Cargirl has the rare 1991 RPO N60

[Regalization]

I am excited to say that Cargirl (Brenda) here on this site has one of the convertibles!

Cargirl has one of the convertibles with the Flame Red interior and the N60 white wheels. That’s a rare one, Brenda!

 

Edited October 30, 2015 by Regalization (see edit history)

[Guest my3buicks]

Not only rare but a striking combo

[Cargirl]

Your my new hero Robert! I was looking for this information when I got the car and I thought it was unobtainable. I guess it's the same for people who love statistics in Baseball, I just love knowing this sort of information for my cars. I can only imagine only Reatta insiders ordered this option. The '91 wheels were very striking and adding a wheel color would certainly be avoided by many. When I take my car to the Saturday night show and shines so many people ask me about the wheels on my Regatta. LOL Oldsmobile had color matching SSII rims in the 1970's and I thought they were terrific-timeless. Thanks for the info, the Reatta forum rules! Edited May 5, 2015 by Cargirl (see edit history)

[Regalization]

I’m happy to help.

(Nice photo of the wheel!)
 

Edited October 30, 2015 by Regalization (see edit history)

[Guest my3buicks]

Pontiac did a lot of body colored wheels of various models in that time frame. I remember the Sunbird had a white wheel option with the white interior, I never thought the white wheels looked good on most of the colors. With the Reatta's limited production overall it make scarcer options far higher in percentage than many other rare options on extremely higher production models. Regardless, it was a fantastic look.

Edited May 5, 2015 by my3buicks (see edit history)

[Guest PontiacDude210]

Cargirl, have I mentioned your Reatta is one of the prettiest ones I've ever seen? That combo is a startling look. Your vert and M3B's vert are on the list of the coolest looking Reattas I've ever seen... and that list is only about 5 Reattas long.

[Vincent Vega]

I wonder what happened to ManikMechanic and his black\flame red vert. He always said it was the last black vert off the line.

[DAVES89]

Manikmakanik has throat cancer. I haven't talked to him in about a year.

[Guest my3buicks]

black and flame red is SO sharp

[harry yarnell]

Keith's right; flame red and black exterior are one of my favorites.

I had a '64 black, red lipstick interior coup de ville convertible awhile back and a '68 white, lipstick red interior Eldorado (another great combo). Sorry (now) that I sold them.

[Barney Eaton]

The white wheels were available as replacement parts (and white hub caps) there is always the possibility that a customer wanted them and the dealer installed the wheels after it left Lansing.

In judging Buicks....and Reattas, if the part, color, option was available, the owner can have it on the car without points penalty. Having the window sticker helps with originality.

I have white wheels on my Reatta convertible 900552 but they did not come on the car.

It is nice that Robert digging into the production numbers...... I hope he does not find a 1991 Polo Green convertible.

[Guest my3buicks]

I assume Barney that judging rule would only pertain to being put on 91 white cars and not any other color

[Ronnie]

What would make you think that someone who has been on this forum for 1 month with a total of 20 posts should take over management of a database that Barney Eaton has maintained for years? That's more years than I have been on this forum. As far as I know he is the OWNER who started the database and he has been on this forum since 1999 and has over 8000 posts. If that doesn't qualify him to be the "keeper of the database" nothing does. I would be more than happy to host HIS database on my website but it would be with his permission only. To take a database that he has compiled and make a twin out of it would be a copyright violation in my opinion. Just because someone mines out a flake of gold from Barney's database doesn't mean he should take over the database.

Edited May 6, 2015 by Ronnie (see edit history)

[Guest my3buicks]

+ 1

[dship]

My 1991 White with Flame Red interior (900183) didn't come with white wheels. I bought 4 extras from Marck, had them painted white, and installed them...see pic.

[Vincent Vega]

Manikmakanik has throat cancer. I haven't talked to him in about a year.

Well, that's sad news. He helped me out a lot back when I had my first Reatta. Good guy.

[Cargirl]

For the record, I have the original window sticker and build sheet and indeed the car came from Lansing with the white wheels. My VIN ends with 0551 and that is one of the cars Robert listed as a white convertible with flame red interior with factory white wheels. Indeed, mine is one of seven. I feel extremely fortunate to have the car, she will lead a very pampered life. I will be at the all GM Car Show in California on the 17th of this month if anyone can make it, would love to actually meet some people from this forum!

[Regalization]

Barney Eaton is our man for the database. I have no intention of usurping anyone's work here.

I like GM products. I have a soft spot not only for Reattas, but also Allantes, Corvettes, XLRs, and Camaros. I enjoy being a car enthusiast. I like passing on little tidbits of information. Some people might scoff at such triviality, but, to me, it makes the hobby interesting. It is a great hobby we have chosen.

I am a rookie to this site, and accept my rookie status, but I do know quite a bit about late 1980s and early 1990s GM production, what codes they used, etc. My main interest is color - both exterior and interior colors, actually, anything with a glob of paint on it. I especially like the fantastic bright and bold exterior paint colors used in the late 1960s and early 1970s!

We are in this together. I do not want the passage of time to erode the happy specifics of our chosen hobby. The more hidden information we dig up, the more satisfying it is to own our car.

Edited October 30, 2015 by Regalization (see edit history)

[Barney Eaton]

Robert is not mining information from the database. He is using another source, which I believe is Compnine. that is a subscription site and I am not a subscriber.

Years ago (1999), Stan Leslie did a similar exercise using Carfax. I know that Stan spent many hours on Carfax looking for and finding Reatta data and facts.

Stan (a 1991 owner and GM Powertrain engineer at the time) also looked thru weeks of Automotive News, a trade magazine, putting together a list for 1991 Reatta production.

His finding were quite interesting.

I hope it is readable... first note that 1991 Reatta production did not begin until the week after Thanksgiving in 1990. By Detroit standards, that is a way late start for a model year. The reason was many unsold 1990 cars on the dealers lots. Then on Dec 24 (the dates show are a Saturday) the plant was shut down for 6 weeks. I have heard several stories or reasons for the shutdown.

Also remember by this time Buick management had made or was making the decision to stop production of the Reatta.

Most of the 1991 Reatta convertible production was crammed the 6 week in Feb and March. The last convertible was built on March 7 '91.

Manickmechanic was a regular here for several year and we communicated several times about his convertible. His claim was it was the last black/red convertible remaining. Up until about the 2009 GM sale that thinned the car collection, GM still had 900622 which was black/red and the last convertible built.

My records show there were 7 Black/red convertibles built. I do not have up to date info but at one time they were 900399 in Harrisburg, 900401 in Troy NY, 443 was in Mich, 445 in Calif, 515 location unknown, 591 in WI, and 622 was in GM collection. I do not know where 622 went after it was sold but a Carfax might reviel its location. We also know that one of these cars was destroyed in a house fire, I beliver in FL but have no documentation. Manickmechanic had supposedly tracked down all the cars and then was saying his was the only one remaining.

PS all these cars had black tops.

Like Robert, I am interested in the Reatta story and with that come the need for facts and production numbers. I am sure some owners could care less but hopefully some of you will find it interesting.

Edited May 6, 2015 by Barney Eaton (see edit history)

[Regalization]

Cool info.

Now, Cargirl, is that GM car show on the 17th of this month in Van Nuys? If so, I can make it early for a couple of hours. Unfortunately, I’m moving and I’m taking possession of the keys that afternoon. Of course, everyone on the Reatta Forum is invited to help me move.

Edited October 30, 2015 by Regalization (see edit history)

[wws944]

...Now, Cargirl, is that GM car show on the 17th of this month in Van Nuys?

Same show, but different venue this year: http://forums.aaca.org/f116/reatta-rally-spots-almost-filled-391567.html

Unfortunately, I have a conflict so can't drive down for it. Wonder what car Jay Leno will bring?

[Cargirl]

I was not aware Jay Leno would be there, does he go every year? What a great car guy!

[wws944]

I was not aware Jay Leno would be there, does he go every year? What a great car guy!

Jay seems to be a regular at it. When I attended three years ago, he brought his 1000+ hp '66 Toronado.

[Jim]

Manikmakanik has throat cancer. I haven't talked to him in about a year.

Randy is a nice guy and we miss him, Hope he gets through the cancer.

Only a few people know Randy holds the fastest speed record for a Reatta at MIS ( Michigan Int'l Speedway )

[39BuickEight]

I love the white wheels! My next car will be a C4 Vette with white wheels.

[KDirk]

I'm planning to refinish a spare set of 91 rims and caps in white for my 91 coupe. Granted, it will never be a genuine N60 car, but it will more distinctive than it already is by the addition of white wheels. I do like the look but am concerned about keeping them clean. Will probably be next year before I get those wheels done though.

I'll probably transfer the chrome wheels on the 91 coupe now to the good 88 and put my newly refinished silver 91's on the 'vert to keep it stock.

KDirk

[NCReatta]

When I restored my 1991 white/flame red convertible a year and a half ago (second to last one built - 900621) I had the wheels painted white. They show the dirt, but it's worth it.

Brenda you may recognize this car show venue!

[Cargirl]

You tricked me Marck, I thought that was my car at the BOP car show in March! Ha! The Pavilions at Scottsdale, a great venue to show off your car. I met Mike there and we had a great time, when was this photo taken? What a great photo if we could have a picture with both our cars, like bookends.

KD- Have you considered getting the wheels powder coated? If they could use that process they would hold up much better than paint.

[KDirk]

I considered powder coating. Problem is that the 91 style wheels are complicated to finish. First the wheel is stripped, repaired and smoothed. Then the entire face is painted to the edge. They follow this by using a lathe to restore the machined finish on the beauty ring portion of the wheel. Then a clear coat is applied and baked. Finally the black line has to be hand painted and new plastic rivets installed.

Given the order in which everything has to be done I'm not certain powder coating is feasible except maybe for the clear coat. I also question how it would look compared to the high gloss clear finish normally used.

Another consideration is stripping the finish if the wheels need to be repaired or refinished again in the future. A lot more difficult to rework a wheel that was previously powder coated, I expect. Some places may decline to touch them on that condition.

Besides, the finish on the original wheels lasted 20+ years with proper maintenance and cleaning so I'm not too worried about the durability. And if they get damaged from being curbed or a blowout not even powder coating will stand up to that abuse. None of my cars individually get heavy use or lots of miles so they should hold up just fine.

Ultimately, cost is a consideration as well. I sent out 6 rims and 7 centers to be refinished in silver. Ran almost $900 for that order, including welding a repair into the outer bead where there was a small chunk broken out on one rim. I also had to pay a pin striper seperately to put the black line back in the groove and bought new rivets and installed them myself. Powder coating would've upped the price more still and the place I sent the rims to doesn't offer powder coating anyway. Not many reputable places here that do wheel refinishing, so my options were limited. I wanted quality more than quick and cheap, and am quite happy with the results.

Since I'll be repeating that same process again for the white wheels, I need some time for my discretionary funds to recover. And I need to refinish a set of 5 spoke OEM wheels for one of my 88's to wear. This is getting to be an expensive hobby (as though I just realized that). So, the white wheels are off the menu til next year most likely barring an unexpected windfall. They can be a 25th anniversary gift for my 91 coupe. Right now my focus is on getting the covertible decent.

KDirk

[Ronnie]

Bryan,

Your post didn't upset me at all. It might have seemed that way because I asked a straight forward question in response to you saying you would like Robert to "take over management" of Barney's database but I was not upset. I'm just not very eloquent in my approach to asking a question in a forum.

[wws944]

I saw Marcks '91 in Portland, and those white wheels did look good...

... I need to refinish a set of 5 spoke OEM wheels for one of my 88's to wear. This is getting to be an expensive hobby (as though I just realized that)...

Kevin, maybe this should be a separate thread, but do you have thoughts on refinishing the 5-spoke wheels to maintain the original appearance? In particular, keeping the subtle machining marks - rather than making them smooth?

[KDirk]

The wheels are easy to machine on a lathe which is what puts the pattern in the wheel face. The machined part of my 91 wheels looks about the same as the pattern on the 88-90 stock wheels. A wheel refinishing shop should be able to replicate that pattern easily enough. The place I used for the 91 wheels stated they can tweak the coarseness of the pattern within a certain range. Apparently some new cars are using an ultra-fine pattern on factory wheels based upon my discussions with them.

The problem is the center caps. No one I've talked to so far wants to touch them. Machining is problematic as it is a very thin aluminum skin over plastic. If the aluminum has any bad nicks or dimples they will not be removable due to the minimal thickness of the aluminum skin, assuming they can be run on a lathe to begin with. Still kicking around solutions for this. Obviously this is a non-issue on the all plastic 91 caps which just get painted.

KDirk

[DAVES89]

I met Manik at his place southwest of Milwaukee Wis. He had a nice place and I was there to look at an early black and tan suede bolster car he had picked up from an auction. Cancer has a tendency to refocus one's prioirities but hopefully he can come out of it and drive his convertible again.

I just spoke to Manilmakanik and he is recovered from his stage 4 cancer. I told him he should come back and visit us. He still has the Black/Flame Red.

Edited May 9, 2015 by DAVES89 (see edit history)

[manikmekanik]

All Y'all are such great guys! Hey Vinnie, Barney, Harry, Jim & DAVE! Thanks for all the kind posts! Cancer Treatment Center awarded me with many extra laps!:cool:

Dave called me today, said I was missed & should check in. Beauty is my last car, also have a 2005 Le Sabre for daily use, I down-sized my collection from 13 Reattae to ONE.

Yep, I got in big trouble that day at Michigan Int'l Speedway, at 115mph (where signature photo was shot), Where's the pix of the fire marshal chewin' me out???

I've always been known to be one who takes full advantage of "once in a lifetime" opportunities. Who has pix of Beauty in the GM 100th parade? I saw TV cameras up close that day.

...and I have a plaque indicating Beauty was built last, despite all the signatures on her last surviving sister, (in Bulgari's collection 2008), who ceremoniously rolled off last.

Congratulations, CarGirl! your Reatta is a beautiful hand-crafted automobile, built for two. Your Reatta is an extremely rare and unique vehicle, hold on tight!

[KDirk]

Randy,

Curious to hear the backstory on your speed record. I've read anecdotal accounts here in the past mentioning you doing 115 at the track in black beauty but never heard you took heat for it. Sounds like a story I'd like to hear.

KDirk

[Machiner 55]

Hear here!!

John F.

[Barney Eaton]

This post has grown a few heads... let me make some comments.

(1) Powder coating the 91 wheels will work, but what do you do with the hub caps, they will not take the oven temperature, and would need to be painted and that leads to a possible color mismatch.

(2) Someone taking over the database may happen.... I will be 76 this June and like Randy, sometimes the Reatta stuff is not my highest priority. I have had a Corvair apart for 3 years and if I don't finish it, who will? My wife who was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 2000 requires more of my time. I have never considered the Reatta database something that needs immediate updates. The only people that seem to care are those that send in information on a car and expect it to appear within the hour. Last, the database resides on Tom Jenkins web site. He may choose not to support it if someone else takes over and sends daily updates, he also has a life. I think the Reatta production information should eventually be on the Reatta Div web site. It has a new webmaster that will keep it up (don't know if he will sign up for daily updates). This will get discussed at Springfield with Reatta div members.... maybe around a table with cold refreshments.

(3) As mentioned earlier, my 91 has wheels that I had refinished in white, the company did the hub caps at the same time. They looked great but there were some issues. I handled the problems myself as the refinish company was in San Antonio, 100 miles from me and it was easier to fix the problems than to make several trips. (A) the black rivets got painted white and also had clear coat over the white making it a problem to remove the white. My solution was to hand paint all the white rivets black. ( The company did not repaint the black line that separates the paint from the machined area. I tried several artists brushes, pinstripe brushes and was not happy with the application. My final solution was using a hypodermic (from the farm supply store) with black paint. The needle needed to be large enough to pass the paint which also needed to be the right consistency to flow properly. I ground off the sharp tip of the needle and polished the end so it would slide easily in the groove on the wheel. After a few false starts the process that worked for me was to PUSH the needle forward... with a small wave in front of the tip, this wave went up the sides of the groove much better than a brush, it applys plenty of paint and several years later (they were done for Plano 2004) they still look great. The paint is probably not that important, I happened to have a quart of gloss black Rustolem that was my choice.

(4) The black/red Reatta that was in the Bulgari collection was a coupe that I now own. Anyone can look at the database and find all the black/red convertibles.

A side note on the last Reattas built and the Bulgari cars..... at one of the national meets, someone said the Bulgari owned the last Reatta coupe and convertible. I was able to contact Keith at the collection and he gave me the vin for Mr. Bulgari's Reattas and neither the coupe or convertible were the last built. GM had both of those cars, they retained the convertible (900622) until 2009 and Chuck Perry purchased (901554) from GM just before the Columbus (1999) meet and later sold it back to them.

[Cargirl]

Welcome back Randy, I have heard so much about you. "Beauty" is an amazing color combo, nice. It sounds like she gets around and has some amazing stories, sounds like me I am very happy your health is improving. I have heard very good things about Cancer Treatment Centers of America it's good to know they are true. I will take your advise and hang onto my newest Reatta. I have had several others but this is my forever car. Really nice to meet you!

[tbenvie]

As mentioned, I have a number of resources I have used to collect info on the cars. I am almost finished compiling the complete list of 91 Reattas. Here are 8 coupes with white wheels I just grabbed off my database:

[TABLE=width: 730]

<tbody>[TR]

[TD]ID#[/TD]

[TD] Serial[/TD]

[TD]Build Date[/TD]

[TD]Color[/TD]

[TD]Pinstripe[/TD]

[TD]Mold[/TD]

[TD]Top Clr[/TD]

[TD]Int[/TD]

[TD]16[/TD]

[TD]CD[/TD]

[TD]Sun[/TD]

[TD]Comments[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]1G4EC13L6MB[/TD]

[TD]900030[/TD]

[TD]11/19/90[/TD]

[TD]WHITE[/TD]

[TD]DELETE[/TD]

[TD]WH[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD]RED[/TD]

[TD]Y[/TD]

[TD]N[/TD]

[TD]N[/TD]

[TD]White Wheels, Calif Emission[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]1G4EC13L3MB[/TD]

[TD]900082[/TD]

[TD]11/30/90[/TD]

[TD]WHITE[/TD]

[TD] DELETE[/TD]

[TD]WH[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD]RED[/TD]

[TD]Y[/TD]

[TD]Y[/TD]

[TD]Y[/TD]

[TD]White Wheels[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]1G4EC13L0MB[/TD]

[TD]900119[/TD]

[TD]12/3/90[/TD]

[TD]WHITE[/TD]

[TD] DELETE[/TD]

[TD]BK[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD]BLUE[/TD]

[TD]N[/TD]

[TD]N[/TD]

[TD]N[/TD]

[TD]White Wheels[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]1G4EC13L1MB[/TD]

[TD]900212[/TD]

[TD]12/10/90[/TD]

[TD]WHITE[/TD]

[TD]RED[/TD]

[TD]WH[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD]RED[/TD]

[TD]Y[/TD]

[TD]Y[/TD]

[TD]N[/TD]

[TD]White Wheels[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]1G4EC13L5MB[/TD]

[TD]900228[/TD]

[TD]12/11/90[/TD]

[TD]WHITE[/TD]

[TD]RED[/TD]

[TD]WH[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD]RED[/TD]

[TD]N[/TD]

[TD]N[/TD]

[TD]N[/TD]

[TD]White Wheels[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]1G4EC13L5MB[/TD]

[TD]900259[/TD]

[TD]12/11/90[/TD]

[TD]WHITE[/TD]

[TD]RED[/TD]

[TD]WH[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD]RED[/TD]

[TD]N[/TD]

[TD]N[/TD]

[TD]N[/TD]

[TD]White Wheels[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]1G4EC13L9MB[/TD]

[TD]901141[/TD]

[TD]4/15/91[/TD]

[TD]WHITE[/TD]

[TD]DELETE[/TD]

[TD]WH[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD]BLUE[/TD]

[TD]N[/TD]

[TD]N[/TD]

[TD]N[/TD]

[TD]White Wheels[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]1G4EC13L4MB[/TD]

[TD]901354[/TD]

[TD]4/30/91[/TD]

[TD]WHITE[/TD]

[TD]RED[/TD]

[TD]RD[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD]RED[/TD]

[TD]N[/TD]

[TD]N[/TD]

[TD]N[/TD]

[TD]White Wheels[/TD]

[/TR]

</tbody>[/TABLE]

Notice I also have the pinstripe color, the build date, Calif Emissions, Canadian cars, etc. Compnine is not reliable because it only lists the cars it identifies as a REATTA. Sometimes under "VEHICLE" it will state "NOT LISTED". You will get the car data, but the production numbers won't be there. COMPNINE shows only 1313 91 Reattas made because of this. By the end of the month I will have all 91s completed, plus I will have at least the complete VIN list of 88-90 cars. I have merged it with Barney's database. and when I am done I will send Barnet the complete project and let him go through it and publish it as he feels fit.

I also belong to the Lincoln Mark II forum. Nicely organized and very civil. One hard fast rule is nothing on the for sale section without a price.

Edited May 11, 2015 by tbenvie (see edit history)

[Barney Eaton]

The database at www.reatta.net is complete for 1991 with all Vin numbers shown. This again is courtesy of Stan Leslie. With all the Vin numbers, Stan used CarFax to clarify a mystery. GM always published 1214 coupes and 305 convertibles for a total of 1519, why was the last coupe produced # 901554. Stan's research shows that GM had assigned numbers to convertibles that were never built. Starting with 900524 & 625 you will note the order was cancelled.

Stan's Vins were merged with any earlier information we had on 1991 cars and that added the colors and options (if known) to the Vin. Since '91 was the lowest production year, I then used my GM dealers parts department computer on Saturday mornings to print hundreds of pages of 1991 Reatta information (which I still have). Critics of the database say it has bad information. That is surely true because if bad info was sent, that was the info that was added to the DB. As a general rule, if all the columns are filled in, that info came from GM data, should be complete and correct, if there is partial info, that is what came from owners.

In an attempt to get complete data on convertibles first, I started with the lowest known volume colors. If we had 1 Grey convertible, with the GM computer, I went forward and backward from the known Vin number until I got a body color change. You will note that cars were painted in color batches, which helped. What also helped for '91 was the majority of convertibles were built in a continuous run. Starting at 900328 thru 900580 no coupes were made. After doing this on all convertibles, I started on '91 coupes using the same method. I ran out of time when my dealership started keeping the service department open on Saturdays and it was too busy in the parts department for me to continue. The uncompleted colors were red and white coupes.... however, based on historic info, all of the blanks colors will be red or white.

When Tom finishes his '91 list we will work thru some sort of merge.