Volume 17 Issue 3 FALL 2013

Division Newsletter Buick Club of America

A MESSAGE FROM YOUR NEW DIRECTOR

I have just returned from my second BCA National Meet held in South Bend Indiana. My first meet was Flint in 2008 and I missed the middle three due to illness and my daughter's wedding. I was very impressed by the turnout of not only Reattas, we had close to 35 present, but of the other years and vintages. Many great examples of Buick designing. And a great opportunity to see and meet other owners and to form new friend-ships. One of the things that was part of the reunion was the annual Re-atta Club meeting. We had a number of things to discuss as both new and ongoing business. There were some elections that had to be con-firmed. I was elected Director, Jim Finn elected Vice-Director and Ed Far-nell continues as Secretary/Treasurer. We also are working on a new Web Master as well as to fill some spots on the Advisory Board.

The continuing business is working on our ongoing relationship with the museum that has the 1988 Reatta Convertible "Show Car" that was sent out to California and the challenges to getting it ready for display. And then of course there is the ever present challenge of getting more of the world interested in the Reatta. Now that the '88 has "aged" into collector status and the '89 next year, hopefully we will get more exposure at car shows.

So having said that, I am going to ask you to drive your car more. Drive it when you run errands, or when you go out to eat, to church, or any other events you might be attending. Park it in a promi-nent location. Let it be seen. If you have your car "out there" people will be more likely to want to talk to you about it. After all with less then 20,000 cars left they may never have seen one before, and will have questions. I drive one of my Reattas every day and am always surprised and pleased when someone comes out to me and wants to talk about the Reatta. We have one of the best kept secrets but also one of the most unique cars out there. It is our obligation to get the car "out there".

I am looking forward to the next two years and am glad for the opportunity to get even more in-volved with the Reatta community.

Dave Lemke

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THE PETERSON AWARD AND THE REATTA PROTOTYPE

I would like to thank the Reatta division for awarding me the Peterson Award. It is nice to be recog-nized with the all of the prior recipients.

One of the most enjoyable and rewarding undertakings that I have been involved in is centered around a Reatta prototype--the only surviving one (of two) ever produced, which had been built in 1988 and then donated by GM in 1992 to a community college in Indiana for use in their Automotive Technician training program. It was a rare gift for the college as it allowed student training with modern technology. This prototype had served this purpose well by the end of 2011 and the only al-ternative allowed by mandate of its owner, GM, was complete destruction.

With the feeling that it deserved a better fate, we started looking for a new home. The San Diego Automotive agreed to accept and restore it. Little did we realize what hurdles remained to be over-come in order to secure its release from the college. Ultimately it required the approval of the top level of GM management. Barney Eaton had been a strong supporter of this project, made the con-tacts and the release was done.

It became the responsibility of the Reatta Division to fund the transportation cost from Indiana to San Diego. A program was started by the Division to raise funds. It was successful with participa-tion from many Division members and Reatta owners. We are indebted to them for their donations which enabled the move. A testament to that is the photo below.

The Reatta is now in the res-toration line up with other cars and, when com-pleted, pictures will be placed in the Division newsletter.

Kingsley Baker

Page 3 AFTER THE PRE-WAR, WHAT SHOULD WE BUY?

John and Jane Caldwell, Drive # 2081, Prior Lake, Minnesota

Jane and I had owned a 1941 Packard 110 sedan for fifteen years but decided to sell it as it is becoming more difficult to drive older vehicles within the city or highway with driv-ers unwilling to tolerate slower moving vehicles. Considered several brands of vehicles and models, Citroen 2CV’s, Mercedes roadsters, another British sports car or sedan and the Buick Reatta as possible choices. It seemed that occasionally after we had this discussion and were out driving a Buick Reatta would be seen with further comments on “that is really a beautiful coupe”.

Last June I was paging through Hemmings Motor News and found an advertisement for a 1988 Sapphire Blue coupe with moderate mileage and within a price range to consider. Looked at the website for Hemmings and found the owner had lowered his price. After a very brief discussion on whether to inquire about the car, I called the owner. I was pleased to find that he was familiar with antique cars as his main vintage interest was in owning sev-eral 1929 Model A Fords. He had owned the Buick Reatta for eight years but only drove it for 2500 miles. He was the third owner having purchased it from a Washington State collec-tor but the original purchaser was a woman from Utah.

Drove down to Omaha on Father’s day and met with the owner the following morn-ing. The Reatta was sitting in the driveway and looked like it had just come from the show-room. Without even talking to the owner or driving it, I turned to Jane and said, Yes, we should buy it. She promptly agreed. The owner and I took it for a drive and it clearly had been well maintained. Settled on an agreeable price and made arrangements to return in two weeks to finish the purchase as the owner and his wife were leaving for vacation the fol-lowing morning.

We picked up the Reatta in early July and drove back to Minnesota with no problems. Since I had never owned a Buick, decided to take it to a local Buick dealer that had an excel-lent reputation for service. I was apprehensive of the response I would receive after hearing stories where modern car dealerships do not know how or refuse to work on antique cars. Talked to the service manager about bringing my car in for a checkup and was extremely pleased to learn that the dealership principal owned four Reatta’s. All service that I have needed has been handled very professionally.

The Reatta has provided everything that we wanted, easy to drive, comfortable to ride in for long distances, automatic transmission and for long hot summer drives air condition-ing. The computer screen setup was so futuristic in 1988 when computers in the work place were still unknown to many companies. I am sure the original owners might have found the screens frustrating in 1988 but now they seem so common. We look forward to touring with our Reatta for many years. Jane and I are interested in visiting or driving with other Minnesota Reatta owner.

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THE REATTA RENDEZVOUS A large representation of 25 beautiful Buick Reattas left the host hotel in South Bend headed for the Amish Farm in Nappanee, Indiana. It was a pleasant cruise as we traveled along. I rode with Nancy and Barney Eaton and Bob Newman since Chuck was tied up in a meeting. Nancy and I had a nice time catching up on the past year's news. That has always been the best part of the ren-dezvous for me – meeting up with friends. When we arrived at the farm we were greeted by a group of Amish ladies and gents eager to show us around. We rode in a wagon pulled by a tractor over to the farm house. The Amish farms tradi-tionally include a large house for the Dad, Mom and several children. As the children grow up, Grandma and Grandpa move next door to the grandparent's house. There is no air conditioning – just open with windows and hope for a nice breeze to circulate the air. I didn't even see any swamp coolers. We saw a root cellar, a smoke house, and an outdoor oven, all of which are adja-cent to the kitchen door. These are used all year around in order to feed the large families. A kitchen garden is also nearby to grow table vegetables and herbs for seasoning, etc. It must be a challenge to care for one's family in these conditions, especially wearing the typical long dresses, during the hot summer. The houses were extremely hot the day we were there, but they were very homey and comfortable otherwise. I was interested to learn that the reason they had hooks around all the rooms for hanging clothes was to avoid paying a 'closet tax'. They had no closets in their homes- very clever and frugal people. They make every penny count. Upon boarding the wagon again, we traveled past a lovely pond in the center of the square. Among other buildings, there was a black smith shop, but the one that was interesting to most was the one room school. Each side wall was lined with windows (opened of course to beat the heat). The school was very simple – it was easy to picture a group of Amish children doing their studies while the teacher graded papers. Upon leaving the school, we made our way to the restaurant for the best dinner we had through-out the week. Sitting at long tables, we enjoyed a family style dinner of almost anything your mind could imagine: fried chicken of course, roast beef, beef and noodles, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, coleslaw, etc. etc. etc. Finishing the feast off was a variety of delicious home-made pies! All was served by a group of smiling Amish young ladies. All in all, it was a feast fit for a king. The highlight of our rendezvous as always, was socializing with fellow Reatta owners. This is probably one of the most enjoyable events of the National Meet for me and Chuck. I'm really looking forward to the meet in Portland next year to see what kind of a treasure trip we will share. Hope to see you there.

Kathy Kerls

CARS, PARTS, LOGO WEAR FOR SALE Page 5 For sale: We have headlamp assembly crank arms (in 2 models) with parts kits for all Reattas as well as our replication, in all col-ors, of the sun visor clips for the 90-91 convertibles. More information; hkbjr@yahoo.com or 310-476-0191. Pictures available on EBAY and www.Reattaowner.com. Buy direct. For sale: Poly-carb vent window replacements Both driver and passenger sides available w/ instructions for each side. $100.00 each side. Call Bill Salisbury @810-655 4940 or email FTE@frontier.com For sale: Very rare dealer showroom window trim introducing the 1988 Reatta. Never been displayed and is in the original mailing tube from GM to a dealership in LA. Postmark on tube is 1/14/1988. Display is plastic or vinyl and measures 4' x 6'. I have never seen one before in any condition. $400 or best reasonable offer. For pictures call Ed Farnell 360-6806. or email eafar-nell@gmail.com

Reatta parts----Large inventory. Reasonable prices. Contact Jim at; jfinn@cpinternet.com

Reatta parts----Parting over 50 cars. You name it, I should have it. John @ 810-730-9230

For sale; Reatta showroom sign. $450.00 OBO, tail light outer glass, very nice. $100.00, have a number of CD play-ers w/ mounting hardware. Call Don Kinas at 1-262-781-3913.

Original “Barney cranks” are still available. Steel replacement headlight bellcranks are $40 ea. ($35 ea. to BCA members). Kits that include rollers & up-stop instructions are $45 (BCA members $40). Rebuilt Reatta headlight motors, $55 per side (exchange plus $5.00 shipping) and Rebuilt power antenna (w/ better than new flex cord, $60 ea (exchange). Price includes shipping. Plastic wing nuts and recepticals (to hold the cover in the rear of the engine com-partment) $2.00 each plus $2.00 shipping. Rebuilt power antenna W/ steel cord< $60 (includes return shipping). Trunk lock cover repair kits $9.50. 1988-89 floor mat plastic grids for the backs $10.00 each plus shipping. Custom Reatta car covers and all other cars in 14 fabrics and several colors, also 7 sizes of motorcycle covers (call for prices on covers). Call Barney @ 512-869-5114 for info or Reatta tech assistance.Barney Eaton, 20111 Deerfield Dr, George-town, TX 78633

“ THE COMPLETE HISTORY OF BUICK REATTA” A gift for that for that special Reatta enthusiast. 60 pages, 98 pictures (most never published), and original press releases, plus pictures and information on a 1992 prototype. Per-fect for your coffee table. Just $25.00 plus $6.00 for shipping. Contact Gary at Duncan.smith@juno.com or call 231-631-1075

FOR SALE: '88 Reatta, White Coup w/red interior. One of first 250 issued. Excellent Condition, 130,000 miles. Only driven in Summer to Car Club Events Located near St. Louis, MO in Golden Eagle, IL. Comes with just released copy of “THE COMPLETE HISTORY OF BUICK REATTA”. Price is $5,500.00. Call 618-883-2046 or 314-540-2377 (cell) For sale; 1989 Reatta coupe. Red/grey w/93,000m miles. Car is in excellent condition and has always been garaged. Everything woks just as factory new. Only driven in summer. Located in Columbus, IN. Price $6,4000.00 I will deliver (within a few hundred if you would like). Call James Dirk @ 812-350-1679 or email djames@sheperdins.com For sale;1988 Reatta, bright red with tan interior, 16 way suede seats, great condition in and out, everything works. BCA 294 point car in 2011, $5600. George Madsen Orland Park, Illinois 708-349-8878

For Sale; 1990 Reatta Convertible. Black/tan/tan. Asking $5,500.00. Call Greg @ 1-810-853-9081

********************************************** logo wear: To order logo wear, please go to the Reatta Div. web site, click on logo wear & place your order.

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REATTAS AT THE 2013 BCA NATIONALS

A big thank you to Kathy Kerls, Rich Guard and Zoltan Berghoffer for the photos of the 2013 BCA Nationals

CARS FOR SALE FOR SALE; 1990 Reatta Coupe, red/tan w/ 28,800 miles. One owner. Stored winters. Beautiful condition. Cover included. $17,300.00. Call 574-262-9202 FOR SALE: 1988 Reatta one family car w/ 79K miles. Red w/ grey interior. Needs headlight kits. $4,500.00. Call Alvin @ 912-927-1792. Located in Savannah, Ga FOR SALE; 1988 Reatta, red/tan. One owner w/ 85,000 miles. One of first 350 isasued. Has rare suede/leather seats that are like new. Leather Owners manual w/ pen, dealers advertising signs and a rare seat cleaning kit issued to Reatta owners. New tires and battery. Needs left headlight kit. Always garaged. Located near St. Louis, Mo. Asking $7,000. Call vic @ 636-394-2735

FOR SALE: For Western Buick enthusiasts on the West Coast: 1990 Reatta Convertible. Silver/Gray Interior/Black top. 66k. Pristine Condition, always garaged. No accidents or damage history. Car owned since 1998. New top installed in 2007. Lo-cated in Reno, Nevada. Averaged 3k mileage per year since new. This car is all stock and all systems are operational in-cluding original CD player. $10,500. Call Vic Morine (BCA 34100) at 775-8537610 or email me at vmorine@charter.net

FOR SALE; 1988 Reatta. Red/tan, 79,888 miles. Origi-nal owner. Summer driving only for the last 23 years. Always housed in garage. Well maintained. New head-liner,headlights & motors, touch screen,bushings, new brake & fuel lines. Original paint. About 10,000 miles on tires. Car located in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. Price $6,300 For information or to purchase call 440-247=3282

FOR SALE; ‘90 Reatta Convertible. red/tan/tan. 156,000 miles. No dents or rust. Original paint in fair to good condition. Vinyl top has shrunk and has tears. Factory wheels w/ excellent center caps. Origi-nal engine replaced w/ identical (w/ 45,000 miles). Replaced shoes, rotors and brake lines. ABS pump has possible bleed problem in one rear wheel. Transmission replaced (possible torque concerns) Has a $700 Sony CD/MP3?blutooth w/ custom speaker system. Asking $3,000. Contact Will Wyatt @ 773-960-8649 Cell/Chicago

FOR SALE; PRICE REDUCED 1990 Reatta convertible . Maui Blue/ dark blue/ white top. 38,000 original miles. Always garaged Florida car (bought in Florida and never out of state). All recommended services per-formed and more. Immaculate inside and out. Price $15,500.00. Call Bob Andrews (BCA # 29671) @ 941-639-6959. Punta Gorda, Fl.

FOR SALE; 91 white/white/red interior Reatta convertible. Has all the 91 options. Great condition with only 17,000 miles. Never driven in bad weather. I have all the build papers from start build to finish, in-cluding a pictures of tradesmen that build the Reattas, including the original owner, Jim Yoder. Smoke free, beautiful interior, extra floor mats (still in package). Car has been garaged in Fla. most of the time, and is presently in Michigan. Asking $20,000.00. Call Bill Salisbury @ 810-655-4940 or 810-384– 3957 or email me @ fte@frontier.com

1990 Reatta Convertible. Red/tan top/tan interior. This car is in like new condition and has always been garaged. It has new mats for show and has received the gold senior and preservation awards at the National Buick Shows. This is a PA car now in New York State. The mileage is 57059. Asking $16,900. Call Chris & Harold Wilkins @ 607-382-5283.

DIRECTOR: Dave Lemke Page 7 240 Edgewater Dr Menasha, WI 54952 lemke1044@aol.com ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Jim Finn 2503 Becks Road Duluth, MN 55810 jfinn@cpinternet.com SECRETARY/TREASURER: Ed Farnell 440 Langford Road Blythewood SC 29016 803-754-6922 reattaclub@aol.com ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS: George Madsen Georgemadsen@att,net Zoltan Berghoffer zberghoffer@gmail.com Kevin C. Dierkes sanviman@yahoo.com NOMINATING COMMITTEE Nancy Eaton reatta@texas.net Chuck Kerls booreatta@cox.net Martel Gibson mgibson33@hotmail.com NEWSLETTER EDITOR: April Gill 7508 W Chadwick Road Dewitt MI 48820 517-626-6622 wwdhms@aol.com REATTA LOGO WEAR COORDINATOR: George 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: Nancy Taylor ReattaWebmaster@hotmail.com BCA TECHNICAL ADVISORs—1988-1991 REATTAS Barney Eaton 20111 Deerfield Drive Georgetown TX 78628 Barney@texas.net Don Kinas 312 Plaza Lane Plymouth, WI 53073 262-781-3913

REATTA DIVISION Secretary/Treasurer Ed Farnell 440 Langford Road Blythewood, SC 29016 ______________________________________________________________________________________________

MEMBERSHIP & DIVISION INFORMATION

Reatta Division memberships are $10.00 per year. Membership is for a 12 month period. Please note that a pink highlighter mark on the RDIV number on your mailing label means that your Reatta Division dues are either due or past due. In order to continue receiving the Reatta news letter, your RDIV membership status needs to be current. Please makes checks payable to: REATTA DIVISION, BCA Send all dues payments and address changes (include your RDIV # on your check) to: SECRETARY/TREASURER, ED FARNELL, 440 LANGFORD RD, BLYTHEWOOD, SC 29016 NOTE: All Reatta Division members are required to be members of the national organization, Buick Club of America, of which we are an authorized division. Please note that a blue highlighter mark on your BCA number on your mailing label means that you are not a current member of the BCA. In order to continue re-ceiving the Reatta Division newsletter, your BCA membership status needs to be current. The national or-ganization can be contacted at: BUICK CLUB OF AMERICA, PO BOX 360775, COLUMBUS, OH 43236, BY EMAIL AT: buickcluboffice@aol.com , phone 614-472-3939 or fax 614-472-3222. Please send all classified ads and newsletter submissions to: NEWSLETTER EDITOR, APRIL GILL, 7508 W CHADWICK RD, DEWITT,MI 48820 or email wwdhms@aol.com 8