REATTA		ALLANTE
Sporty	General Appearance	Plush
4	Production Years Made	7
$35,000	MSRP (Cost)	$65,000
3577 lbs.	Overall Weight	3672 lbs.
185.3”	Overall Length	178.7”
73”	Width	73.4”
98.5”	Wheelbase	99.4”
5 qts.	Engine Oil Capacity	7 qts.
18.8	Fuel Capacity (gal.)	22.5
51.2”	Height	51.8”
60.3"	Front Tread	60.4”
60.3”	Rear Tread	60.4”
170	Horsepower	300
16”	Wheel Size	16”

Over the short life span of the Reatta there was a pretty consistent selection of exterior colors: White (40), Bright Red (81), Black (41), Silver (13) and Claret Red (burgundy) (76) were available all four years. The number following the color is the paint code.

Pewter Grey (87) was used in ’88-’89 and changed to a different shade called Gunmetal Grey (85) in ’90-‘91. The blue for ’88-’89 was Sapphire Blue (83) the only Firemist color used on a Reatta, in ’90-’91 it changed to Maui Blue (23). Driftwood (33) was added for 1990 only. Driftwood was dropped at the end of ’90 and Polo Green (48) was
added for ’91 only.

I might as well talk about Polo Green; rumors persist of a Polo Green convertible being built, but like the Lock Ness monster, it has never surfaced, and if it was built, it may have been a 1992 prototype and later scrapped. All Polo Green cars came with Tan interior and my records indicate that there were 120 green coupes built.

The wide side molding on the Reatta came black UNLESS the dealer checked B84 on the order form. In that case the side molding was painted the color of the car. This was a no-cost option.

The pinstripe was available in 8 colors except in 1991, and one was dropped. The order form suggested the pinstripe match the interior color whenever possible. However, it appears if you wanted a blue stripe on a red car, it could have been ordered. The pinstripe color is recorded on the Service Parts Information label in the trunk. Option code YL6 was the pinstripe delete option and a small percentage of Reattas were ordered that way. All of the 1990 Select Sixty convertibles were built without the pinstripe.

Now for the fun: The Product Manual and order form listed the exterior/interior color choices. For example, a white car could be ordered with any of the four interior colors (tan, blue, grey or red). We have found a few “color over-ride” combinations. The best example is Bright Red 1990 cars with red (burgundy) interiors. This combination was not listed in the literature.

Then in 1991 when the red interior became Flame Red, that interior choice was not listed for Claret Red but a few have surfaced. There are some slight variations each year, for example, a grey car is listed with red (’88-’89), blue (’90), grey (all years). So were there any ’91 greys made with blue interior?

When I purchased the 1991 Maui Blue coupe for Nancy, I started researching all the cars of that color and discovered that there were two coupes made with tan interior, but the books show only grey and blue interiors being available.

Keep your eyes open for these odd color combinations and let me know what you find.

Barney Eaton

Let me cover a problem where your heater/ac fan continues to run even when the key is off. If this happens, your fan control module has failed. It is easy to repair and its location is in the engine compartment, passenger side (item 1 in picture). You can temporarily turn it off by pulling either of the two connectors (item 5 in picture) on the unit; of course you will not get air movement. The replacement units are available from GM or most auto parts stores. They were used on GM cars with “automatic air” (you set the temperature and the system maintains that temperature). You can also find them in wrecking yards on GM cars. The following problem only occurs on the 1990-91 cars: Sometimes the push buttons on the heater/ac control will not change the function. Example, you have selected heat, HTR button, and then push the ECON button but nothing happens. Or, you try to lower the fan speed and it will not go down. This repair is not complex but you must have some experience in tearing into the dash assembly. The buttons are similar to a calculator keyboard. When you push the button, it makes contact with a printed circuit board and changes the function. Over time they can get enough contamination on the surfaces that the connection is not made. I have repaired several of these by just cleaning the surfaces.

The procedure is: Remove the instrument panel bezel. Remove the heater/ac control box. Remove the 2 screws on the box and it will expose one circuit board. Now remove 2 screws that hold the face plate to the box, and unplug the 2 connectors between the face plate and the circuit board. Before going further, note the location of the buttons, they start left to right … OFF, TEMP, AUTO…make a sketch with the location in the event you get them mixed. You now need to remove the 5 (1/8”) small hex head screws on the circuit board side, and lift out the circuit board. You now have the problem part in your hand, but the rubber-like buttons are all made in a single strip and they are heat staked to the circuit board. You need some electrical contact cleaner; WD-40 will work but has a shorter effective life. Work a small screwdriver or knife blade between the circuit board and the grey material….note the locations of the heat stakes and try going between them. Now spray your cleaner into the small crack you have opened. Work your way around the entire assembly, trying to get a little cleaner near each grey button. Next, push each button several times, this will clean the contact area. When finished, use a paper towel to absorb any excess cleaner. Reassemble and install in car. Try the unit before putting everything back together. If it does not work, try more cleaner or start searching for a replacement.

Barney Eaton

Article from the March 2006 Issue (will open in a new window)

Barney Eaton

Without sounding too commercial, I have been working on various headlight bellcrank fixes for several years. I thought I had some good ideas but after several attempts to work with vendors, they decided they didn’t want to handle a few hundred parts. (The problem we continue to see)

The GM part number for their replacement bellcrank is 16510108 and includes a new link, plus a new bolt and nut. As everyone knows, the problem is the continuing price increases and the great unknown length of time the part, which presently lists for over $100., will be available.

I know have available a steel part that should last the life of the car. The area that attaches to the headlight motor shaft is extruded steel and gives a great attachment area and will not wear out like the GM zinc diecast part.

It is a direct replacement for the GM part. Therefore, all you need to do is remove the original part, transfer the rubber bumper from the zinc part to the new steel part and install the steel part.

The price for the new part is $35. each, which includes shipping (in the US). As a gift to loyal Reatta owners, if you order a pairof the new bellcranks before February 1, 2005, I will pay your Reatta Division dues for one year. This offer has also been posted on the Reatta Discussion page to attract some new members to both the Reatta Division and the BCA.

Barney Eaton

Article from the December 2006 Issue (will open in a new window)

Nancy Eaton

The sunroof was available all four years of Reatta production; however, roughly 15% of the cars left the factory with one. So the following does not affect all of you Reatta owners, but may help those that have sunroofs.

For the proper operation of the sunroof, push the button to open and the back pops up then stops. You need to push it again to get it to slide open. If yours does not operate this way you probably have a bad relay, but that alone is probably not worth pulling the headliner to replace.

The Reatta sunroof was made by Wabasco. They still make sunroofs today and parts may be available from dealers that install their aftermarket sunroofs. However, Wabasco also made an identical sunroof for the Mazda RX-7. GM does not service the sunroof parts, only a complete replacement unit, but your Mazda dealer will have parts. Ask for parts for a 1986-1989 RX-7 sunroof.

Local wrecking yards are a good source for the RX-7 sunroofs. Just this week a Reatta owner purchased the entire unit for $100. Not a bad price when one of the cables cost roughly $160. You can use the RX-7 with only a couple of modifications, but you must use your original Reatta painted top panel.

There are two cables that open and shut the sunroof. They are the most common failure.

When working on the sunroof, the GM manual is worthless. My very friendly Mazda dealer made copies of the parts manual and the repair manual, both much more informative than what GM offers.

If you own a Reatta with a sunroof, I suggest some preventive maintenance: In each corner of the sunroof frame you will find a drain. With a flexible wire, make certain they are not plugged. If you think you have a problem, try blowing them out with compressed air. After you have checked the drains, try pouring a cup of water in each corner to verify that the water drains freely. The car should be on level ground to do this test. The seal around the
sunroof opening doesn’t really seal out water….the opening is larger than the frame below it and any leaking water falls into the frame and drains out the corners. If your headliner is wet, you probably have a plugged drain.

Next, clean and lubricate the track, guides, pivotpoints, and cables. This is not an easy task with the unit in the car but you can get to most of the mechanism and it will surely help. You will notice a spiral wrapped cable (looks almost like the outside of a choke cable) on both sides. This is the cable that pushes and pulls the sunroof open and closed. You will notice it goes into a tube at the back, the tube routes the cable to the motor. If you liberally coat the cable with oil, then open and close the sunroof, some of that oil will get inside the tube and help lubricate the cable.

If you have a sunroof that is not operating, you will probably need to remove the headliner and pull the complete unit. This is not a big deal, and once out of the car, it is possible to replace broken cables and do a much better job of cleaning the assembly.

Barney Eaton

While attending the 2002 Specialty Equipment Manufacturers (SEMA) show in Las Vegas I talked with reps from the R L Polk Co. Their informational data is utilized by companies world wide to increase sales.

Polk happens to track vehicle registrations, so I ask what they could tell me about Reattas. With a few keystrokes, they found 17,87l Reattas registered in the US, plus another 385 in Canada and Puerto Rico.

This year I returned for updates. Surprisingly, the numbers decreased to 16,862 in the US. I was unable to get the Canadian and Puerto Rican numbers. However, I was able to get a different breakdown. This list shows the number of Reattas registered in each state. As they had no printer, I copied the first five states to give you an idea where most Reattas are located.

• Michigan 1,604
• Florida 1,239
• California 1,472
• Illinois 996
• Ohio 1,354

Back in 2002, 82% of the cars built were still registered in the US. The 2004 numbers have dropped to 77.5% but the percentage of survivors is still fairly high.

There is also a huge unknown. How many cars have never been untitled? Mike Rukavina, a Reatta parts vendor, claims to have seen over 100 in dealers’ back rooms as yet untitled. A title has to be issued before the data can be included in the statistics.