cold here and I need to move the '65 or '58 to the other garage 10 miles away to free up some garage space or I won't get anything done. I can't work in the cold, never could. I think the prudent plan right now is to just bypass with the shorter serpentine belt. I'm shooting for that anyway.

I would also recommend craigslist for this car. Ebay would be another route to go. I will also cross post this on the Buick-59 website....there are a LOT of 59 Buicks in the PNW. In Ohio you can't even scrap a car without a title!

Thanks. I'm going to try changing the serpentine belt out in a few days. It's about to get damn cold here for a few days, so it might be the weekend before I get it done. I've printed out the instructions for removing the door panel and will check the window track out. If not, I've got the instructions for replacing the motor printed out as well. I'm guessing that since the car had a half inch of water in it when we bought it that there are some splices bad under the seat. Interior/courtesy lights aren't working as well. Not sure when I'll get a chance to pull that, maybe this weekend as well if I'm feeling energetic. Still drying out the inside. I'm hoping the rubber vacuum hose trick works on the leaks. PO said it never leaked when he drove it regularly. ??? I checked the wiring harness with a multimeter and I found a blade that showed 12 v when moving the seat back, but couldn't find one with power when moving it forward. I did not know which blade was forward though. So, while I have the door panel off, I'll check those wires as well. I guess I could switch the passenger seat switch in just to eliminate the switch as being the issue.

I am in search of a reasonably priced FSM as well. They are outrageous on Ebay!

I pulled the codes. Nothing current, but in history there was b334h b411h b420h b552h no e no r

Bought my son a 1990 White coupe last night. It's got a list of problems, but it has been well taken care of during it's 220,000 mile life. Transmission is about 50,000 miles old, AC delco dealership unit. Issues --Driver's seat moves up and down and tilts in all directions but won't move forward. I've checked the connection under the seat and it looks good. I pulled the control off the door and visually inspected. It looks good. Next I will get the meter out and check where I've got power. Neither one of us is tall enough to drive it properly with the seat all the way back. --Driver's window only moves about an inch before stopping, then it will move a bit more. I'm guessing it needs a new motor? --A/C compressor sounds like a ricer bike! Very loud whine. Going to get a quote from the mechanic on R&R. Other option will be to temporarily bypass it with the smaller belt. I would like to drive the car for awhile before dropping $500+ on A/C in November. --Brakes are a little spongy. Hoping for a day next week warm enough to bleed them. Supposedly new brakes all around and no warning lights, but the reservoir was a pint low? --cassette deck has the dreaded stuck tape. Will probably go with an aftermarket unit for now. Have one on the shelf, will just need the kit. --parking brake is not holding. It will let you pump it, but it doesn't hold. When not engaged, it hangs a bit low under the door. --Seats are in rough condition with the driver seat missing most of the seat bottom leather. Burgundy interior. I'll pick up some cheap seat covers for now. Biggest issue is a leak. Water. I've searched through the threads but haven't found much on water leaks. The windshield rubber is very dry, but the water only shows evidence on the floorboards. Once I get the A/C compressor bypassed, I'll hit a carwash and see if I can figure out where the water is coming from. Are there any typical leak spots to check for? If it's the windshield rubber, I'm hoping I can get a glass shop to R&R with a new seal. That seems to be it for now. I'm sure more will show up once we start driving it regularly. It's been about 5 years since we owned a Reatta, so looking forward to some fun in this one, even if it is for my son. Oh, and it came with a bonus. It's got the large Owner's journal/portfolio, complete except for the tire guage!

I've seen the first 3 episodes of the '55 series. I like that this show is more realistic and appears to have fewer staged scenes, although there is still way too much repetition in the editing. I don't like that they are moving TOO slowly. Where most shows can rebuild a car in an episode or 2, they took 2 episodes to pick the car up from the PO! Is anyone personally familiar with either the buyer or the rather unique seller?

You might also try posing this question over at www.buick-59.com