DAVES89 Posted August 1, 2018 Share Posted August 1, 2018 I have been getting an occasional warning that my throttle postion sensor is not reading. So today I looked at it and the connector is breaking up and needs replacement. Out to Gibson's for a "top of the engine harness". I grabbed the leads [and connectors] for the EGR, MAF sensor, throttle position sensor, Idle control, etc. All the locking clips were broke off so now I should be good. I'll be out in the garage soldering if anyone needs me... BTW whom ever it was that wants the plastic cap for the EGR valve I have one. $10.00 including freight. PM me if interested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin M Posted August 3, 2018 Share Posted August 3, 2018 Went to the junkyard today. Got a new radio, ECC and kick panel. Place had five Reattas. Pretty much all gone though. Tomorrow is going to be installation day. I’m keeping the ECC as a spare and am hoping this radio will have a working cassette player. Or I can make one out of the two I have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZVET Posted August 5, 2018 Share Posted August 5, 2018 On 8/1/2018 at 11:45 AM, DAVES89 said: I have been getting an occasional warning that my throttle postion sensor is not reading. So today I looked at it and the connector is breaking up and needs replacement. Out to Gibson's for a "top of the engine harness". I grabbed the leads [and connectors] for the EGR, MAF sensor, throttle position sensor, Idle control, etc. All the locking clips were broke off so now I should be good. I'll be out in the garage soldering if anyone needs me... BTW whom ever it was that wants the plastic cap for the EGR valve I have one. $10.00 including freight. PM me if interested. I will take it. Please send me a Paypal invoice to corvetteronw@gmail.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeanR Posted August 7, 2018 Author Share Posted August 7, 2018 Wow after several years absence I am shocked to see my OP thread still active. I just got my Reatta back so I'll be active again on here. :) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted August 7, 2018 Share Posted August 7, 2018 Welcome back Sean, glad you bought another one. Your idea was good, so yeah we kept it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted August 7, 2018 Share Posted August 7, 2018 Over the wekend I did a favor for a guy who does a lot of woodworking [He's actually a High School shop teacher]. He asked if there was anything he could make for me. I told him what I needed was some 1988/89 door pull retainers. He said he could make them out of plastic but he could also make some wood ones. I thought that was an idea worth trying so we will see what he comes up with. The sample I gave him was out of the Red's passenger door [it was already starting to break] so he is using that to make one. He said he would use Maple and then shape it to fit. I thought that I would use our existing caps and hold them on with double stick tape. Will keep the forum posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2seater Posted August 7, 2018 Share Posted August 7, 2018 Engine installed and running. After replacement of A/C system components listed previously, system held vacuum for five days, so should be good to recharge. Now to start the tuning process. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted August 7, 2018 Share Posted August 7, 2018 I can be your co pilot... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2seater Posted August 8, 2018 Share Posted August 8, 2018 3 hours ago, DAVES89 said: I can be your co pilot... I might need a laptop holder and will keep that in mind? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2seater Posted August 8, 2018 Share Posted August 8, 2018 First ride this morning. No instrumentation save for watching the knock counts, after checking to be sure knock sensor is working. So far no big issues evident. It looks like the boost is under better control this time, intake manifold pressure rises to 5 psi at about 3500rpm under part throttle, and is stable with a little more throttle. No knock counts at all while driving but trying to be gentle while I feel it out. Darn thing feels good. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 On 8/4/2018 at 10:37 PM, AZVET said: I will take it. Please send me a Paypal invoice to corvetteronw@gmail.com Ron, I sent you a PM asking for your address so I can mail your part. Please PM me your mailing address. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karlw144 Posted August 18, 2018 Share Posted August 18, 2018 Drove my “new to me “ 90 red convertible in the Woodward Dream Cruise. Didn’t see any other Reattas. Couldn’t believe how many people wanted to know more about the car, had some people run into the traffic to see what it was. Great showing it off! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted August 21, 2018 Share Posted August 21, 2018 About a month ago a Reatta came in the local You Pick [Gibson's]. I grabbed the CRT [failed in less then 1 month returned for credit] and the IPC. Everything worked great except the the amber anti lock brake light. Swapped in a new bulb and it works. Now that it's in I found out I have an intermittent failure of a sensor lead... Oh joy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handmedownreatta Posted August 21, 2018 Share Posted August 21, 2018 2 hours ago, DAVES89 said: About a month ago a Reatta came in the local You Pick [Gibson's]. I grabbed the CRT [failed in less then 1 month returned for credit] and the IPC. Everything worked great except the the amber anti lock brake light. Swapped in a new bulb and it works. Now that it's in I found out I have an intermittent failure of a sensor lead... Oh joy! so i can remove the amber bulb for my abs?i thought it was soldered in.i was trying to avoid using black tape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted August 21, 2018 Share Posted August 21, 2018 The 1990/91 is soldered in.The 1988/89 bulb is a #194 clear bulb. Comes out easily. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2seater Posted August 23, 2018 Share Posted August 23, 2018 Had the R12 a/c system recharged today after I replaced the compressor, condenser and accumulator. Despite holding perfect vacuum at home, discovered the high side Schrader valve leaked a bit and had a devil of a time finding the correct fine threaded replacement. All went well after that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barney Eaton Posted August 24, 2018 Share Posted August 24, 2018 (edited) our local club drove out to a restoration shop...they were not working on any Reattas but they did build the Ridler award car last year and it was in the entry area. Here are a few photos of the shop. forgot to include the only Buick that was there..... Edited August 25, 2018 by Barney Eaton (see edit history) 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted August 28, 2018 Share Posted August 28, 2018 I had a fuel pump installed on the Red today. Starts and runs much better. I had been dealing with an issue of cycling the key to "run" then off and back to start. Then it would fire off. But then sometimes it would idle rough. A week ago I replaced the fuel regulator as that was going bad. And a month prior to that I took the Red in for a fuel rail/injector cleaning. But back to the fuel pump and regulator. 30 years and 282,000 miles. That's good service! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vidsal Posted August 31, 2018 Share Posted August 31, 2018 I started my 90 Reatta Conv for the first time in a while inspired by this forum string, but I didn't drive it. The fuel pressure seems ok and the car seems to be doing well, but the first picture is a clue as to why I'm not driving it out in a minute. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buicknutty Posted September 3, 2018 Share Posted September 3, 2018 Nearly finished the back brakes on my '90 convert. Partly bled, and hope to finish it tomorrow, then go for a drive! It started out like a regular simple brake job, then I decided to buy new rotors, as the old ones, though they looked good, had been cut to 40 and 50 thou under spec. But the shop ordered fronts instead, then it needed calipers, and had a seized right rear brake cable. Fortunately all of the parts were available on a next day order. Here in the Great White North (Canada) parts are often tougher to get than in the US, but thanks to the Reatta being a GM product, I can still get them. If all goes well, I'll post a picture or two tomorrow. Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cargirl Posted September 19, 2018 Share Posted September 19, 2018 Well, it was 101 at 6 tonight but tomorrow we are having our first day in the low 90's. Summer is over here in Phoenix for now so off comes the car cover. First time I had the top down since June. Oh my it felt good to take the Reatta out tonight. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimmWheeler Posted September 19, 2018 Share Posted September 19, 2018 Took my '90 to the Hemmings Concours d'Elegance cruise-in in Lake George this past weekend with my 5 year old. It actually had a crowd at one point. It's funny how the two most common responses to this car were, "What is it?" and "I always liked these". ? 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted September 19, 2018 Share Posted September 19, 2018 Welcome to the forum! Nice looking Reatta. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZVET Posted September 19, 2018 Share Posted September 19, 2018 I had some red pinstriping left over from another project and thought I would try it on my silver 88. It stood out nicely but I found it to be too bright. I did not remove the charcoal striping that came with the car so I just laid the red on top of it. After a few weeks I decided it was too bright so I bought some burgundy striping of a different design. I think it looks more reserved and compliments the silver. I too find it interesting when folks ask if it is a Riveara or say somethings like, "You don't see many of these anymore!" 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted September 19, 2018 Share Posted September 19, 2018 The pinstripe looks good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 (edited) My wife and I returned from our vacation and after 3 weeks of not driving anything I sure missed my Reatta. It felt good to drive one, in this case the'vert. The Red will get driven today. Saw a lot of Fiats, Opels and Smart cars. I was surprised that with the narrow streets there were a couple of bigger American cars, Jeeps, Chevy's. Didn't see any Buicks, but did see a white Rolls Royce and a red Maserati. Good to be back. Edited September 24, 2018 by DAVES89 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted October 1, 2018 Share Posted October 1, 2018 I asked [and received] permission from my wife to put the 'vert into winter storage. This means that the Black comes out. Started quickly and runs great [other then an occasional amber ABS brake warning light]. I will check out the front leads and replace the offending lead. Feels great to get it back out again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 1 hour ago, DAVES89 said: I asked [and received] permission from my wife to put the 'vert into winter storage. This means that the Black comes out. Started quickly and runs great [other then an occasional amber ABS brake warning light]. I will check out the front leads and replace the offending lead. Feels great to get it back out again! I'll bet you're look forward to your first winter snow. Or have you already had it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 We had a "light" frost 2 nights ago, but no snow yet. I do have snow tires ready to go on... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveT Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 would love to turbo one and swap to a six speed from a g6 , are these changes programmable into the ecm? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2seater Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 1 hour ago, SteveT said: would love to turbo one and swap to a six speed from a g6 , are these changes programmable into the ecm? I would give that a qualified yes. There have been a few that have done supercharged and manual transaxle swaps, Daniel being the most recent and modern. No one has done much with the turbocharger aside from the factory prototypes 30ish years ago. I do it as a mental and curiosity exercise. The ecm is really pretty flexible and can accommodate many changes but I am just feeling my way through and it's almost time to put the car away :(( From a purely power potential, turbocharging has more potential, so it must be used with a fair amount of restraint unless a whole host of other things are upgraded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveT Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 at the time they were being built , there was a shop in Flint that was doing conversions to turbo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 14 minutes ago, SteveT said: at the time they were being built , there was a shop in Flint that was doing conversions to turbo Do you have any idea how many were built? Did any of them go to private owners or just to GM for testing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2seater Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 4 hours ago, Ronnie said: Do you have any idea how many were built? Did any of them go to private owners or just to GM for testing? That would be interesting if any information could be tracked down. I have looked at as much information on the factory cars as I could find and the fwd turbo iterations appear fairly similar to what I have done but with the older 3.8fwd engine. The hi-boost rwd looks to be an old style GN engine and drivetrain. There have been different people that have done turbocharging to various fwd GM cars but no kits I could ever find. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 I got the Black out of storage on Monday and put the 'vert away. Heard a grinding noise at the passenger rear brakes so I am thinking that I will replace the wheel bearing. The Red also needs an oil change so will do that as well. Looks like a Reatta day... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveT Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 47 minutes ago, DAVES89 said: I will see if any of my friends up in Flint can dig up any info. I know it was not a factory shop that was doing it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 7 hours ago, DAVES89 said: I got the Black out of storage on Monday and put the 'vert away. Heard a grinding noise at the passenger rear brakes so I am thinking that I will replace the wheel bearing. The Red also needs an oil change so will do that as well. Looks like a Reatta day... Got the oil change done on the Red. Now going out to give her a wash. The Black's rear wheel bearing is done as well. I did address the passenger side front wheel speed sensor that has gone bad. When I attempted to remove the sensor, the sensor head was rusted in place. So I broke the head out leaving the barrel in place. I had a real nice lead in inventory that was missing the aluminum barre,l so I just put this one in place using the existing barrel. Took it for a drive and it kept activating the anti brake feature. So I put it back on blocks removed the wheel and using a wooden block tapped the head farther into the barrel. Now it works fine. Applied caulk around the head to keep moisture from going into the head and put the wheel back on. Hope I'm good for a few years. [I actually did this procedure before on the Black's driver side front years ago and it is still working]. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted October 11, 2018 Share Posted October 11, 2018 I know it's not Reatta related but it could be, as the topic is rust. My neighbor has been after me to install a trailer hitch on his 2014 Nissan Pathfinder. I snapped two trim screws that screw through the rear storage bin through the floor. After I got the tow bracket off which was required to install the hitch all the threaded holes I was to use to mount the hitch were rusted and required the use of a thread chaser. You guys in the non rust belt states have it made. We don't have the deterioration of rubber but dealing with rust is a pain. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barney Eaton Posted October 15, 2018 Share Posted October 15, 2018 Didn't take the Reatta but took a bunch of old ladies to see some old cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted October 17, 2018 Share Posted October 17, 2018 Rolled over to 297,000 miles on the Black. Next month should have 300,000. Can't wait! [2nd engine, 3rd tranny, but still...] The Red has 286,000 also 2nd engine, 3rd tranny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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