REATTA RIVIVAL
My first project car
April 2020 - Jun 2020 | Root Cause Analysis | Restoration | Systems Repair
Overview
The car that started it all.
Back when I was working at CleanSlate UV in 2020, an old manager of mine - Kevin Truong - inspired me to take curiosity into my own hands. While learning the technical foundation of design in class is great, Kevin told me to look elsewhere and seek out personal projects that could foster a passion. Back then, I had no idea what I wanted to design, but considering I play many adrenaline-filled sports, fast cars were a good place to start.
So, I decided to restore my mom's old 1989 Buick Reatta to learn some of the fundamentals of automotive design by getting some hands-on experience in my own garage. From this, I learned a lot about how the electrical systems within a vehicle influence the design of the external housings and chassis components.
(And how to make mixtapes. The Reatta only takes cassettes).
Project Objectives
Replace + Test Electronics
Get the car to start
Learn to make mixtapes
What is the car's name?
Sedona. I named her after one of my favourite songs from the summer of 2020 - "Sedona" by Houndmouth
Repairs
From the summer of '89...
Highlights
Took apart the entire front end of the car to replace the headlight motors​
​Diagnosed different component failure cases before repair (Oxygen sensor, speaker PCBs)
​Repolystered the interior​
Replace brake rotors
Made 10+ Mixtapes
Tools
Whatever I had in my garage...
Next Steps
Time to mod it...
Retrofit LED system that reacts to the throttle position (Because why not?)
Convert the Buick Reatta into an electric vehicle once the engine is beyond repair