nellis003

Hi all, I still have this Reatta for sale and really need to sell it to make space. Open to any offers, including trades for a motorcycle or a pickup truck that can haul full-size vehicles. Projects welcome.

Price dropped to $3500

Short Story: 1988 Buick Reatta Mileage unknown (Dashboard not working) but I have service receipts from 2001 showing approximately 90K Repainted a couple months ago Reupholstered recently Starts, drives, stops Lockport, IL Nick - 630-240-1859 $3900 Long Story: I recently acquired this Reatta through a trade deal. The previous owner had it for about a year, and believes he got it from the 2nd owner. I found a stack of receipts in the car detailing all the service for the first 12 or 13 years of its life, and the last few receipts are dated 2001 and show the mileage around 90,000. The previous owner owns a body shop and painted the car just a couple months ago, and the paint is really beautiful. I noticed a couple fisheyes on the roof, but otherwise it's a very nice job. When I got the car, it was stubborn to start when cold and there was an oil leak that appeared to be coming from the intake manifold, so I replaced the manifold gasket. While doing that I replaced the injector o-rings and associated intake manifold gaskets like the throttle body, cleaned out the EGR valve, replaced the fuel pressure relief valve, installed a new thermostat and thermostat housing, installed a new upper radiator hose, and installed a new PCV valve. No oil under the car since this, but she's still stubborn to start when warm. Previous owner says he replaced the fuel pump, and I replaced the fuel pump relay, but still takes about five seconds of cranking to start cold. She starts right up when warm. Drives and handles very well, no suspension noise. I'm surprised by how much power these cars have, and how comfortable they are to drive. Car stops very well and brakes feel firm. No pulsing or grinding. CRT is functioning - radio works but the antenna is stuck in the up position. The dashboard is completely dead except for the ABS light when you first power the car on. There are also some other electrical issues, such as the headlights not opening (only the parking lights come on) and none of the courtesy lights come on, so I'm hesitant to send the dash out for a rebuild since I suspect the problem is power to the dash. Previous owner installed a new light switch to try and solve the dash and headlight issue. As you can see from the photos, someone applied a window tint and then the previous owner tried to remove it from the rear window. I got more of it off, but don't want to risk damaging the rear defrost to remove the rest. The tint on the side windows is flaking a bit at the edges but presentable. Previous owner said that the car had been reupholstered before his ownership. The seats look really good, but could use a good cleaning. Material (I assume it's vinyl, but it feels like leather) is very soft and comfortable. The top of the steering wheel has wear, and the very top of the instrument panel housing is discolored. All glass looks intact; I checked and didn't see any chips in the windshield. Surface rust underneath, but no real rot. I'm headed back out to my shop today and can take some undercarriage photos to add. I have a few spare parts, including a CRT control module, horn button, old light switch, and a few pieces I don't recognize. All in all, a nice car with all the hard work done - brand new paint and nicely upholstered seats. Work out the electrical gremlins and this is a good car to enjoy. Feel free to contact me with any questions.

Hi, all... My dad has a '51 Merc Coupe and has found a place that will re-create the upholstery for him if he can provide them with the patterns. problem is, his old interior is so far gone that they won't even be able to work off the old seat covers and door panels. They're completely destroyed. Does anyone know where you can purchase pattern templates for the Mercury upholstery for '51? Thanks, Nick

I gave up on the engine stand and decided to just work underneath it as it hung from the lift. Got the new gaskets in place and she's back in the car. Thanks for all the help on this, you guys are great.

Thanks, all. The engine is out, and now I have a question about using an engine stand to do the work. I've never mounted one of these engines on a stand before, so I'm a little nervous. Do I use the same holes as the transmission mount? I'm worried because there's only a half-circle on the back end that looks suitable to connect the stand, it looks like with all the weight of the engine I'm going to crack the clutch housing. Also, are there special bolts I should use? Thanks for any help you can give.

Thanks, guys. I posted the question to the Early Ford V8 forum, but I think I got enough of an idea how to do it from Tom that I'm going to pull the engine. If anyone has any suggestions for what I should look out for as I'm doing this, I'd appreciate the heads up. Thanks,

Hello all - just joined, this is my first post. I made the huge mistake of trying to remove the oil pan from a '35 Phaeton without first figuring out how to do it. So, after several days, a whole new set of curse words, and the purchase of an engine lift, I finally got the oil pan out. Found a tip somewhere online that you have to raise the front of the engine a few inches. Did that, but still couldn't get it out without reaching inside and disconnecting the oil pump. That finally did the trick and gave me the clearance I needed. Now I'm faced with the prospect of replacing the oil pan and gasket. I'm assuming that if taking it out was this hard, getting it back in is going to be a nightmare. Since I already have most of the engine prep done, am I better off actually pulling the engine to replace the oil pan? If so, what's the best way to do it? I'd rather leave the trans in, because of space restrictions in my garage - I don't think I'd be able to get far back enough with the lift to clear removing the trans. Any tips are appreciated, both on removing the engine and replacing the oil pan with the engine in place. Thanks, Nick

Hi, I'm new to the board, thought I'd ask where I can find a '47 Buick stone guard for the passenger side rear fender. I need one quickly because I have someone doing bosy work ot the car and he wants to make sure the stone guard fits correctly (he had to do quite a bit of metal work on the fenders) Any help is appreciated. I can't seem to find any goos parts sources on the 'net, and eBay doesn't have it. Thanks, Nick