JalopyBob

I like the gold wheels with white body paint combo. Sort of reminds me of the Tran Am era. Have you ever seen the early 90's Riviera finned aluminum wheels, or the early to mid 90's Le Sabre gran touring wheels on a Reatta? I think that they are both 16", but not sure on the width. You are right about filling that front wheel well space. If you can find a 16" 65 series tire I think that it would look just right. When I switched to a Michelin 60 series tire on my 90 Riviera, it never looked right to me.

I like the wheels. What kind are they?

That does look like a nice car for the money with those low miles. Nice color combo too.

Rough way to start, but look at it this way, the Reatta experience will get much better when you get it back on the road again and begin to enjoy the car. Did you buy it in Schererville Indiana?

There was a dealer near Sheboygan that advertised 4 Reattas last week on CL. The ad is gone now, but I am pretty sure that the Reattas are still there. Maybe you will not have to ride the grey dog all that far.

Before you buy the first Reatta that you look at, go see some others and drive them. Buy the best car for the money. Sometime a little patience will pay off with a real nice car.

-10F here in the Chicago burbs, headed for -20 before windchill. BBrrrrr, my Reatta is shivering and hoping for Spring.

Craig look at the 90 Maui Blue Reatta currently on Craigslist Milwaukee.

One thing that does not compute is the modern day 3 portholes does not match the V8 engine. The V8 should have 4. Padgett's link to the front end picture is of a 4 door car, so maybe it is not the front end of this fastback car. It is a nice looking car, but at 58 to 62 thousand per copy it would be D.O.A. before it ever hit the showrooms. Buick needs some halo cars on the street A.S.A.P.

The narrative seems to be mia now, but the keyword for the miles on this car would appear to be "claimed". If you look carefully at the photos both inside and out there are several telltale indicators of a higher mileage car. Be careful of this one.

Well it took a while but my son found the correct seat in a boneyard in Indiana for $75. Today he picked it up, drove 130 miles home and installed it outside in the cold weather. What a great kid. Now I can drive this nice car again.

That is one of my favorite color combinations. Enjoy!

You can download the entire service manual at no charge. You must register to to this. It works very well. www.reatta.net It is in the documentation section. Enjoy.

Just as a point of reference, I know of an 89 that sold in the Chicago suburbs last week for $1000. It was black/saddle with 139000 miles and a decent running and driving car, with a touch of rust at the rear wheel wells. The 88 that you are describing sounds like it needs a lot more work, and is already more money.

This was very interesting to watch. Like stepping back in time.

sort of like how the Avanti was bought and produced after Studebaker closed, what would it be like today? I would like to think that it would be enhanced for the current era, but not heavily modified. Here are the updates that mine would include. First would be the 3800 supercharged engine, 17 or 18" alloy wheels, analog gauges, hid non retractable headlights, an updated audio system with satellite radio and built in iPod connection along with better speakers, and a current version of the old Mopar pushbutton transmission control, eliminating the center console and armrest would open up a bit more interior space. Right about now you are thinking what about the missing cupholders? They would be on a small platform between the seats. My color choice would be similiar to 66 Corvair Aztec Bronze, really a dark copper with matching leather. The top would be styled like the coupe, but retractable like the SSR. MSRP $32995. What would yours be like?

It would probably draw some interest to place your ad on the Reatta forum buy/sell section as well as here.

Happy New Year to all who enjoy these forums. Howard, 2009 will be much better if you find another Reatta to enjoy!

Ronnie said...BEWARE! Drill brushes make sparks. Gasoline fumes and sparks make can make a really loud bang and an extremely bright flash. Could be very dangerous. Better way might be to use a sharp pointed awl to pierce both parts. You can also use an old fashioned hand drill safely.

Forget the iPlod and get the real deal, an iPod. It just works better. Check out some of the noise reduction software if you are going to digitize your vinyl.

You can also use allofcraigslist.com It will find lots of cars for you.

according to me wife who recently renamed the car for me. No there is nothing wrong with my Reatta. But I am one of those guys who believes that it is easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission, and have always bought my cars that way. So this time she looked at the beautiful leather interior when I brought the car home and decided that she needed a beautiful leather interior for herself, and bought very nice leather sofa, loveseat, chair and ottoman. They cost more than the car! So be careful out there.

Your whitewalls look good on a white car. I wonder how they would look on some of the other colors. Mine has blackwalls, but I think that white letters would look good when it is time for new tires.

Steak says gas is $1.60. That is correct for now, but look how we were messed with for the last year on gas pricing. Some alternatives would be nice. An electric Reatta could be kind of cool. You never know when gas prices will go back up again.

At the time that Jim posted this the weather here in the Chicago area ranged from -6 to 3 above with with 30mph winds. I know that I would not want to be working on a car in those conditions. That kind of cold makes things much more brittle than normal. Right now that Reatta is buried under a minimum of 12-14 inches of snow. Sounds like fun huh?