alexhouston Posted June 6, 2006 Share Posted June 6, 2006 When I bought my Reatta from a junk yard for parts, I didn't know what I was getting into. I really didn't think this Reatta would ever be driven again due to the front end damage. Turned out it was only sheet metal damage so I started looking for a new front clip. Nobody around here had ever heard of one before much less were there any parts to be found that were cheaper than a new car. I did the next bbest thing, I put on an ElDorado core supportwhile looking for what fenders would come close to fitting. Then I found a Riviera front clip and I set it on the Reatta. It bolted on with no problems. Then I had to adjust some minor sheet metal at the doors only to make it fit nicely at the doors. The results is what you see. If I had not done this, the car would have certainly been lost as a pile of parts only. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vincent Vega Posted June 6, 2006 Share Posted June 6, 2006 Riviatta? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWC Posted June 6, 2006 Share Posted June 6, 2006 Now thats a different look for the Reatta...............nice job Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadster90 Posted June 6, 2006 Share Posted June 6, 2006 That is amazing <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Posted June 6, 2006 Share Posted June 6, 2006 Very nice job. I have Reatta parts cars and also buy Rivieras for parts and always wanted to show up at a Buick meet with a 5 passenger Reatta. I have Reatta front clips and would like to put on of them on a Riviera. I even did a little measuring once and from memory I thought there was a different curvature between the front fenders of a Riv to the Reatta doors. Is this a problem and what did you do?If you are not to far from Minnesota, bring it to the National Buick convention in Rochester in July, we would all like to see your car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest F14CRAZY Posted June 6, 2006 Share Posted June 6, 2006 Perhaps the front and rear body panels could be modified to fit a Rivi? Then you'd really have a 5 passenger Reatta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vincent Vega Posted June 6, 2006 Share Posted June 6, 2006 Or take out the Riv back seat and fit Reatta buckets and a console back there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manikmekanik Posted June 6, 2006 Share Posted June 6, 2006 NIFTY! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwarren Posted June 6, 2006 Share Posted June 6, 2006 Great job! Now if we could only get the windshield to fit on a Reatta. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machiner 55 Posted June 6, 2006 Share Posted June 6, 2006 Reattaviera? <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexhouston Posted June 6, 2006 Author Share Posted June 6, 2006 About Reatta to Riviera:The doors would be too long. You would have to cut them to the shape of the Riviera doors. Also, The bottom of the rear bottom of the fender would have to be built up for a wider car at the bottom of the door. Not much of a challenge working on the Riviera fenders to a Reatta but most likely a little more challenging to fit Reatta to Riviera since you are working with plastic. Also the mold line down the center of the fender to match the Riviera will have to be shifted about 3/8 inch. Simple working with metal, not so with plastic?My job was not done as a show car. It is a daily driver and body work was performed accordingly. A little rough on the shaping along the door but it still amazes everybody who sees it. Nobody knows what it is and when I tell them, they still have never heard of one most of the time!By the way, I still desperately need an ouside drivers door handle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don B. Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 Very Cool. You should spend more time on it to make it a show car.Nothing wrong with a looker for a daily driver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EDBSO Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 I like great job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest F14CRAZY Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 I still think old school Rivi's are ugly <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />, but I commend anyone that does an ellaborate Reatta project Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vincent Vega Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I still think old school Rivi's are ugly <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />, but I commend anyone that does an ellaborate Reatta project </div></div>What does this young man think an old school Riv is? To me it's a 63 to 66. The boatails are cool. Big 70's boats. Hoods longer than a 00's hybrid. 80's era = "shrug". All I have to say is about old school is 401 nailhead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Harness Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 Nice job! It's really an interesting look. It also the ultimate solution to the Reatta headlight problems. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest F14CRAZY Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 Old school Rivi=a $70 beater a dude my dad knows ditched at our lot behind the shed that I salvaged an IPC and CRT from <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />Oh yeah, my dad and I got the ECM and BCM out with our bare hands and a 2''x8''. What a mess! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Reatta1 Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 Unique look. Pretty sharp.Would be easy to fit a supercharged engine under that hood.F14??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest spyhunter2k Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 That is the best pic I've seen this month!Who would have known this could be done... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Reattaray Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 Nice job!! What do you have it registered as? Bring it to the Reatta Homecoming in Sept. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexhouston Posted June 7, 2006 Author Share Posted June 7, 2006 According to every Buick dealership and body shops I talked to, apparently it cannot be done. I guess I did the impossible?I am not sure if it is the quality of photo that is so good or the subject matter, but thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MauiWowee Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">What does this young man think an old school Riv is? </div></div>Hmmmm, well let's see. "Old school Riv" in question is an '88-'90.Young man, 18 yrs old, born in 1988.Drives 1989 Reatta.Sounds dangerously close to making his taste in cars.....................OLD SCHOOL!!!! <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" /> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Harness Posted June 9, 2006 Share Posted June 9, 2006 Phil, here's a real "old school Rivi" and it doesn't have an IPC, CRT, ECM, or BCM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom_O Posted June 10, 2006 Share Posted June 10, 2006 I say Bravo!!! Anytime you can save one from the crusher everyone wins. What a remarkable fit. I.de like to see this one in person sometime. Great job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Greg Ross Posted June 11, 2006 Share Posted June 11, 2006 Alex,Very, very impressed. Saving one from the crusher is admirable and as someone noted, it sure solves the headlight cover actuator issues. The body peel would look very good here as well.Do I understand the Riv. Fenders are metal and you alterd the gap line on the fender, not the door?My '88 has been a Daily Driver for most of its' career with me showing 306,000 miles and I heartily agree, they should be driven. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest F14CRAZY Posted June 11, 2006 Share Posted June 11, 2006 Greg, you've got the highest mileage Reatta I've heard of.Like with the Max-Life thing. Is my car getting near its end of life at 75k? Nope. I've got double that, and its just begun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexhouston Posted June 11, 2006 Author Share Posted June 11, 2006 That is right. I altered the fenders, not the doors. My Reatta could be brought back to a full Reatta just by bolting on a Reatta front end. Nothing is altered. Even the ElDorado Core support is the same GM part number as Reatta. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handmedownreatta Posted April 21, 2021 Share Posted April 21, 2021 i might do this.first question is why did he use a core support from a caddy?unless they all are the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted April 21, 2021 Share Posted April 21, 2021 On 6/11/2006 at 1:44 PM, alexhouston said: Nothing is altered. Even the ElDorado Core support is the same GM part number as Reatta. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted April 21, 2021 Share Posted April 21, 2021 If the same part number it is the same - GM even changed a part number if the paint changed. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2seater Posted April 21, 2021 Share Posted April 21, 2021 When I looked through the 'yard last fall for a donor for my sons deer hit car, I talked with the counterman about prices and he mentioned some Riviera fenders were steel and others were plastic. No more detail than that but it may have been a model year change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted April 21, 2021 Share Posted April 21, 2021 Suspect '86 was the change from steel to plastic. That was also the start of the E-platform shared with the Reatta. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Posted April 21, 2021 Share Posted April 21, 2021 For yearsI have also been thinking of doing just the opposite to a Riviera. Put a Reatta front end on a Riviera. I even did some measuring to put a Reatta back end on and then I would have a 5 passenger Reatta. I had fully intended to do this last fall and looked to buy a Riv. What I ended up doing is buying a '92 Riv that is too nice to modify so instead of the last three years my summer driver being a '95 Corvette convertible and the previous 20 years a Reatta convertible now this summer I will drive the Riv. It has a nice big trunk for my golf clubs. Putting a Riv front on a Reatta is less work than the other way around as mentioned in the core support issues and of course the curvature of the meeting of the fender and door. If you put a Reatta front end on a Riv the mounting plates for the hidden headlight are different. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handmedownreatta Posted April 29, 2021 Share Posted April 29, 2021 On 4/21/2021 at 8:39 AM, padgett said: If the same part number it is the same - GM even changed a part number if the paint changed. can you recommend a good site to compare part numbers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted April 29, 2021 Share Posted April 29, 2021 Parts book is the best source. Reatta and Riviera were both "E" bodies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisWhewell Posted May 7, 2021 Share Posted May 7, 2021 To the OP.... Great Save !! I don't personally care for the overall look, but my sentiments are irrelevant ! Thanks for providing "food for thought"... I love pioneering thoughts like this !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handmedownreatta Posted May 7, 2021 Share Posted May 7, 2021 (edited) 3 hours ago, ChrisWhewell said: To the OP.... Great Save !! I don't personally care for the overall look, but my sentiments are irrelevant ! Thanks for providing "food for thought"... I love pioneering thoughts like this !! im still trying to figure what year front end that is. Edited May 7, 2021 by handmedownreatta (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisWhewell Posted May 8, 2021 Share Posted May 8, 2021 Picture it having shiny chrome wire-spoked rims.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted May 8, 2021 Share Posted May 8, 2021 I've always thought a Reatta would look good with a front clip installed like my old Pontiac Fiero Formula had. I doubt it would come close to fitting. I would still have the Fiero if I wasn't so damn big. I'm much bigger now but I still fit in my Reatta. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handmedownreatta Posted May 9, 2021 Share Posted May 9, 2021 18 hours ago, Ronnie said: I've always thought a Reatta would look good with a front clip installed like my old Pontiac Fiero Formula had. I doubt it would come close to fitting. I would still have the Fiero if I wasn't so damn big. I'm much bigger now but I still fit in my Reatta. one of my thoughts was to find a fiero in great condition but needing an engine and swap the reatta engine in.but it seems to be a major undertaking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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