Press Cars

[Reatta Fan]

On the latest database revision, I was pleasantly surprised to find information on more of the first hundred cars was added. Being graced with two of these special gems, I'd like to learn as much as possible about them. They're not in magazine front cover condition any longer (even by any stretch of a Reatta junkie's imagination) and need of lots of TLC which hopefully I'll be able to do some day.

I've enclosed a couple of pictures showing the SIL and the "true" 16-way seat adjusters in 900081. Other differences from later production ones I've noticed are the interior color (a shade darker gray than later units and has suede/leather on the seat faces), steering wheel & turn signal/cruise stalk (not sure which car line they're from), engine label placement (on the radiator support not the shock tower), and different Buick script on the wheels (looks like it's from the LeSabre line of the same era).

900061 is basically the same. It's red in color (#81) with the #82 interior color code with the same 16-way seat adjusters but the body/bumper molding is not permanently attached and magnetic instead. Two sets came with the car, one red and one black. This one also has hand written tags on the wiring looms, a compass module, and remote keyless entry (with the later production rear window with antenna). The SIL differs in that "B84" and "xxQ" are not present and "D60" is.

Can anyone please share more information on these cars? How was it determined these were for press use? Is there any other supporting documentation available?

Also, can the Service Codes page on the reatta.net website be updated with the additonal ones found on the SIL's of 900081 and 900061? Namely AC1 (suspect this has to do with seat type), 0ZM, 14Q (it has red body color molding), 6LN, 7LN, 82F, 82I, 824, and 829. Even an "unknown" descriptor next to each as an acknowledgement would make me feel like less of a parent of unwanted step children. (I did make this request in 2003 when I first obtained the cars but it must have got lost in the shuffle.)

Thanks in advance!

[padgett]

AC1 is Adjuster, 6-way power, pass seat

B84 - Moldings, Vinyl Body side

D60 - Color override

6LN and 7LN are left and right front spring codes 6-left, 7- right

0Z1 is the rear (transverse) spring code (0-rear)

14 - black metallic

xxQ - body side molding

82 - med-dk gray

xxF - floor covering

xxI - interior color

xx4 - Fisher Body Design Level (Leather)

xx9 - Seat Belt Module

The Reatta.net page has most of this information though does not separate the multi-part codes well.

Trivia: GM has been computerized for a long time but used IBM mainframes with EBCDIC rather than ASCII encoding. EBCDIC puts the numbers after the letters instead of in front (and is generally very messy being decimal based). This is why the numerical service codes are after the letter codes on the sticker. One of the most popular programs I wrote was a 5-minute CLIST to sort in ASCII order.

[Reatta Fan]

Thanks for your quick reply on the info on decoding the options!

Do you have a guess as to what 0ZM is? A varient of the rear (transverse) spring code perhaps?

Regarding AC1, 900081 and 900061 have the 16-way power seats on both driver and passenger. The seat pod controls layouts are mirrored/reversed.

For 14Q, 900081 presently has red body molding. Would you venture a guess it originally had black metallic painted molding versus unpainted/nonmetallic painted black as indicated by maybe the 41Q code?

For B84, it makes sense this code is left off the SIL for 900061 as it has no body molding permanently attached. No mounting hardware is installed but it does have the holes in the front & read bumpers for clips.

Can we get the Webmaster to update the service code page on reatta.net? The last mod date indicated is 4/25/2003.

I got an email from a member requesting pictures of the cowl tags behind the right headlight assembly. I'll work on that.

[Barney Eaton]

Thanks for posting the pictures and telling us more about your early cars.

The cars have always been on the database. There was an error in sorting and your were buried in with the other '88's.

A lady by the name of Helen Hutchins worked at the GM L.A office and since she is a former BCA president and still active in the club, she supplied me with the limited information she had on all Reattas that went through that office.

I will make notes on the database to the extent we have room. I will also copy and file the Service Parts labels for future reference in my reference material.

If you would, send me a picture of the 900061's service parts label. It would also be interesting to have a photo of the car with the interchangable side molding. We might get that into the Reatta newsletter.

On further bit of exciting information.......I think we are very close to having a database with every Reatta on it.

I have been working on this for 2 1/2 years.

It will not have the options like the present database, but has the exterior color, interior color and dealer that received the car. This information was downloaded to 443 computer sheets by a forsighted GM employee before they moved out of Flint. It would be nice to have more info but at least we will have something on every Reatta.

The plan is to make it available on a CD in Exel format so that anyone interested can have their own database.

[padgett]

Looking in grp 7.00 of the parts book I find Reatta rear springs code (label on spring) NZM and NZP. This is probably rendered on the sticker as 0ZM or 0ZP. I just mistyped.

Barney: that is great. Please let me know when it is available. BTW are you backlogged ? I sent several VINs that are not in the March revision.

[Reatta Fan]

For 900081, here's pictures of the cowl tag behind the right front headlight, build/emissions door label, tire inflatiuon pressure label, and driver's side interior.

The cowl tag carries more information than ones for my '90 and '91 models. Care to venture a guess on what the codes mean? I interpret "81U" being Bright Red (8774) as the Primary Color, "JL9" as having antilock brakes, and "55A" indicating a gold pinstripe. The car currently has a gray accent stripe but the car has been repainted. I did visually confirm the origial color of the accent stripe was gold.

"000116 7" = Is that a date code? The door label indicates "01/87" as the build date.

"00081" = the unit number?

I was told by the previous owner the small label to the left of the build/emissions one is an internal asset tracking number.

Now that a delivery database is being generated, I'm very curious what "dealer" 900081 and 900061 were delivered to.

More pictures as I have time.

[Barney Eaton]

Subject..red tag behind right headlight.

All Reattas have a tag there. It was like an inventory tag to keep track of the cars as they went from the body shop to the paint shop to the assembly line.

The actual vin number was not attached to the car until it reached the assembly line. We have found many Reattas that have vin numbers that do not match the body tag. The number will be close. This is probably because the bodys were sent to paint and they were probably moved into a holding area...from there they were painted... the paint people had daily orders to paint different colors. So if they were ready to paint white and the orders said 15 white cars...they painted 15 bodys white. Your tag has the color. I am not certain that later years had the body color on the tag. I thought I had some pictures but cannot locate them to verify.

[padgett]

J- model year (1988)

01E - January, fifth week (were five weeks in Jan 1987)

B - assembly plant - Lansing, Baltimore, or Popyang

55 - gold A - stripe

81 - bright red U - upper body

Bottom line - plant sequence number

Where is the body plate precisely, I just looked and did not find on either car.

ps my 88 has a similar small tag on the door - 113 769 5973 - just in a slightly different location. 90 does not have one. Anyone know what it means ?

[Barney Eaton]

To view the body tag, you must remove the right headlight (passanger side) You can see it by looking behind the headlight but you cannot see it well enough to make out the numbers.

Here is a photo taken in Flint last year. John has several Reatta bodys that were used to set up the paint process, probably after a plant shut down or equipment change.

Those cars have the plate below.

[padgett]

Oh Drat. Guess I'l wait until I need to remove that headlight, those bottom bolts are a pain.

Know both cars are July builds, just wondered when in July.

[jonlabree]

I would think some of you would know how to RESIZE your pictures.

[89REATTAJIM]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 63viking</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I would think some of you would know how to RESIZE your pictures. </div></div>

All the pics on this thread are correct size on my 'puter.... Jim

[padgett]

Had the same problem with IE6. IE7 and Firefox can adjust to your scream.

BTW windows users can use PAINT to resize. What you want is to not exceed 800 pixels in width. Image/Stretch-Skew can do it just need a caculator to figure the %.

[Ronnie]

The message board re-sizes photos to the maximum width of 700 pixels. The amount of space the photo takes up on your home computer screen depends on the screen resolution settings you have selected on your computer. If you have your computer screen resolution set to 800 x 600, the photos that are posted here at a width of 700 pixels will seem huge. If you set your screen resolution to 1200 x 800 the 700 pixel wide photo will appear to be a normal size. I keep my screen resolution set at 1024 x 768. It seems to be a good trade off between having print that is too small and hard to read and having photos that appear to be too large.

I hope maybe this will help clarify why some people do not have problems with the large photos and others do.

[jonlabree]

Why should I have to resixe my screen to see pictures that are over sized?

I never send a picture that is not the correct size for

screen.

[padgett]

Just realized that normally that body tag would be interpreted as January 1988 (J) and not 1987 as the tire placard says. Both years had five weeks in Jan with work days. This could get very confusing.

BTW I found an article that provided some insights into the design that I had not seen before.

[Ronnie]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 63viking</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Why should I have to resixe my screen to see pictures that are over sized?

I never send a picture that is not the correct size for

screen. </div></div>As far as I'm concerned you don't have to do anything... except get used to the large photos if you don't like them. It has nothing to do with me. If you think the whole world is going to adapt to how you think the Internet should display photos you will probably be disappointed.

There are no mandatory regulations that require a standard resolution for all web pages or home computers. That is where the problem lies. Until the resolution for a website and a home computer are standardized, the way a web page is displayed on each home computer is going to look different depending on the settings of the home computer. That's just the way it is. You must adjust your computer to it or get use to it.

[doitnow]

Ladys, Ladys, Cool down.

They are bigger than normal.

But who's complaining. It only takes a few seconds to

look at the pictures, even if you can't see them all

at once.

[Ronnie]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Ladys, Ladys, Cool down. </div></div>I believe you misunderstood my post. I didn't intend to be argumentative. I was simply trying to point out to Viking, and others who may be interested, why the photos appear the way they do. I was just trying to help. There were no emotions evolved in it at all. At least not on my part.

[Barney Eaton]

I'm sorry that I sent a oversized photo. I already spend 2-4 hours a day either on this site or talking on the phone about Reattas, a little more time to resize the photos is nothing.

[Guest Reatta1]

Don't know what all the fuss is about. All the photos are the correct size and I don't have to scroll around to see them on my screen.