Vol 11 No 1 September 2007
Contents
1. black It also comes with a strap for easy carrying The price is 30 00 The club needs six orders before we can place our order Sometimes Reatta Logo Wear items can take a while to receive because the number of orders placed takes time to accumulate adequate numbers Reatta Quiz to meet the vendor s quota You will find an order blank enclosed in this newsletter If you are inter Answer White wheels on white cars ested in any of the above items or have comments or questions email me at carolemadsen att net Technical Update By Barney Eaton BCA Tech Advisor 1988 1991 Reatta Vice President BCA Board The Reatta was fairly advanced electronically for the time period in which it was built For that rea son there are probably more electrical problems with the Reatta than the average car of the same period I often have calls asking about electrical problems and they are difficult to diagnose long distance especially without the owner doing some testing Most are simple problems but must be found The Reatta service manual is almost a must to own and I can often walk an owner through the problem with him following the manual If you do not own a service manual there is a 1990 manual on line at www reatta net I have probably said it before but it also helps if you have some electrical contact cleaner lube Think about the environment that your Reatta lives in temperatures range from sub O to the 1002. s hu midity dust vibration It is a wonder that any thing works after 16 18 years Whenever I work on the car and unplug a connector I spray it with cleaner lube before reassembly The Reatta and Riviera share many parts including the electronics Frequently I hear from owners that a dealer or repair shop can t work on their car because they re so uncommon Ask them if they can work on a Riviera then tell them they are simi lar Last week a non Reatta friend purchased a 1991 Maui Blue coupe The first problem we worked on was a non functioning fuel gauge It is pretty easy to isolate the problem to the dash or fuel tank It is a simple matter of disconnecting the electrical connection at the tank and testing the resistance In his case it was in the tank and the manual is not a big help It says drain the tank and remove straps we spent 2 hours on those steps For your info it appears after we did something else that the tank can be drained out the fuel return from the motor A little air pressure into the fuel line should get the gas running out the return The gauge problem was an in tank sending unit that had brittle contacts GM was the only source for new parts and you must purchase the entire unit at around 400 retail That figure gave us a chal lenge and we were able to repair it for nothing but some time One mystery was lots of stuff in the gas tank that looked like coffee grounds There was enoug
3. Division Buick Club of America Newsletter Volume 11 Issue 1 Fall Edition Barney Eaton 2007 Bob Peterson Award Winner This year s Bob Peterson award was presented to a CD which can be accessed by anyone with a com very surprised Barney Eaton Barney has been a puter He continues to assist our members answering dedicated Reatta owner and Reatta Division member many questions and giving instructional support since the earliest stages of our organization Barney will be the first to tell you that it s not work Barney was just elected to his second term on the when you enjoy doing what you re doing Board of Directors of the Buick Club of America as vice president Over twenty five years ago he began his campaign to help fellow car enthusiasts to be able to have quality products to enable them to enjoy cars as he has His experience during the four years his oldest daughter attended Texas A amp M is now being utilized by the RDiv members as he answers questions daily on any subject front to back or top to bottom of a Reatta His support through the years has supplied our mem bers with reproduction floor mats with logos plus stick on logos and replacement grids for the 88 89 floor mats He located the original vendor for the lumbar seat bladder and had them run a supply just for us He located the closest possible match to the grey valve stem covers His latest production has been BarneyCranks to replace the bell
4. berta Vasilow BUICKRACER comcast net BCA Technical Advisors 1988 1991 Reattas Barney Eaton Art Kaufman 20111 Deerfield Drive 806 Brookside Lane Georgetown TX 78628 Miulbrae CA 94030 512 869 5114 650 583 8966 barney texas net artsauto7 cs com REATTA DIVISION Secretary Treasurer Ed Farnell 440 Langford Road Blythewood SC 29016 Membership and Division Information Reatta Division membership dues are 10 00 per year Membership is for a twelve month period Please note that a pink highlighter mark on the RDiv number on your mailing list means that your Reatta Division dues are due or overdue In order to continue receiving the Reatta Division newsletter your RDiv membership status needs to be current Please make checks payable to Reatta Division BCA Send all dues payments and address changes please write your RDiv on your check to Secretary Treasurer Ed Farnell 440 Langford Road Blythewood SC 29016 All Reatta Division members are required to be members of the national organization the Buick Club of America of which we are an authorized division Please note that a blue highlighter mark on the BCA number on your mailing label means that you are not a current member of the Buick Club of America BCA dues are due or overdue or you never became a member of the BCA in which case a BCA membership form is enclosed In order to continue re ceiving the Reatta Division newsletter your BCA membership status needs to be curre
5. cranks in the headlight assembly Additionally he is repro ducing the visor clips for the convertibles Barney started the Reatta database in 1996 it now lists approximately one fourth of the production Re attas The data gathered is surprising us with the Reatta Quiz percentages and actual numbers of production This option could be ordered only on certain 1991 His current project is to convert a list of every Reatta coupes and convertibles Do you know what it was built from an unusable print out to an Excel file on Answer in Reatta Logo Wear Section Reatta Logo Wear By Carole Madsen Summer is over and it 1s time to think about the fall and winter months ahead New items this fall sea son include a 7 8 ounce sweatshirt and a 9 ounce I sweatshirt You can check Reatta org under logo wear for a photo of the sweatshirt and other logo wear items The latest items for the ladies are our sun visors and scoop neck shirts Several people have expressed interest in golf shirts and tee shirts with pockets If you would like a pocket shirt let me know the size and color of the golf shirt and the size of the tee shirt I have had several request for blankets The 100 polyester fleece stadium blanket is 13 ounce mate rial and measures 50 x 60 in size and is machine washable The color choices are red black ma roon royal blue dark green and midnight heather gray Script colors are tan and
6. e Reatta Market place you have probably noted these well main tained cars 90 Driftwood convertible 17 400 miles 91 Polo Green coupe less than 7 000 miles and several others with less than 50 000 miles This may be the time to start narrowing down your search for your Dream Reatta Or you may want to settle for the other Select Sixty prize the die cast pewter replica They are not quite as expensive and they are much easier to maintain One sold in August on Ebay for over 400 Have you logged on to the Reatta web site lately It has a new look try it Wwww reattaorg The Members Rides page is to be updated Please submit your photo via email in PDF format to reatta texas net Don t forget your name and RDiv Reettac Division Buick Club of America Officers amp Key Division Positions Director Bill Parks PO Box 175 Covington VA 24426 540 962 2222 Wparks22 aol com Assistant Director George Madsen 14560 South Oakley Avenue Orland Park IL 60462 708 349 8878 georgemadsen att net Secretary Treasurer Ed Farnell 440 Langford Road Blythewood SC 29016 803 754 6922 reattaclub aol com Newsletter Editor Nancy Eaton 20111 Deerfield Drive Georgetown TX 78628 512 869 5114 reatta texas net Reatta Logo Wear Coordinator Carole Madsen 14560 South Oakley Avenue Orland Park IL 60462 708 349 8878 carolemadsen att net Web Site Address http www reatta org Web Road Master Ro
7. h that it could be scooped out with your hand We don t know the history of the car so it remains a mystery My advice change your fuel filter On coupes it is located under the car near your left foot on con vertibles the filter is closer to the rear wheel View From My Workbench The M I S Adventure By George Madsen Assistant Director They did it AGAIN Ron and April Gill the people who are solely responsible for the Reatta Homecoming just put together another great event Ron claims that April is the driving force behind this dynamic duo that she is the person who makes the arrangements for the Reatta events they put together So credit where credit is due In the spring April contacted officials at the Michigan International Speedway about the possibility of hav ing a group of Reatta Division and potential Reatta Division members driving their cars at MIS After some negotiations a rain or shine race date was set The field of cars was limited to 22 by track officials April sent emails inviting 22 loyal hardcore Reatta lovers to join in a day of driving dining and camaraderie Some indicated they could not attend and more emails were sent out Soon the field of 22 was filled When race day arrived we gathered in front of the gate of the speedway Soon we were joined by a track official who conducted a drivers meeting He laid out the race rules Cars were allowed to run up to A Reatta Race Team at Michigan In
8. he Wingate contact Bob Neu mann 810 655 4202 Reatta Marketplace Cars and Parts For Sale Parts Parts You name it should have it John 810 730 9230 Large inventory Reasonable prices Jim jfinn cpinternet com Used Four white rims 16 and hubcaps for a 91 Reatta in decent shape 300 00 plus shipping John V Cavanaugh 3235 Alex Findlay Pl Sarasota FL 34340 john cavanaughcompany com 1989 Coupe Burgundy Burgundy 7 551 original miles All options except sunroof All equipment on vehicle is original except battery also includes ALL literature and manuals Please email for photos 15 000 00 Possible delivery Richard Haggan 970 353 4867 phaggan comcast net eo aoe Ep s a Jim Finn judging Reattas in Bellevue Reattas set another milestone in August as a 1990 Select Sixty with less than 4 000 miles was auc tioned by R M Auctions We ll see if this sale at 28 000 plus a 13 buyer s premium brings a greater interest in the Reatta market Quite a few of the Select Sixties have been stashed away and only driven occasionally by dealers who have cov eted these special Reattas they were awarded by General Motors Eighteen years later these dealers are retiring selling their dealerships and some have passed on As a result the collector car world is starting to see these and other low mileage Reattas come on the market and in many cases at a pre mium price If you have been following th
9. nt The national organization can be contacted as follows Buick Club of America P O Box 360775 Columbus OH 43236 or by email at bcaoffice buickclub org Please send classified ads and newsletter submissions to Newsletter Editor Nancy Eaton 20111 Deerfield Drive Georgetown TX 78628 email reatta texas net Reatta Division meeting dates We normally meet once a year at the BCA National Meet
10. pter for a job well done If you have never been to Seattle you have missed one of America s treasures It would take weeks to see all the sights and learn the history of the Northwest From the Native Ameri cans to the founders of Boeing and Microsoft to the salmon industry to Mt St Helens it s a never ending panorama of beauty The North Cascade Chapter did their best to show everyone a grand vacation time and also see many fine Buicks some never shown or judged before Of the 112 cars judged I imagine some 85 to 90 were from Washington and other western states There were several modifieds so well done you had to look closely to see they were modified There were not as many Reattas as in past meets but the ones there were new to most of us The October Bugle will list the judging results Next year s National Meet will be held in Flint Michigan on July 16 19 2008 Your input is wanted and needed for what you would like to see done during the meet There are many things to see and places to go so let us know your choices As previously stated there will be no 400 point judging but we can conduct our own Reatta only judging This helps everyone to understand what to expect when having your car judged The Wingate Hotel has been exclusively reserved for Reatta owners only Each Reatta owner with a current membership may reserve one 1 room and must be handled by Kathy Olund 810 694 9900 Any questions on t
11. ternational Speedway 70 MPH no passing seven laps and you could switch drivers in the pits at any time We were then led into the infield After some time in the hot sun we made our way to the track What a blast Carole and I drove the wide open race track made it seem like we were just poking along After the starter waived the red flag it was back to the infield where the group gathered for a photo opportunity Once everyone had the photos they wanted it was on to the Golden Nugget Restaurant for lunch Later most of us drove to Hidden Lake Gardens in Tipton The site is owned by Michigan State University and has some of the rarest and most beautiful plants and flowers you will ever encounter If you get the opportu nity to go there you will not be disappointed And AGAIN After word got out about the great time we had at MIS April was deluged by requests to par ticipate in another similar event April arranged for another trip to the track because she did not have 22 participants several of us were able to double dip Everyone had a great time at the track After our race session our group gathered for lunch and a wine tasting at the Sandhill Crane Vineyards in Jackson Those of us who participated in either or both of these events we would like to thank our club s good friend April Gill for these great events Editor s Notes By Nancy Eaton As Mt Rainier recedes into the cloud cover we salute another Buick Club of America cha
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