Engine that will fit 1980 citation, not to costly

Maintenance/Repairs
1

Anyone know one thatll fit my car, work well, and have good power/kick plus be affordable? ik im asking alot for something cheap but you never know, and im looking to spend $1000 or less.

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No ans.

3

Hey ya’. So there were two options way back when, the 2.5L inline 4 and the 2.8L V6. Neither were terribly powerful. In 1981, they added a second V6 for the X11 model, and this was the “Z-code” engine (when ordering parts for 1981+ Citations, you’ll often be asked if you have Vin X or Vin Z, and that’s why.)

The Z-code engines had different cams and heads (larger valves) and a high-volume oil pump (early 60-degree V6s have a bit of a problem with main bearing oiling that is largely fixed with a high-volume pump). They also had two true exhaust manifolds, rather than the wrap-around front-in-to-rear manifold that the other V6s had. AND they had a fiberglass hood with a functional air intake.

Unfortunately, it’s getting harder and harder to find good-condition X11 Citations around, but if you keep your eyes open in wrecking yards, you’ll maybe get lucky. Finding an X11 and robbing parts off of it is your best bet at a cheap, easy means of making your Citation a little sportier.

Here is a website that thoroughly explains what the X11 package was:

http://www.geocities.com/citation_x11/history.html

And here is a Yahoo group that I’m on called ChevyCitationsForever:

http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/chevycitationsforever/

The Yahoo group is a fantastic resource, join up and look at other peoples’ projects. There have been engine swaps ranging from mild fuel injected 3.1s to supercharged Gen II 3.8s to Cadillac 4.9 V8s. Come check it out!

(I just sold my '81 Citation X-11 and miss it. :frowning: )

4

Citation Citation

My dad had a Citation. It was a good solid car. The only problem he ever had was with shift forks in his manual trans. I think I remember that some kind of coating came off of them and caused shifting problems, just out of warranty. The dealer tried to get him to bite on a $1000 (give or take) repair. I did my homework and then called for a zone rep and he wound up paying only $100 of the repair.