'83 Chevrolet Citation X-11

[echoxrayniner]

Earlier this year I bought the 2002 re-release of the Citation which I intended to build mostly cause... it's such a nice little timepiece of a terrible past, but for some reason it just ended up getting lost in the mail, so I ponied up another 40 bucks to buy a second one and ended up making a '80 Citation X-11 with it. Then suddenly three months after, the original arrives after all. They're good little kits even with the super odd lowrider choice(seriously, who in the absolute hell would drive a early eighties rust-coffin AND turn it into a lowrider? All the trim would pop off like Mr. Potato Head parts upon the first bounce!). A lot better than the annual dredges MPC was shoving out the door in the same era.

Figured I'd give the bumpers the body color, makes it look somewhat sportier in my opinion. And stole some Cowl Injection decals from a Chevelle kit(which happen to be same shade of gold as the X-11 decals, huzzah!) to mimic the High-Output V6 emblem there normally would be.

 

[PARTSMARTY]

Very cool !!!

[crazyjim]

Came out looking darn good.  Maybe it's just me, but I liked the look of those Citations.

[iamsuperdan]

Nice build! My very first car was almost a blue Citation hatchback. Ended up with a brown '78 Thunderbird instead.

 

 

[El Caballo]

I have not seen one of those on the road in better than a decade.

[shoopdog]

I had an x-11 long ago and just loved it, your build is identical to it. Traded it for a 79 Z28 that had a bit more power LOL!

[Ace-Garageguy]

Good looking models of one of the most forgettable cars in the history of the universe. I always thought the stylists did a good job with it, making it immediately recognizable as a Chebby, with clean lines and nice proportions. 

I remember that GM proudly bragged they'd spent something on the order of 3.5 BILLION dollars developing the X platform, and bought a fleet of Fiat 128s and other front-wheel-drive cars to dissect as part of their R&D.

I also remember being profoundly disappointed after driving one of the first production versions, and often wondered aloud WHERE they'd put that $3.5B, as it didn't seem to show in the quality or performance of the car.

And again, in what has become GM corporate style, known problems (this time in the rear brakes) were swept under the rug, put into production cars, and resulted in safety issues, accidents, lawsuits (including a suit brought by NHTSA) and recalls...250,000 vehicles recalled, and really should have been closer to a million.

Edited October 19, 2017 by Ace-Garageguy

[espo]

Your two builds really capture the appearance of the 1:1 Citation. As Ace-Garageguy pointed out these vehicles in the real world had their short comings. I drove a new X-11 with a manual  on two occasions. The Torque Steer when shifting under hard acceleration was down right dangerous. Going up a long on ramp I shifted into 3rd and the car almost changed lanes on me. You could be driving at 50 mph plus and feel the steering wheel turn left on acceleration and right on deceleration.      

[Ace-Garageguy]

 The Torque Steer when shifting under hard acceleration was down right dangerous. 

 Yeah, I'd forgotten about that, but as you say, it could be brutal in these little guys. I tried awfully hard to like them, but just couldn't. 

[NYLIBUD]

Nice job....

[Jim N]

You did a great job.  It looks real nice!

[Tom Geiger]

Nice work! Citation two door cars were seldom seen, as most the cars sold were the four door hatchbacks. I've always wanted to convert that kit to one of those.

[bbowser]

Neat builds of a seldom seen model.  I recall there being a lot of them on the street in the day, never see them anymore.

[Classicgas]

Very well done.

[ChrisR]

NEAT!!

[unclescott58]

So I'm not the only one who has purchased the above kit. I've always liked looks of the Citation's Club Coupe body style. The hatchbacks, not so much. Revell/Monogram's Citation is nice, but. It's a bit of mishmash at it's not correct in a way that it can built as pure factory "stock" Citation. Beautiful job on both Citations NJ. I impressed. They may have been crappy little cars. But, I still like the looks of them.

Edited October 20, 2017 by unclescott58

[Davewilly]

great looking Citation!

 

[Ron Hamilton]

Nice job....

I had 2 Citation X11 demonstrators back in the day. One was an '82 in white. with a stick, and the other was an '83 in silver with the automatic. I liked both cars immensely. They seemed like decent cars to me.

[charger74]

Those are very cool, we never see them built up ??

[carrucha]

Cool Citation build.  My parents drove a 1981 Citation 4-door hatchback in the 1980's.  You don't see them anymore on American streets.  The last time I saw a Citation on the street was in Mexico two years ago when I was vacation there.

[Dann Tier]

First off -Very nice build!!!, secondly, I never cared for this car when it was around, but now I kinda think it looks pretty sweet! -has to be the way you built it......you sold me, i'm gonna find one and build it!

[spencer1984]

Looks good, nice to see someone actually building these kits! I had a buddy years ago who went through several Citations, they were actually pretty decent but he had a knack for tearing up cars

[TooOld]

You've made a forgettable little car into something very respectable , it looks pretty cool ! 

[bogger44]

First off -Very nice build!!!, secondly, I never cared for this car when it was around, but now I kinda think it looks pretty sweet! -has to be the way you built it......you sold me, i'm gonna find one and build it!

X2.  I've had my hands on this kit a couple times at a hobby store (I don't know why LOL), but always put it back.  Next time I go there I'll have to pick one up, if it's still there anyways.  Love how your's turned out, both of them actually.

[vwdave92]

I wish the kit was of the hatch back.  I had an 80 X-11 and my brother had an 81 X-11 V6 but they are both hatches.  Maybe I'll finish the conversion some day.