What did you do to your Reatta today? <ongoing thread>

[DAVES89]

On 11/14/2018 at 8:28 PM, DAVES89 said:

Just got back from a 9 hour round trip to get this Red/Tan Reatta. While the car was cheap at $500.00 it was not anywhere near as nice as advertised. Turns out the pictures I was shown were some years old. I thought I was getting a real nice car with bad sub frame mounts. What I got was a pretty rusted car with some bad interior parts [ driver's door, driver's seat and dash which I wanted most]. However there were some bright spots. The shifter illumination is excellent and all the interior instrumentation works. The teves brake system works well and there is no ABS warning light, the headlights go up and down well, so there are still many other good parts and with the closing of Gibson's I have added to my supply of car parts which is never bad.

 However when we got to the car, the engine was laying almost flat on the ground and the only thing holding it up was the dog bone. There was enough clearance to get my HF aluminum floor jack under the sub frame and I jacked up the driver's side with the jack in the middle of the sub frame. I got it as high as I could and then we laid a precut 2'x4" across the engine compartment from fender to fender laying across the angled tubular steel supports [the ones that angle on top of the battery and the fuse box]. We then hooked a ratchet strap to anything that the hooks would hold to and ratcheted it tight. We then dropped the jack and went to the passenger side and jacked up that sub frame till it was tight. Then hooked another ratchet strap and cranked it tight to hold the engine up to its proper height. We checked our work by starting the car. It ran great and I drove it on the dolly, fastened it tight and we drove back to the rental shop 4.5 hours away. When we got there I backed the car off the dolly and drove it to my friend's house for parting out 11 miles away. The straps held great and as we laid the 2"x4" flat we were able to close the hood down to the safety latch. I had the car up to 50 miles an hour without a hiccup.

Bob [my friend who went with me to pick this car up] called me yesterday. As a retired machinist he thought he would take a look at the sub frame bolts. The rear bolts were holding but not the front, so he was able to remove the front bolts and make new washers. He then put the sub frame back together and took the car out for a drive. 

 He said the car ran well and other then cosmetic [body rust around the rear wheel wells, and nicks, failing clear coat, and some interior trim] it's actually a nice car.

 Anyone interested?

[DAVES89]

Hit 299,800 today. Tuesday I will for sure drive the last 200 miles as I have appointments that start 100 miles away. Never have been in a car that rolled over to 300,000 miles. About 115,000 of these are mine.

[Kevin M]

@DAVES89 to your knowledge does anyone else have more miles on a Reatta than you? I’d say you deserve some recognition from Buick for that. Doubt they would do anything though. 

[handmedownreatta]

theres one for sale on charlottes craigslist with 237000 miles.for way too much.

[2seater]

Met Dave at our favorite PnP this morning. A very pleasant day after weeks of below normal temps, and actually above freezing😎 Picked out a '95 Riviera with a S/C engine, which was immediately moved to the dissection lab. I should be able to pick it up tomorrow for $210 complete out the door.

[DAVES89]

Thanks for coming along Hal, it was fun having someone "walk the yard" with me. 

 Nothing like dropping off meals for all the guys to get a "Maxwell Street" deal on parts!

[2seater]

On ‎11‎/‎23‎/‎2018 at 12:14 PM, DAVES89 said:

Thanks for coming along Hal, it was fun having someone "walk the yard" with me. 

 Nothing like dropping off meals for all the guys to get a "Maxwell Street" deal on parts!

Picked it up today, slightly less money, $207.50, (no tax on core charge). Very complete from alternator, a/c compressor, power steering pump all the way to the torque converter. Even included the 2.5" diameter down pipe from the rear manifold. Looked up part number on paper tag on torque converter and it should work correctly on my earlier trans., 1895rpm listed stall speed, but I don't know what the stock Reatta spec is. A good deal all around and appreciate the help, and it sounds like the yard may not close?? 

[DAVES89]

Good for you on getting all the extra items. If you don't get it they just go through the shredder and lost forever, so you should get it.

 Regarding the closing, at this point I hear there is a lot of "talking". Should be an interesting 6 weeks before the scheduled close.

[DAVES89]

Well I went to Bob's [my machinist friend] house to start taking parts off the "Minnesota Red" the 1989 Reatta I bought about two weeks ago. What I was interested in taking was the relatively new stainless steel exhaust as well as the front ABS sensor leads.

 I couldn't do it.

 While the body has some noticeable rust in the rear fenders and nicks and some damaged paint. a bad dash and ripped drivers seat, console lid the car runs sooo good. It had a high idle but I cleaned the Idle Air Control and now it idles great. I ran the codes and other then a code  E041 [dreaded cam sensor] there are no other codes even the A/C doesn't throw a code.

 The brakes are a recent redo [pads and rotors] as well as the front half shafts look new. It also has a brand new 750 amp battery and the tires are good. The instrumentation [IPC/CRT, Headlight and Wiper switches] work well. Even the shifter lights up and works as it should.

 So we parked the car in his shed for the winter and will see what the spring brings.

 We did some exhaust work on the Black. As I didn't want to take the exhaust off of the "Minnesota Red" until I decide what I want to do with it, so we ran over to the local U Pick [Gibson's] where we found a like new stainless steel exhaust [everything behind the catalytic converter] and grabbed that. Installed it on the Black and now I have a very quiet winter Reatta. 

 Someone offer to buy this ugly good running 1989 Red/Tan so I don't have to decide...

  

Edited November 29, 2018 by DAVES89 (see edit history)

[2seater]

Darn it Dave, ya gotta stop that😛. I am glad it has a home for now and maybe we will see what the situation might be come spring. My derelict '89 has a decent tan interior soooo?

[DAVES89]

Sounds like a plan. BTW are you interested in getting together and testing Teves pump/motors? Email me if interested and we can also talk about our "parts" cars.

[AZVET]

I did a Harbor Freight run during their extended Black Friday sale and bought this small plastic ammo box.  It is a perfect size for my extra bottle of engine oil and transmission fluid.  I think I will buy another one to use as my first aid box later on.  Right now I have my tools and first aid items combined.  I may buy one of their larger, metal ammo boxes for spare parts too.

 

[Ronnie]

That gray box looks a lot like one that I keep in my Reatta. I also keep a box that has a pretty good set of tools.

 

 

[fordrodsteven]

Not anything I did to my car today due to it being in winter storage right now but.....

I was driving with my wife. I pulled up to a light at an intersection. There is a car dealer on the corner and they frequently have old and older cars sitting in a lower showroom that is visible from street level. I think they also store cars for people during the winter but I'm not certain. Anyway. I looked to my right and just inside I saw a Maui Blue Reatta convertible (white top) sitting there.

[handmedownreatta]

3 hours ago, Ronnie said:

That gray box looks a lot like one that I keep in my Reatta. I also keep a box that has a pretty good set of tools.

 

 

thats why i have the 100 mile towing triple a.i don't want to try to fix something on the side of the road.

[DAVES89]

On 12/4/2018 at 6:33 PM, fordrodsteven said:

Not anything I did to my car today due to it being in winter storage right now but.....

I was driving with my wife. I pulled up to a light at an intersection. There is a car dealer on the corner and they frequently have old and older cars sitting in a lower showroom that is visible from street level. I think they also store cars for people during the winter but I'm not certain. Anyway. I looked to my right and just inside I saw a Maui Blue Reatta convertible (white top) sitting there.

Sounds like a great car for the wife...

[DAVES89]

Was out to Gibson's today. As I was walking in I saw a Gibson flat bed truck heading out. So I asked the yard manager what might be going on. He said they were back in business and can buy cars and will be leaving the You Pick open for guys. So there will be no 11th hour trips out there to buy anything. 

 

[AZVET]

I lost to a 1970 Honda😕

There was a car show in downtown Kingman today from 4-6 PM.  The entry fee was an unwrapped toy for Toys for Tots.  This was the first annual Christmas show for the infamous "Chillin On Beale Street".

There was a raffle for all entrants with a $100 Visa card as a prize.  In addition, there was a trophy for the best decorated car.  

I had 2 strings of battery powered LED lights that I placed on top of the engine bay with the hood up.  My engine bay is very clean and looks great.  I tried to borrow my wife's 3'tall Mickie Mouse that is dressed like Elf from the movie of the same name to display in the engine bay too.  My wife got it from her sister as a gift and they both were afraid he would be stolen!

The Honda N600 owner decorated his dinky little car (12" wheels?) with FLASHING lights, candy canes, bows and a large stuffed bear.  HE WON THE DANG TROPHY!

And just to add insult to injury the dude also won the $100 Visa card too!

NEXT year I am going all out.  Freakin clown car with a 600cc motorcycle engine.  Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr🎅

 

 

[Kevin M]

Started my car for the first time in a few months reconnected the battery and started right up. All I needed was some air in the tires. Some funny noises at first in the shock area. I’m assuming from sitting for about three months. 

[handmedownreatta]

ive been driving mine to work this week.i have to be careful with the overdrive...if it goes into overdrive at too high rpm the car bucks and shakes.also the ecc screen has started coming on again.it still drives well other than the od situation.i need daniel to come convert it to the later supercharged engine and trans.

 

Edited January 27, 2019 by handmedownreatta (see edit history)

[DAVES89]

I had been having a bit of trouble starting the Black these last couple of days. It is understandable as we have been experiencing actual temperatures of minus 23 degrees and wind chills approaching minus 55. I had been putting my battery charger on 50 amps for about 5 minutes and then try starting with great results. Well today after sitting at my church for about 3 hours it wouldn't start. So after getting a jump and getting home I decided to swap out the battery from the 'vert.

 Nothing like standing outside in a unheated garage with a warmed up temperature of minus 11 degrees.

 Battery is swapped out and hopefully I am good to go. Never tried buying a new one because as cold as it has been who would have a new one?

[Ronnie]

Dave you need a block heater or one of those dip sticks that warms the oil.

[DAVES89]

Believe it or not but I think the 'vert has a block heater as there is an electric cord that come up from the engine and is zip tied to the support bar over the battery.

[DAVES89]

I must be suffering from cabin fever. We either get bitter cold or snow. Last night 4" fell and is still snowing. However after dropping my granddaughter off at school I went to my local Pick and Pull [Gibson's] and pulled a body side molding part for a guy here on the forum. I couldn't tell easily what car was under the snow, but I did have a rough idea where the Reattas were. The first two were missing the trim piece I needed, but the 3rd one had what I needed.

 All the cars out there have a lot of snow on them [about 10" fell in the last week including last night] so the only way I could quickly tell what car was a Reatta was by our outside mirrors.

 Guessed right each time... 

[handmedownreatta]

8 hours ago, DAVES89 said:

I must be suffering from cabin fever. We either get bitter cold or snow. Last night 4" fell and is still snowing. However after dropping my granddaughter off at school I went to my local Pick and Pull [Gibson's] and pulled a body side molding part for a guy here on the forum. I couldn't tell easily what car was under the snow, but I did have a rough idea where the Reattas were. The first two were missing the trim piece I needed, but the 3rd one had what I needed.

 All the cars out there have a lot of snow on them [about 10" fell in the last week including last night] so the only way I could quickly tell what car was a Reatta was by our outside mirrors.

 Guessed right each time... 

i STILL haven't found a single reatta in a junkyard ever.i check pickaparts and lkqs website every thursday.no right year rivs either.

[DAVES89]

Around here Buicks sold pretty well, so we have Reattas. Most yards won't take Reattas as they are too old and not much part demand. In my local yard are 4 Reattas and at least 5-6 Rivs of our vintage. Then there are the Cadillacs and Olds of our vintage for Teves units and other miscellaneous parts.

 And yet I still buy the occasional Reatta beater to part out. Don't know why other then maybe I just want to be like Jim or Marck...

 

On another note. We just hit 28" for February. That is an inch a day average. More snow tonight so we should hit a new record as that is 29" set in 1890.

Edited February 28, 2019 by DAVES89 (see edit history)

[Kevin M]

The closest pick a pull by me is an hour away and that has five reattas. Unfortunately for me they realized what they had before I could get to it. The one of two 91 they had is pretty much completely gone. And the teves system is gone from the other four cars. Body is okay for most. Matt’s used auto parts in Hyde park NY

Edited March 1, 2019 by Kevin M (see edit history)

[Ronnie]

I got my Reatta out of the garage today to drive it for the first time this year.  My wife wanted me to do some house repairs but she knows I have a bad back. What could she have been thinking?

 

[DAVES89]

Good for you Ronnie! I had to take the Driver's side headlight cover off mine to get repainted because I dropped a yard tool on it. Just got it back this morning and already installed. With a little luck the Red comes out next week. Can't wait. 

[DAVES89]

Got the headlight cover back and it is now installed. I think I'm going to get the Red out of storage this weekend. To me that is the sign of spring [at least around here] when gets out the summer driver...

[mhuppertz]

Brake pump was groaning when running. Pulled the pump assembly and realized that the rubber bushing that fits in the rear of the pump was missing, so the vibration was being transmitted to the cabin. Now it is quiet again.

[padgett]

No I didn't break up a cat fight, rollers in one headlight went to crumbs so needed a rebuild & lotsa sharp places. That was my last set, are rollers still available ?.

[matthewlawe]

Yes on Ebay. I had recently purchased some for both headlights

[SeanR]

On 3/24/2019 at 11:43 PM, padgett said:

No I didn't break up a cat fight, rollers in one headlight went to crumbs so needed a rebuild & lotsa sharp places. That was my last set, are rollers still available ?.

www.rodneydickman.com sells all headlight repair items including the delrin bushings. 

[DAVES89]

First real sign of spring. I got the Red out. Will drive it after we get our first real rain which should be tomorrow. We are supposed to get about an inch over the next 24-36 hours which should wash the salt off the road.

[DAVES89]

Well I couldn't wait so we took the Red out for supper and I do have to say that it rides better then the Black [quieter and more comfortable] and has more power thanks to the recent engine rebuild. Added somewhere about 30-40 HP and just goes so much nicer without overpowering the transmission.

 Thanks again to Hal and Ronnie for their input during the rebuild process. 

[2seater]

Having a shed built large enough to store my car and other sundry items sort of backfired on me this spring. The storage itself was fine, but I wasn't expecting the late snow and very recent flooding on my access road, which a portion of was under two feet of water just last weekend. In any case, I had the opportunity to retrieve the '90 yesterday. It was reluctant to start, requiring help from a battery charger, even though the battery was pulled and stored at home where it received a charge once a month over winter. It was charging 14.0-14.2v on the fifty mile drive home but when the battery level was checked this morning, it was 11.2v, and failed to start. I was unhappy I needed to replace what I remember as a relatively new battery, until I found it was actually eleven years old. Oops🙄

[Ronnie]

After a long struggle with back problems this Spring I was finally able to drive my Reatta for an extended period today.  I put about 250 miles on it cruising through the mountains of East TN. My intentions were to go to a car show about 60 miles away but the weather was nice, the dogwoods are in bloom and my back was feeling good so I passed up the car show and kept on going.  Just a perfect day for driving.  I'd much rather be behind the wheel of my Reatta than sitting in a lawnchair watching people eyeball my car. For a while I thought I might have to sell my Reatta due to my back problems. The Reatta isn't the best car to get in and out of for someone with a bad back.  The drive today gave me encouragement that I might not have to sell my Reatta after all.

[Machiner 55]

 

Not to "one up" you or anything but, try doing it after Open Heart Surgery. (Mitral valve repair and a coronary by-pass.)

 

John F.

[Ronnie]

Good to hear from you John.  Sorry to hear that you had to go through so much.  A couple of bad discs is nothing compared to that.  Hope you are doing good now.