Interesting find today..

[NCReatta]

Met a customer today who had a 1990maui blue/grey convertible that he ordered new with dual 16way power seats.

Edited December 15, 2012 by NCReatta (see edit history)

[D-a-n-i-e-l]

I have some ocean front property in Arizona for you.

Not saying it is not possible, but unlikely. Pluss there has been many conversions done for this noted on this site pluss all the ones done off of it.

[Barney Eaton]

Great story.........If he is the original owner, and ordered the car, he should have documentation showing the original sale price information, window sticker, etc. Dealer installed items like cell phones, aftermarket sunroofs, trunk racks, vinyl tops, lift kits, etc do not count as "factory" but are of interest to see what dealer might have added just to sell the car.

I would love to see the documentation posted so this issue of "special built" Reattas can be documented. I started accumulating Reatta information as early as 1993 knowing that over time information is lost and stories are blurred. If we are to get good Reatta information for history, then each of these cars must be documented.

[NCReatta]

Great story.........If he is the original owner, and ordered the car, he should have documentation showing the original sale price information, window sticker, etc. Dealer installed items like cell phones, aftermarket sunroofs, trunk racks, vinyl tops, lift kits, etc do not count as "factory" but are of interest to see what dealer might have added just to sell the car.

I would love to see the documentation posted so this issue of "special built" Reattas can be documented. I started accumulating Reatta information as early as 1993 knowing that over time information is lost and stories are blurred. If we are to get good Reatta information for history, then each of these cars must be documented.

According to him, his wife didn't like that just the driver got "all the fancy functions". And since she was going to be the primary passenger, he asked the dealer (a good friend of his) if he could get dual 16-ways in his car he was ordering, the dealer said "no problem". Probably because he was a loyal customer for many years.

Nothing was added to the cost since he was already buying a fully optioned Reatta convertible, and the window sticker says simply that it had the grey 16-way seat option.

The owner was at the dealer when the car was unloaded off the truck from the Craft Centre, and it came from the factory with duals.

Edited December 15, 2012 by NCReatta (see edit history)

[wws944]

If you have the VIN, it would be interesting to type it into compnine and see if it had any "special marketing codes" attached to it.

Were the controls in a box-like pod - like the drivers side it? Or were they integrated into the trim around the base of the seat - as a lot of other E-bodies (Riv, Eldo/Seville, etc) were?

[KDirk]

Walt, the picture attached in the OP shows it has a pod, just mirror image of the driver side setup (both pod and bezel had to be made unique for each side). I could believe this was done factory at the request of a dealer with enough pull. The one thing I am unsure of is how they matched the color of the upholstery. I don't think the Riviera (which is where the parts for this had to come from, they were available with both seats as true 16 ways) used the same interior colors. I know Saddle Tan was not offered on the Rivi, and suspect there was a different shade of grey versus the Reatta as well. They may have used the same burgundy and blue in 90, but I kind of think those were the only two interior colors in common.

I suppose they could have shot matched color onto a pod of a different shade, but that tends not to hold up very well. In any case, it would be nice to definitively document these types of special builds as there have been a lot of unusual things discovered, but no real indisputable evidence to back up the assertions. Claiming "that's what I heard" is not factual documentation, unfortunately. And while I'm not arguing the veracity of the story presented here, I think after 20+ years stories can get embellished. Another possibility is the owner may think it was factory installed because that's what the dealer told him (maybe to keep things simple, or for a little ego stroking). If the dealer requested something and the factory told him "no can do", the dealer may have done this in house to satisfy the customer (and why not, if they had the parts to do so?) rather than risk the sale by telling the customer it couldn't be done. I'm just throwing that out as a hypothetical possibility, as we all know dealerships will blow smoke to get a deal done. Nothing wrong with that either, if it gets all parties involved what they wanted.

KDirk

[wws944]

For some reason, I didn't see, or pay attention to, the photo in the first posting when I made my post...

That pod is definitely Reatta - not Riviera. If you look at a similar year Riviera, the switches are in a moulded area in the plastic trim around the base of the seat. In the Reatta 16-ways, the pods mount directly into the vinyl side bolster, not the base trim. The only hard to find part was the mirror image black switch bezel. I would suspect it was a Cadillac part, since the Riviera version has fake wood grain.

It really does look factory done. Again, it would be interesting to know if there was a "special marketing code" attached to the car.

[KDirk]

Actually, now that I think about it, the pod would be interchangeable, as it just mounts to the side of the seat with two screws. So, of course they used a stock Reatta pod. The bezel is the interesting part. Yes, the Rivi had burled "walnut" trim but I know there was another Buick that used the same bezel on a (optionally available) 16 way passenger side seat. Steve(Skyhawk) had a NOS one for sale quite a while back, and I remember talking to him about this. Now I can't remember what vehicle it was actually intended for, but it matched the Reatta bezel (silver lettering of same style on a black background) so would have looked factory.

Don't think it was Cadillac part, as they had a different seat setup altogether, even in the E-platform (i.e. Eldorado). Also, Cadillac in the mid to late 80's used a different typeface for labeling of switches and instrumentation (I believe similar to Century Gothic - look in your font list on Microsoft Word for an example) where Buick used one that I would liken more to Eurostyle medium. In 1989 or 90 (starting with the Deville I think), Cadillac stared using a type face much like Zapf Humanist, this also being clearly discernible from that used in most Buick models. The VFD displays and switch labeling in my 91 Deville were all in this typeface. Look at the switch bezel for the trunk and gas door buttons inside the glove box on a 89-91 Reatta for an example, as this definitely was a part "recycled" from Cadillac. Interestingly, the 95 Deville uses the same rather nondescript sans-serif typeface (albeit in narrower character width) as the Reatta did. This may be a small difference to those who aren't "font nerds" like me, but I surely would find it noticeable and the posted pic does not reflect that difference as the switch legends are in the correct type style.

KDirk

[Barney Eaton]

Mike Rukavina (reattadudes) has been making these seats for years. Stanley out in Oregon showed me his back around 2007.

You must use a drivers seat because a passanger seats thigh support does not move, you must also get the lumbar bladder and pump/motor that is in the drivers seat. It is not a case of not being possible, it is an issue of them coming from the Craft Centre that way.

Also remember that the Craft Centre did not make the seats, they came from a sub-contractor. The person installing seats did not have a rack of passanger seats that were made like the drivers seat. To make it happen from the Craft Centre, there would need to be a special order to the sub-contractor (a 16 way drivers seat with the extra controls on the right side, in the color needed) then it would need to be shipped to the Craft Centre and somehow placed in the correct car. There needs to be paperwork/documentation/instructions. They don't come in each morning and have a meeting......" oh, we got a couple of specials today, there will be a pink convertible that needs a sunroof, and a blue coupe that we will put white doors on that one" This was a real business, they built cars to order, the orders told them how to build each car and that is the documentation we need.

[Guest my3buicks]

How about a Riv T-Type - no woodgrain

Edited December 18, 2012 by my3buicks (see edit history)

[NCReatta]

Mike Rukavina (reattadudes) has been making these seats for years. Stanley out in Oregon showed me his back around 2007.

You must use a drivers seat because a passanger seats thigh support does not move, you must also get the lumbar bladder and pump/motor that is in the drivers seat. It is not a case of not being possible, it is an issue of them coming from the Craft Centre that way.

Also remember that the Craft Centre did not make the seats, they came from a sub-contractor. The person installing seats did not have a rack of passanger seats that were made like the drivers seat. To make it happen from the Craft Centre, there would need to be a special order to the sub-contractor (a 16 way drivers seat with the extra controls on the right side, in the color needed) then it would need to be shipped to the Craft Centre and somehow placed in the correct car. There needs to be paperwork/documentation/instructions. They don't come in each morning and have a meeting......" oh, we got a couple of specials today, there will be a pink convertible that needs a sunroof, and a blue coupe that we will put white doors on that one" This was a real business, they built cars to order, the orders told them how to build each car and that is the documentation we need.

This is a factory job. My customer is the original owner, and ordered it as such. He doesn't have the factory build sheet (anybody here that does?) but in his trunk, there is code A80 for the drivers side seat, and code A82. What is code A82? No mention of it anywhere

Also has code R1N which looks to be a sales code.

Another code that was unusual was code BG4, and AS3.

Having a little difficulty finding anything on these codes.

[NCReatta]

How about a Riv T-Type - no woodgrain

Keith does have a point, the Riv T-Type used the same bezel.

I'm not sure what is so hard to grasp about this. Imagine this:

Customer wants dual 16-way seats.

All the parts are there, just takes a little assembly by the Craft Centre.

At the factory: "Hey Tom, we have someone who wants dual 16-ways installed. The dealer they ordered from says we can use a bezel from a Riv t-type"

"No problem, Roy, I'll have that bezel sent over here from parts HQ. You go ahead and take two driver's seats and swap the pod around and get it all installed, and we'll just stick the bezel on as soon as it gets here."

Simple enough. The Craft Centre was built to make sure everything was to the finest specification needed. If it took a little longer to put in a second driver's seat, so what? They weren't in a rush.

[wws944]

It seems to me that a factory person could have easily pulled a drivers seat off the shelf, and moved the pod to the other side in just a few minutes. Again, the only real issue is the bezel.

I am thus far unconvinced that the bezel would have come from a T-Type Riviera. They only made them up through '88, and the styling of the seat switches was different. Had the long, thin, switches matching the window controls in the center console. I saw a '87 T-Type Riv at a wrecking yard about a year ago, and have a photo somewhere of those switches. (As an aside, I also have the garnet red shift knob from that car. It is currently installed in my Reatta.)

[Rawja]

Couple of things.. The Riviera had the brushed metal trim, same as the Reatta '86 through '88. The wood-grained trim in the Riviera debuted in '89. The switch pods on the sides of the seats with the thin rockers to the best of knowledge went away after '86, though they might have switched in '87 as a running change. I have done the dual 16-ways utilizing a switchpod from an '87 T-Type. Switches and the pod itself is the same as the Reatta just with a right-handed trim plate.

[dship]

This is what I found re: the RPO codes Marck mentioned. Granted, the RPO book I'm using is from est year 2000 so take it for what it's worth:

A80 - adjuster front seat back, power driver, reclining

A82 - restraint, head

AS3 - seat, right

BG4 - trim override, interior

R1N - module, Japaneese (don't know what this is?)

[wws944]

Here are the photos from the '87 Riviera. I took them last Feb.

Drivers side:

Passenger side:

Maybe it wasn't a T-Type?

Or maybe the switch styles changed in '88?

Edited December 18, 2012 by wws944 (see edit history)

[Barney Eaton]

Working together, we may be making progress. The codes were used on GM cars and the same code might mean something slightly different on a Oldsmobile or a Chevy. GM had a little (3 1/2X 7) white booklet that explained the vin numbers for all divisions in the front and then had the codes following that. I have a 1992 and a 1997 book and the same code may have a different definition between the two.

The first thing I would do is run a Compnine on the vin....... this give a definitation for each code for that year and that may more clearly define the codes.

My 1992 book shows......

A82 = restraint, head

AS3 = seat, RR suburban

BG4 = trim override, interior, big four (1990 Select Sixty had this code)

R1N = not listed ( in 1990 the Select Sixty package was coded R1V)

I have found 1988 and 1989 cars with a AS8 code that is not defined but it has something to do with seats.

One thing to look at...... if they used a drivers seat, moved the controls to the right side, there should be a slit or hole on the left side where the wires came thru the side panel material.

[NCReatta]

It's possible I could have misread the codes. I will take another look later this week at the car.

There would be no hole. If you've ever taken a seat apart, you'd see that the wire bundle comes from under the seat up the side. Not going through any Upholstry.

Weather they used a drivers seat or not is irrelevant. It was done at the factory.

[William Rule]

Were the "Factory Duals" of which you speak-----the mufflers? From the Reatta factory?

[Rawja]

It's possible I could have misread the codes. I will take another look later this week at the car.

There would be no hole. If you've ever taken a seat apart, you'd see that the wire bundle comes from under the seat up the side. Not going through any Upholstry.

Weather they used a drivers seat or not is irrelevant. It was done at the factory.

Yeah, but the screws that attach the pod go through the upholstery. Having done the swap they are fairly invisible given the size of the holes and the location up against the console. Certainly worth taking a peek if you get near the car again. Of course It's possible that the pods were installed at the Craft Centre on the supplied seats.

[William Rule]

According to him, his wife didn't like that just the driver got "all the fancy functions". And since she was going to be the primary passenger, he asked the dealer (a good friend of his) if he could get dual 16-ways in his car he was ordering, the dealer said "no problem". Probably because he was a loyal customer for many years.

Nothing was added to the cost since he was already buying a fully optioned Reatta convertible, and the window sticker says simply that it had the grey 16-way seat option.

The owner was at the dealer when the car was unloaded off the truck from the Craft Centre, and it came from the factory with duals.

I'd like to know more about the factory "duals" PLEASE!

[Nittany]

RulesReattas and all,

I have "duals" but not from the factory - haha. Additionally, many here on the Forum like dual exhaust and have added it to their car. And then theres some folk that like Supercharged engines, manual transmissions, stereos with GPS Maps and color screens; what's amazing to me is that every day we enjoy photo's of people's attempts at create Factory-looking "improvements" in their Reattas like they could have been done at the Factory . . . just saying!

Maybe just my way of counting my blessings and saying thanks to all that participate on this site and Happy Holidays to all!!