1989 Chevrolet Celebrity - Rollover to 100k

My 1989 Chevrolet Celebrity CL wagon reaches maturity. *sniff* I'm so proud...

Some vitals:
-Engine is a 3.1 MFI from a '92 Cavalier
-Eight person capacity, legal, seat belts and all
-20 mpg city, 29 hwy
-Curb weight is 2888 lbs
-Standing quarter mile: 18.37 @ 71.5 mph
-Dyno run on a bad transmission: 95 whp and 123 wtq

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• Chevrolet
• Celebrity
• rollover
• 100k
• miles

[yorgle11]

I wonder if the ECM tune was out of whack for the engine swap. But I can't imagine it being all that far off, the displacement difference isn't huge.

There could also be differences in the final drive ratio from other Celebs, and I think you mentioned in another video that you had put 16" wheels on it. And of course all the miscellaneous sensors and general tuning issues that can degrade performance after so many years.

I love the 60v6, I'd rather have it than any overcomplicated modern 4cyl.

[leftventricle]

@yorgle11 The 2.8 and 3.1 used the same computer and tune. It turned out, after running the car on a dyno, that the engine hadn't been swapped though. I don't think I had the 16s in this video, but I sized the tires to match the stock overall diameter, so final drive wasn't affected. It had a 3.33 final stock; I built a transmission with a 3.73 final, and didn't really gain that much performance. Quarter mile time only fell by less than hald a second.

[yorgle11]

@leftventricle

The dyno numbers you posted in the description seem a bit low even for the 2.8.. are you sure it wasn't just a really tired 3.1? Maybe the PO put the combo together without replacing rings, valve job, maybe a worn cam, etc.

Is that a 4T60 that you built with 3.73 ratio? I've thought about doing that someday (or having it done, I'm a little fearful of transmissions). My Fiero has a 3.33 TH125C, if the trans ever dies I'm thinking a 4T60 at around 3.73 would be a good swap.

[leftventricle]

@yorgle11 The dyno numbers are consistent with a 2.8 and 24% drivetrain loss. If it were a 3.1, then it would have had 31% loss, which is too much, even for a GM transmission. The trans I had built ended up with a 3.73, because the shop misread the chain ratio I requested; I asked for a 3.33 diff with 37/33 chain (3.06 overall), they put in a 33/37.

[gokartbuyer]

thats funny i have a 6 year old car with around 98k on it .you don`t drive much compared to me.

[leftventricle]

@gokartbuyer It had low miles when I bought it; in June 2007 it had 70k miles. I just sent it to the junkyard with 129k. So nearly 60k in just over three years. I drove the hell out of this car.

[shvybzik]

A proud moment for sure--make sure you're filming at 200k too! My '87 had 172k miles and the engine and trans. were still great. My buddy had an '88 wagon with 195k miles that got totalled when some teeny-bopper blew a stop sign and broadsided him.

God bless the Chevrolet Celebrity.

[anissadavid]

definitely a proud point me and my dad have 7 celebritys. 84 euro convertable with 107, 84 euro ho, 86 euro coupe, 86 euro wagon, 87 sedan, 87 vr with a 3.1 and a 88 coupe. all have 2.8 except the vr. what group are you on?

[wayniac917]

first car i ever owned. got it back in '95 and had it for about 4 years. never had anything major issues with it.think it had around 125k on it when i finally got rid of it. even though it wasn't very pretty it was still a great, reliable car.

[kreigsmann]

try to make it last longer

warm it up when starting dont turn the wheel without moving

and keep the usual 5,00 miles a real thats perfect!

[Zaloryan]

Duke George the Fifth is a cute little smartass. I'm sorry you couldn't keep him, best of luck to you and your Buick & Pontiac! See you on the forum!

[gokartbuyer]

@leftventricle i put around 70k in 3 year i then gave it to my sister, who drives less than me i got a el camino that is my daily driver that i am currently restoring (slowly).