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


SeanR

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Got my sunroof coupe aligned with all the front end work I've done. I'm very happy with how it handles. Thanks to the Reatta Store for having the right parts and great pricing, and with Amazon prime I get it all 2 day shipped.
Thank you for using the Reatta Store. It is much appreciated. If I can assist you some way please let me know.
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Been a busy week on the Red. Cleaned the Maf Sensor, the air intake butterfly, IAC [idle Air Control], then on to the A/C. I ran the tests on the CRT to see where I was on freon and cycles and that looked good, so thought I would clean the condensor and radiator. So took the dogbone bracket off, removed the puller fan and started in. Both were full of gunk so after about 20-30 minutes with a hose that's all good. The last thing to do [today] is to remove the Blower Control Module and the Blower Fan and clean inside the plenum. I WILL be ready for warm weather.

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Started changeout of the front cradle bushings. Unfortunately I now have two broken bolts (both rear bolts) on the passenger side and it will now take quite a bit longer to get the job done. Will be working to try to get the broken studs out without damaging the threads. Worst case scenario, I think, will be to drill them out and re-tap to larger size bolts that came with the Dorman bushings sets.

Edited by fordrodsteven (see edit history)
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I got the passenger side re-assembled. I got one of the broken bolts out because it finally broke loose and I could thread it out. The other broken bolt presented many problems but I finally got it out. I went over to the drivers side and same situation.Front bolt came right out and both rear bolts rusted to a smaller diameter and both snapped right off. Now I'm working to get those two out.

Edited by fordrodsteven (see edit history)
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Heading to the all GM show sponsored by the local chapter of the BCA in LA in 20 minutes. There should be at least 6 Reatta's there including mine. Will be posting photo's early next week, will get home Monday. Be good!

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my3buicks, on 16 May 2015 - 1:52 PM, said:

I think you are holding out on us Bob of what else you recently did to Zoomer.

Yeah, OK, I'll come clean..........I applied the tire dressing to tires that are now mounted on a beautiful set of wheels and center caps that I purchased from Keith last week.  My old wheels were an eyesore, with all the clear coat and shine long-gone.  The "new" ones really make the Red Zoomer pop and I'm one happy camper.   

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Drove my 91 Reatta to/fro Battleship Cove & Museum, Fall River, MA....Battleship USS Massachusetts (BB59) and destroyer USS Joseph P. Kennedy Jr (DD850) with fellow BCA Minuteman Chapter members today...120 miles round trip.  I was finally given permission to enter the "Chief Petty Officers' quarters on the Kennedy where my dad spent 13 months aboard as the first Chief Gunners Mate to serve on her in 1946....was able to see where he birthed/ate and proudly walk in his footsteps! 

Edited by DShip (see edit history)
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Worked on some exhaust heat shield noise (rub). Finally can say exhaust is completely fixed with the new mid pipe now installed. Re-Charged the A/C using 134a purchased thru the Reatta Store. A/C is working good. I have a Gauge Set to check pressures. ( I have paperwork from the original owner that had the A/C converted by a GM dealer not many miles ago, invoice was around $1000 for the conversion).

Edited by Dashmaster (see edit history)
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All together and driving again. I like it!. Not sure what to do next. Still need to change out rear end.... Just not that ambitious right now. I have a road trip coming up in two weeks (not taking the Reatta) and I am getting started on garage demolition / reconstruction project.

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  • 3 weeks later...
Guest HuevosRanchero

changed out this ancient possibly original fuel filter....was a bear, it had melded with the fuel line couplers.....all that money spent on a car and couldn't be bothered with a little regular maintenance.

 

 

fuelfilter2.jpg

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Guest reattadan

Finished putting the whole dash, steering column, instrument panel, etc after replacing the heater core to try and make the heat work (the previous owner bypassed). It doesn't blow hot.  :(  I think I need to calibrate the programmer with the climate control. Heck I'm not sure if the dang thing has vacuum but whatever.

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Guest Dan Gibbs

Hey All :)

 

Currently looking to go out to the goo-rodge and pull my '88's tail-light assembly. I want to get it into my living-room/dude-cave and polish off the years of oxidation.I think it's one of the small "workings" that can make so much improvement in the visual appeal. Wish me luck folks!!!

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Guest runnerkid101

There was a fire in my town. I wanted to get close up to see what was going on but this is as close as I got. Why not take a picture?

post-142547-0-34773400-1434256983_thumb.

Edited by runnerkid101 (see edit history)
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No more lens envy.

 I was at the Reatta Reunion [Part of the BCA Reunion] in Springfield] and was impressed by the great condition our Reattas were in. While I had just done the rear taillight and got numerous postive comments on that, I was envious of others front lights, especially Kevin's [kdirk]. So what I did this AM was get out some back stock and took my two best fog lights and scuff sanded and clear coated them. They turned out great. Then I had one cornering lamp [drivers side] that just needed a tab glued back on [gorilla glue] and then installed. It was off the Black from when I had a small fender bender and was in excellent "Driver" condition and the amber corner globe was intact so that replaced the existing one. I then took some "Plastix" to the passenger side lamp [no back stock on that lamp] and wiped it clean with carb cleaner and top coated with a clear acrylic. It really brought out the shine and looks great [as a daily driver].

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I also just finished the installation of the Samsung LED light recommended by kdirk for my fog lights. Great upgrade, especially with the freshly refinished fog light lens. I only bought two and am thinking that it would be a nice thing to have on the Black that has the Truck lite LED headlights. 

 Will think on that.

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We're supposed to have a long hot summer this year so I bit the bullet and had my 88's A/C converted to R134a and working again. I lucked out because the system hasn't run in years but everything still works and holds pressure.   I've never experienced a Reatta with A/C and it seems like a great system - keeps you cool and isn't too obtrusive.  A good day.

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I also just finished the installation of the Samsung LED light recommended by kdirk for my fog lights. Great upgrade, especially with the freshly refinished fog light lens. I only bought two and am thinking that it would be a nice thing to have on the Black that has the Truck lite LED headlights. 

 Will think on that.

 

Tell us more about the bulbs you used. Did they make a lot of difference over the stock bulbs?  I would like brighter fog lights but don't want to take a chance of melting them with hotter bulbs.

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Ronnie,

I tried two different types of LED 881 lamps on my cars. Dave saw them in person at the meet and was apparently impressed enough with the light output and color rendering to try them himself. One type I bought used Samsung LED'S, the other were made with Cree research LED elements. While Cree is widely regarded as the leader in LED research and development, I (based upon my own eyes only, not any scientific measurements) feel the Samsung based bulbs look brighter. Both were a considerable improvement over stock 881 halogen lamps. The Cree LED driven bulbs were only slightly less effective output and are still better than stock.

Anyway, I purchased two sets of each of ebay to try in all four cars. Have been happy with both but told Dave I had to give the nod to the bulbs using the Samsung LED's by just a hair. I don't know if he got them on ebay or Amazon as I think they were available there as well. If the latter, you could easily add them to the store I imagine if you were so inclined.

My rationale here was to increase the light output and reduce the heat to preserve the plastic lenses and housings. I think both objectives were handily accomplished. Do be aware both Led bulb types have a much whiter light output, trending towards slightly bluish. Not obnoxiously so like many "look-alike" HID lamps sold presently, but definitely not yellow-white as the OEM type lamps. They also look noticebly white-slight blue in comparison to the headlamps of course so keep that in mind. Finally, both types fit in the housings but were slightly snug, so needed just a bit of persuasion to go in and make the quarter turn to latch in place. They do come with silicone rubber gaskets just as the halogen 881's would. These are plug and play and no mods are required. I've been quite happy with them.

I have also tried a couple of varieties of 194 in white LED and one version of an 1156. The latest 194's I purchased came from a US ebay seller (lots of this stuff is straight out of China FYI). Bought a pack of ten to use for license plate lamps and some interior lighting locations. Was rather impressed with these and will probably buy more. Need to find the link and will get it posted here. Given that they came in a ten pack, I thought they were a good deal at the price charged.

The 1156 types I bought (mostly for backup lamp use) were inexpensive and it shows. They work, but are constructed of micro circuit boards with a bunch of surface mount LED chips facing both forward and sideward in a 360 degree arrangement. This provides decent omni-directional light output but they feel kind of cheap and are easy to break off the metal base when twisting into the socket. The circuit boards are spot-soldered in 4 places around the perimiter. I had to redo these solder points on all four bulbs I installed. So, I will not buy any more of those and will search out a substitute that actually looks like a true bulb so that the LEDs are all encapsulated rather than exposed. I figure moisture and resulting corrosion of the solder points will kill these lamps in a couple of years. Even a conformal coating would've helped here, but no such luck.

My next experiment may be to place amber color LED 194's in the front cornering lamp assemblies. Since these are unaffected by the flasher circuit (only the 890 lamp is used for this in front) it will be an easy and side-effect free swap out, I believe. Honestly, I'm in no hurry to do this one as there is less benefit to be gleaned from it. I might do the under hood and trunk lights first actually, as the better light output would be useful in both locations. Also looking at red 1141 LED lamps for the third brake light on the coupes. I feel like that would be a worthwhile upgrade for both the heat reduction and the instant-on properties versus incandescent. Studies have already confirmed an improved reaction time from drivers following a car with LED brake lamps instead of conventional bulbs. Due to the complexities of the flasher circuit (particularly on 88/89) I will be leaving the main tail light array as-is (all incandescent) for now. I may evetually convert those as well but that is in the offing.

KDirk

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I bought them for the reason of safety. I had the headlight switch burn up the wires on my Red leaving me without headlights [when the switch burns up the lights turn off and close]. I was about 150 miles from home and was forced to get behind a guy pulling a trailer [this was on a four lane highway] and followed him using my 4 way flashers for safety. When I turned off onto a surface road all I had was my stock fog lights which gave me almost no illumination. I was forced to go about 10 miles an hour until I reached my destination for the night. I have added a relay system in my car to take the draw off the headlight switch but this gives me somewhat better lighting should a problem happen again and the headlights fail to work.

 I purchased mine through Amazon.

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About a week ago I hit some road debris and it has affected my alignment. I also needed tires so off to the shop I go for an alignment and tire installation. Simple, except the guy tells me I need rear shims for a 4 wheel alighnment. I try telling him he installed some shims about 50,000 miles ago, but he said they were still needed. So I go back in today for another alignment. I figure as long as they are doing shims and my struts also have 50,000 miles on them may as well replace the struts. So I order struts again from Amazon and have them in my possession. Then I remember I have a warranty situation as the struts have a "lifetime warranty" of free replacement. 

 Here is the tricky part.

 My car has Sensatracs from Monroe which have a limited lifetime warranty. As the original purchaser from Amazon this means you get one free replacement of struts and strut mounts no matter how old your struts are. The Amazon rep was not much help, first telling me that I was outside the warranty [of one year] and then that I should just contact Monroe and let them issue the credit. Fortunately I had the Monroe website loaded and read to her what the warranty was and what Amazon's responsibility was. The service rep said there was no way the Amazon computer system was going to give me a return voucher from a purchase in Jan of 2012 so they would just issue me a credit to the charge account that was in force at the time. We no longer use that card or account so now I have to track that bank down. [Will work on that today. I did get an email from Amazon that they did credit the account].

 My solution to the forum is this. If you have Monroe struts and you purchased them from Amazon, buy another set. As you are allowed one free replacement per purchased strut. As it is so hard to get a refund for struts purchased so long ago [remember 3 plus years ago] just have the shop put the old struts in the box they came in, wait 6 months or so and contact Amazon to do a return. They will request a return of the struts and give you a refund. This will give you the "free" replacement you are after and save you an hour of aggravation on the phone.

 This is the easiest way I know to do this

 BTW Amazon is way cheaper on price then the local parts store. It is not even close. 

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Kevin, Dave,

Thanks for the info on the LED fog lights. Sounds like they are just what I was looking for. I do a lot of driving in the evening with just the fog lights on.

 

Looks like there are dozens of different ones to choose from on Amazon. Could either of you point me to the specific ones you purchased from Amazon?

 

I will be adding them to the Reatta Store after I test them out.

Edited by Ronnie (see edit history)
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About a week ago I hit some road debris and it has affected my alignment. I also needed tires so off to the shop I go for an alignment and tire installation. Simple, except the guy tells me I need rear shims for a 4 wheel alighnment. I try telling him he installed some shims about 50,000 miles ago, but he said they were still needed. So I go back in today for another alignment. I figure as long as they are doing shims and my struts also have 50,000 miles on them may as well replace the struts. So I order struts again from Amazon and have them in my possession. Then I remember I have a warranty situation as the struts have a "lifetime warranty" of free replacement. 

 Here is the tricky part.

 My car has Sensatracs from Monroe which have a limited lifetime warranty. As the original purchaser from Amazon this means you get one free replacement of struts and strut mounts no matter how old your struts are. The Amazon rep was not much help, first telling me that I was outside the warranty [of one year] and then that I should just contact Monroe and let them issue the credit. Fortunately I had the Monroe website loaded and read to her what the warranty was and what Amazon's responsibility was. The service rep said there was no way the Amazon computer system was going to give me a return voucher from a purchase in Jan of 2012 so they would just issue me a credit to the charge account that was in force at the time. We no longer use that card or account so now I have to track that bank down. [Will work on that today. I did get an email from Amazon that they did credit the account].

 My solution to the forum is this. If you have Monroe struts and you purchased them from Amazon, buy another set. As you are allowed one free replacement per purchased strut. As it is so hard to get a refund for struts purchased so long ago [remember 3 plus years ago] just have the shop put the old struts in the box they came in, wait 6 months or so and contact Amazon to do a return. They will request a return of the struts and give you a refund. This will give you the "free" replacement you are after and save you an hour of aggravation on the phone.

 This is the easiest way I know to do this

 BTW Amazon is way cheaper on price then the local parts store. It is not even close. 

 

Good to hear you did get credit under warranty.  Sounds like it might have went pretty smooth if you had the same card you used to purchase them. Your solution to making it easier to get credit would probably work with Amazon. They might not check what's in the boxes in order to issue credit. My friend who owns a parts store would make sure you returned Monroe struts so he would get credit from the jobber he sends them back to. They wouldn't accept another brand.

 

BTW, I put the Monroe Sensa-Tracs all the way around on my Reatta about a year ago and I couldn't be happier with them.  They actually ride better now than they did when I first installed them. I guess they needed a little time to break-in. The Sensa-Tracs, in combinations with the new Michelin Defender tires I just installed, made my Reatta ride smooth as silk.

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Key in Samsung 881. The ones I bought were sold/shipped from "Partsquare". Cost was $16.49 for two bulbs. Mine fit perfectly without the "snug" situation kdirk experienced. 

Thanks Dave. Using that info took me right too them. That's a great price. I will be ordering them today. I need to find something else to order to get me over $35 so I get free shipping.

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Ronnie I had Sensatracs on the car. They were purchased from Amazon. I was just trying to get my warranty taken care of. As of yet we still haven't "found" the bank or charge card we had back then. But at least the struts I did order are on the car. Two of the struts [one front, one rear] were bad and in need of replacement.

 I also need a front Drivers side wheel bearing as well as the rear sway bar mounts. 

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replaced the fuel pump today. It would have been easier if there wasn't about 13 gallons of gas in it. I gave up on my manual pump and just dropped it full using 2 jacks for support, then drained it into 5 gallon buckets before reinstalling. I made a mess. :)

 

I did have to remove both bolts holding the rear track bar in place and use a crow bar to get enough clearance to get it out and back in. Other than that and a few spare parts left over, it was fairly straightforward.  My son and his friend helped me.

 

Hopefully, she's good for another 235,000 miles now.  :)

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Edited by bhclark (see edit history)
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Brian that loks like a very uncomfortable pillow. You might want to get something from the house for naps under your car.

 I removed the Black's driver seat and had a bolster replaced [once again used a head rest for replacement leather] and as long as I had it out I installed a heated seat kit. I had purchased a set of two about a year ago when my wife's seat warmer failed in her car. So as long as I had one extra I thought why not? Seat is out and apart now is a good time.

 BTW last week on my way down to Springfield I stopped in at a salvage yard in Iowa and picked off a 1988, the front sensor leads [repaired also yesterday] as well as the hood ornament [sold to kdirk] and the Teves pump and motor sold to Jim Finn].

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So, a few weeks ago, I went and got married to the love of my life, and we used the convertible as our getaway car. It was a wonderful ceremony and it was even better driving the reatta away from the church with the top down through the valley! Here is an attached picture, it won't let me put more than one in.

 

post-134158-0-47024300-1435452802_thumb.

 

 

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Key in Samsung 881. The ones I bought were sold/shipped from "Partsquare". Cost was $16.49 for two bulbs. Mine fit perfectly without the "snug" situation kdirk experienced. 

 

I received the LEDs for the fog lights yesterday and I got them installed this evening. They have a much whiter light than the standard bulbs. In the photo below you can see the difference. The standard bulb is on the left and the LED is on the right.

 

Not a huge difference in brightness but they do a better job of filling in the area between the bumper and where the low beams begin lighting the road.

 

No problem with getting them to fit at all. Thanks guys for letting me know about them.

post-95476-0-37033500-1435545772_thumb.j

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I received the LEDs for the fog lights yesterday and I got them installed this evening. They have a much whiter light than the standard bulbs. In the photo below you can see the difference. The standard bulb is on the left and the LED is on the right.

 

Not a huge difference in brightness but they do a better job of filling in the area between the bumper and where the low beams begin lighting the road.

 

No problem with getting them to fit at all. Thanks guys for letting me know about them.

 

Ronnie - If you get a chance, can you turn on both your headlights and LED fog lights in the evening and share a photo.  Would like to see how they both look (and BTW, what type of headlights do you have i.e. SIlverstar?).  Thanks,

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I took one photo of all the lights last night but it didn't come out too good. It's hard to take photos of headlights straight on.

 

I have the GE H6054NH Nighthawks.  I'm satisfied with them, but after seeing how white the LEDs are compared to them I'm thinking maybe I should have got the Silverstars or something whiter.

post-95476-0-30747200-1435576572_thumb.j

Edited by Ronnie (see edit history)
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I took one photo of all the lights last night but it didn't come out too good. It's hard to take photos of headlights straight on.

 

I have the GE H6054NH Nighthawks.  I'm satisfied with them, but after seeing how white the LEDs are compared to them I'm thinking maybe I should have got the Silverstars or something whiter.

 

I have Silverstars and they're OK.   But my daily driver has LED and would like to get that same brightness from the Reatta.

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Ronnie, the silverstars (while decent) are almost certainly no better than nighthawks. I have Silverstars on two of my cars and they still look like common halogen lamps in terms of color temperature, though I think the dispersion is better than others. They are certainly better than the OEM Guide halogens, which were nice 26 years ago but not up to the job today.

I'm afraid LED headlamps are the real solution, which wouldn't be a big deal save for the cost of the lamps and harness mods that are needed for it to work right. The former will come down some yet I expect, but the harness upgrade will be required no matter what. That is probably beyond the capability of some people and it's implementation will be limited to those of us who are adventurous enough in technical matters to take it on. I know I will eventually, but have many other projects that get priority over that.

KDirk

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I think the Truck-Lite LED Headlamps are the best option for the Reatta if you want a top of the line set of lights but I can't justify the price when I rarely drive my Reatta at night. They also require installation of a wiring harness for them to work properly but if you are handy with tools that isn't a big deal for some people. The price for the Truck-Lites is down considerably from where they started out. About $400 was the original price if I remember correctly.

 

I drive with my fog lights on at all times so I think the LEDs are a good upgrade for the money. The fog lights being on seem to make the Reatta more visible to other drivers even during the day. The LED fog lights help some in that respect as well as adding some additional light at dusk when I'm not using the headlights.

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Holy discount Batman! That is a much better price then the $350.00 I paid less then a year ago. It is a great light and I still don't regret buying them. I also agree with kdirk that a harness is required. 

 The thing to know about the Truck lite is that the bulbs have a short pigtail which is too short for our application [the plug ends up in a inconvienant place] and a splice must be made to make the pigtail longer.

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 I was out to Gibson's last week and went walking through the Oldsmobile section looking for two things. An auto dimming compass mirror and an Alero spoiler. Got the spoiler and had it painted by a friend of mine who works at a GM dealership. Installed it on the 'vert over the weekend and it looks great.

 Now all 3 cars have the Alero spoilers.

 Also washed both cars and put two coats of polish on the Red.

Edited by DAVES89 (see edit history)
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