1985 Chevrolet Citation X11 from North America - Comments

Oil pump went out at 32,000 miles. This was in 1986. New car warranty then was 12 months, 12,000 miles. Since car was in mint condition and I had all receipts for oil changes and proper maintenance, dealer replaced for free.

Transmission started slipping in second gear at 70,000 miles. Car was paid for, and was still in mint condition, so $700 rebuilt transmission.

Bumper inserts all rotted away. Have new ones in storage when car is restored to mint condition.

I have done routine maintenance on all other items. Brakes, tune-ups, fuel pump, etc. These things wear out over time, and need to be replaced or repaired. Just because a vehicle needs maintenance, does not make it a piece of crap. ALL CARS REQUIRE PROPER MAINTENANCE.

This car has the best steering feel of ANY car. It accelerates well, and handles as good as any sports car.

It looks great, and although it has a horrible resale value, I would not sell mine for $8000.

It is still all original, except for the stereo.

I think that most owners do not keep proper maintenance on their Citations. When one problem comes up, it must be repaired. If you let it go, more problems appear, then it takes more money to repair than the car is worth.

All cars require proper maintenance, but Citations require at least three times that of a real car.

Do not add comments about the Citation's when you know nothing about these cars in the first place. All cars need proper maintenance, but most people do not know what proper maintenance for their car is. This is the reason why there is junkyard all over the world. I am a pro mechanic and own three 1981 Chevrolet citation X-11's. One of my cars has 679821 KM. The other one has only 150000 KM on it. My last one has 500 KM on it she is my show car never drive it unless its at a car show. I love these cars and I'm going to be putting in a four-bolt eight barrel 455 V8 in my first X-11 she is going to be rear wheel drive. Why even bother you ask because I can.

Not really unless you're a teen, it's your first car that should already be in a salvage yard and you beat the heck out of it by going off-roading and drive it around hitting stuff. Of course I new someone like this back in high school who did this and the car took the abuse for a long time. I've owner a couple X-11's and they have been the most rewarding car to drive and have only had minor, normal maintenance items (water pump, struts.shocks, etc.)

If you really owned a couple of X-11 then you of all people should know that the Pontiac Fiero and the Chevrolet Citation X-11 have the same engine cradle. Check out some of the performance kits for the Fiero on the WEB/ NET you should find an engine kit that will let you install a 455/454 into a fiero. How to make the citation rear wheel drive is mine and some of my friends secret. I will give you a hint you need a Chevrolet camaro and a Pontiac 1000 all wheel drive to make a citation rear wheel drive. My first X-11 has never even been hit just driven to the U. S and Canada all highway clicks since it had 35000KM. So I take it the high school kid was you all ways hitting things and going off roading like your still a teen.

You need a Pontiac 6000 STE all wheel drive not the Pontiac 1000. I have a 350 HO citation X-11 that's rear wheel drive its fun to drive when the tires stop smoking.

The Citation X-11 was a great car for it's time. My dad had a black one with the 2.8 liter V6 and the automatic trans. Not only did it have great acceleration, but I looked at it like a "fastback celebrity". I think he had 140k on it when he traded it for a 1990 Corsica, and I miss that car. That was the car I learned to drive on, and nothing could compare when it came to handling. Gas mileage was great, and these cars are getting extremely rare, especially here in the rust belt. Hold on to this car and restore it! Overall, it's a real winner.

If any one who is reading this who has done the rwd conversion,, email me at : aaronrus@tampabay.rr.com.

Me and my brother went in together on a 1985 Citation X-11. I would say they do have a rather interesting exterior look, kinda the type where you love it or you hate it, no middle ground. As for the 2.8 Litre V-6. Absolute JUNK. I personally think they are the WORST GM motor ever built, if not just the worste V-6 in general, ever built. Our X-11 ran great at first with a good tune up. (Plugs, wires, coils, oil, oil filter, fuel filter, air filter, and Tachyon injector cleaner in a full tank of 94 octane fuel) Three weeks later, she developed a miss. Never could find the cause, but it then developed to s bad miss, the a rough run, then so bad it would only max out at 53 MPH DOWN hill, and can NOT get past 3200RPM. Any one want another one? She still don't run right, we've lost all hope for her and she's been sitting without being run for about two year now. If any one has a suggestion to what it could be, please advise. I will gladly pull my own statement on this car if some one can direct me to believe it's just my stupidity that's kept this car off the road. I fully regret purchasing this car.

My first car was a '83 Citation. It was one of the few V6's models that was also a manual 4 speed. It was a great car (especially after I added X-11 wheels). I missed the car so much that I had it towed back from the junk yard and I'm doing a complete rebuild and restoration of it. Anyhow, one time it developed an ignition miss. It got progressively worst. I eventually determined that there was some corrosion where the coil bolted to the engine. The coil and ignition module (in the distributor) were getting their grounds through these bolts. The ground difference between the ignition module and engine control module caused by the corrosion resulted in malfunctions of the ignition module. A ground strap between the coil and car body fixed this problem for good.

X11 SUCK.

I'd take your X-11, I'd love to find one at this point to fix up. I'm pretty sure I know the problem; the camshaft. GM put some soft cams in some of these cars. Some 2.5's had that problem, too.

Give me a break. X11 has a so called "high output" V6 at around 140HP. Teeny-weeny low compression 2.8 Liter 173 CID. High output of what, oil blow by? After the engine self destructs at 100,000 miles. The ONLY GM cars of this era worth collecting are the Mid and full size rear wheel drives, and some of the TRUE high output special edition Camaros and Firebirds. With a few exceptions, most cars of this era were deathly slow, although some were very reliable.

I still own my '78 Oldsmobile 98 Regency I had in high school back in '85, still has its original indestructable Oldsmobile rocket 350 V8 at 286,000 miles. Not Chevy 350, Not Buick 350, Not Pontiac 350. Oldsmobile 350. Yes they were all different and Oldsmobile made the best one, best smallblock V8 ever made, and I'll argue that to my grave. No Smoke, no blow by, no knocks, pings, or ticks. So smooth and Quiet I have to roll the window down to make sure its running sometimes. Even at 4000 pounds, with 175 HP and 275 LB/FT of torque and low 2.73 gears I know this Olds will still blow the doors off any Stock X11 it crosses, as it did back in the 80's. I also own a 2005 Nissan Altima SE-R and a 1987 Buick Grand National. I sent Corvettes home with their tails between their legs before. How does a guy maintaine dignity after getting eaten alive by a Buick?

And don't call me a hater, because I owned a Citation at one time. Was my wifes car when we married in 1988. It was an '84 CL, nothing terrible, but nothing great either. Had the 2.5 4-cyl, which is a much more reliable engine than the V6, and a four speed manual gearbox. Car held up well till 1990 and things then started to cosmetically fall apart. Car ran and drove well still until 1994 when it began to burn a lot of oil around 160,000 miles. A year later it cracked a head and we just junked it. I compare the reliability and performance of this car to the Chevy Lumina of the 90's.

Most of the cars from the 80's are cars most people would just as soon forget about.

I had a 1983 X-11 - and it was the best car I ever owned. Not only was it only $8000 brand new - but - it would outcorner, out accelerate, out handle, and out class almost any other car on the market up to $30,000 at that time. Please - the people who know what I am talking about do not bother listening to the people who never really owned own. If I could pick up the same car new today - I would have the biggest smile in the world.