1985 Chevrolet Citation 2 from North America - Comments

Replaced:

Starter.

Ignition module, pickup coil, distributor plate, ignition coil.

Struts and shocks.

Steering rack.

LOTS of body work!!

A few bulbs here and there.

Hoses.

All 4 brake calipers and wheel cylinders were replaced.

Fuel lines.

Exhaust and pipes.

Seats in new condition!!

What a sweet car!!

The 2.5 liter engine is quite powerful and we hauled a trailer load full of bricks, a u-haul that weighed at least a ton (I kid you not!!) and it has NEVER had a problem before!!

The heater works quite well and keeps the car warm like toast!! The a/c was removed from the car though as it isn't really needed.

Reliability is alright. The distributor on all 1985 models is a piece of junk. It left the previous owners stranded at least 2 times and my dad was stranded 3 times. No matter what my dad did it still had a mind of it's own. Very odd indeed. Last year it failed again and I tested it thoroughly until I found the problem.. pickup coil was the culprit. It was the factory original and I replaced it for 35 dollars CDN. Worked great afterwards.

The starter is broke and I had to pay about 100 dollars for a rebuilt.

Very good performance and has some pep to it, but not much. The 3-speed hydramatic transmission is a very rugged and shifts okay. You can feel it shifting and when shifting to drive, you can feel a clunk. Very reliable and totally original as well as the engine. No rebuilds or any other thing except oil changes.

Citation handles very well and I like it. Well built.

Dealer service was great, but only for buying parts. Eg pickup coil. They had to order it and it arrived early the next day!! Very polite and well experienced. The dealer was Clark Chevrolet in Fredericton, New Brunswick, in Canada.

Running costs are good and I find the car quite fuel efficient 23-32MPG city and highway.

LOTS OF ROOM!!!

Lots of trunk space, engine space and passenger comfort. It is a hatchback.

I can haul a family of five comfortably on short trips.

I like the chrome bumpers that actually are bumpers. It is a spring type that if you get rear-ended at low speeds then it will absorb the impact.

The other bits of chrome such as the chrome rocker panels and the chrome around the windows, windshield, wheel wells are nice looking too. I like it!!

If you have a Citation then E-mail me at timothyap5vmnospam@hotmail.com

(remove the "nospam")

Overall I dearly love this car and If I see another one for sale then I would buy it in a heartbeat!!

Well, to date, I have had no problems.. The car leaks quite a bit of oil from the oil pan..

Next summer I think I will pull the engine out and replace the piston rings, crankshaft bearings, connecting rod bearings, and the oilpan gasket..

I have so far since writing the review had only one major problem which required serious metal work.. The control arm bracket which holds the rear axle in place rusted out and left the tire rubbing against the rear of the wheel well.. I got this repaired and the car is doing fine..

I also took the seats and carpet out and did a lot of work on the rusty floor as well as metal work where it had rusted out on the driver's side.. I also repainted the entire floor..

I have also replaced the fanbelt, distributor cap and rotor, and the cap for the thermostat where it connects to the radiator, and the battery..

Overall car is doing great and has been stored for the winter.. Will startup fine in coldest of winter!!