My Reatta is Getting OLD!

[ol' yeller]

Having owned several cars from the '60s, mostly '65 Skylarks, I have become accustomed to dealing with the inherent problems of a 40 plus year old car. I held my Reattas to a different standard as they were "new" cars. Yesterday, I came out to my car and noticed that one of my tires was going flat. No problem, I just aired it up and drove to the local Les Schwab to have the nail removed and the hole fixed. After about an hour they called me to the desk to pick up the car. I asked the tech what caused the flat? He said that I had some corrosion on my wheels and they didn't allow the tire bead to seat properly. There was no charge, he fixed the problem, have a nice day!

I was shocked. My beautiful Reatta convertible that had been pampered all its life had developed a corrosion problem? Yes, it was inside the tire where you couldn't see it, but this was a typical "Old Car" problem.

Now a day later, I feel somewhat better. I guess I have to admit that my car is actually 23 years old and it will have some of the problems that older cars develop. As the weather is going to pretty nice today, I think I'll treat her to a nice bath and vacuuming and then go on a spirited romp through the countyside this afternoon with the top down. Maybe I can creep back into the land of denial.... It's a good thing I'm not getting old too!

[Guest 89 Maui]

Believe me - I know the feeling.

[Booreatta]

I have had that happen in new cars, keep smiling its not getting old, its just getting better. A little love goes a long way.

[Guest Richard D]

I notice the change in cars even in "old" ones. I took my 71 Skylark vert to a local show last Saturday and driving it home at around 9:30 PM the first thing I noticed is that I take for granted in my 90 Reatta coupe driver was the window switches, they are not lit in the Skylark. I spent a lot of time finding the correct switch by feel. It was a little cool out so I turned some heat on, that HVAC panel is backlit except for the fan speed and the mode switch. Plus as I was leaving I am idleing along at walking speed and I give it a small amount of throttle and it just quit. Restarted right away but Reatta never does that. I forgot the auto-choke starting procedure when I started it. After engine warmed up and I had some clear road I slowly floored it from about 10 MPH and it took off until it hit around 3,000 RPM then coughed and spit until it cleared itself (350 cid 2V) I need to take it out and drive it hard on the turnpike to get the gunk out.(thanx Bill Cosby)

What I am trying to say is I always thought I would be happy to drive the Skylark as my driver but now I see I have gotten spoiled by fully lit controls, ABS, SFI, and all the other things I now take for granted, even in a 23 year old Reatta.

[padgett]

Have always preferred FI, had my first in 1970 and it was 7 years old then. Have also always liked things like a/c (all my cars have) power steering/brakes/windows. Full instrumentation. The only downsie to the Reatta ia really what makes it so reliable: a evolved design from the early 1960s. Unfortunately the best designs of the '60s died out early here: the aluminum Buick V8 (still lives in the UK) and the OHC 6 from Pontiac.

Of course if I really cared I'd just transplant the 3.6 DOHC all aluminum 6 from my tow car with nearly double the HP of the 3800 and much better MPG on 87 PON or E85. That is the real difference in 20 years (the tablet and sat-nav has already been added).