1989 Chevy Celebrity

[PGuru]

Hello all,

I'm a 20 year old from Quebec that just purchased a 1989 Chevy Celebrity Sedan for $2200. The car is in quite good condition; it has 112000 km (~ 70000 miles) on the clock, absolutely no body rust (although there is a bit of rust underneath) and the 2.8L v6 (with 4-speed auto).

I've been looking for a celebrity for a number of years and so I jumped at this one when I found it online! The car was owned by a very old woman (hence the super low mileage). I've done small mods to it like blacking out the emblems and the grille and removing the mudflaps. Next on my list of things to do is to fix the sagging headliner, change out the tires/rims and replace the suspension (and maybe drop it a little bit).

As I'm fairly new to modding cars, I was hoping to pick your brains a little bit.
Questions:
1) Would changing the tires to 195/60/R16 or 205/50R17 cause rubbing? I'm trying to reduce the sidewall and these are the two sizes that (should) fit quite well.
2) Regarding aftermarket rims, what would be a suitable offset for the car?
3) Good site for reliable parts online?
4) Any other mods/changes I can/should do to improve the car?

Any feedback is appreciated! Cheers!

[lemons bob]

For tires it depends on the wheels you get. You will want a wheel that has a similiar backspacing and you shouldn't have to worry about rubbing. In fact you could probably go wider than 205.

This thread will have some OEM wheel options from other cars for you http://www.a-body.net/forums/showthr...fitement-guide. After market you will need to either use a site that checks for you like the Tire Rack or do the math to figure out if the backspacing seems ok.

[white89euro]

Welcome aboard! You may be the only Canadian member we have who is currently posting.

Congratulations on scoring a like-new Celebrity. My project car is an 1989 Celebrity Eurosport - so I know the cars pretty well. I'm not an expert on tires and wheels, but can tell you that you should check the build sheet on your car's spare tire cover and look to see if you have code JA1 (smaller lug pattern) or JA2 (larger lug pattern) before buying aftermarket wheels. Also, a variety of 15" GM wheels fit the car. You'll need to adjust tire diameter accordingly in order to keep the same overall diameter and keep your speedometer reading correctly. Hope that helps!

The 89's are my favorite because they have the rear shoulder belts for added safety, but still have the front belts mounted to the C pillar, not the doors.

One bit of advice - coat the underbody with POR-15 - it is the best rust-stopping paint you can get. It can be sprayed (by a shop) or hand painted. Then get the car undercoated. Use auto-body cavity wax (if available in Canada) to rust proof the inner doors, inside panels, etc... This is assuming you'll be driving the car in winter.

On the headliner, just get it re-done at an interior shop. There is no good way to "fix" that problem.

Here is one of the best parts suppliers in North America, Rock Auto
https://www.rockauto.com/catalog/x,m...ROLET,vtype,US

Let us know what else we can do to help.

George - Wisconsin, USA

[PGuru]

Thanks bob & 89 euro for the advice. I've used the tire calculator on 1010tires (http://www.1010tires.com/Tools/Tire-Size-Calculator) and I've narrowed my choices down to three options: 195/60/R16, 205/50R17, 215/45R18. All three give me a diameter difference of 1-2%. I recommend using the above link for anyone looking to change their tire size! My final decision however will depend on the best wheels I can find.

Speaking of wheels, I've been looking for some old style mesh wheels, something like this: http://charlescharlescharles.com/wheels/kssr1.jpg). Essentially anything wire/meshy, kind of like the OE wire ones that came stock on the celebrity (except as a wheel rather than a wheel cover). However, it's proving to be quite difficult to find a used set under 400-500 (in 16,17 or 18").

I would like to drive the car in winter, and as such, I'll be getting it rustproofed at a place called Metropolitan Rustproofing. With all the rain, snow and salt my car would encounter, rustrproofing is a must. (My family's other car, a 2006 Mazda 6 started to rust badly just 6-7 years later).

I've read countless times that the Eibach lowering springs for our cars are no longer available. Does anyone have the model/part no. so I know what I'm looking for. On that note, is there any other method to get them lowered? Is it possible to get custom springs made?

Sorry for so much text, trying to get as much info as I can! Thank you!

[Tyson]

Welcome aboard and congratulations. Keep us posted on how the project comes together.

[lemons bob]

T
Speaking of wheels, I've been looking for some old style mesh wheels, something like this: http://charlescharlescharles.com/wheels/kssr1.jpg). Essentially anything wire/meshy, kind of like the OE wire ones that came stock on the celebrity (except as a wheel rather than a wheel cover). However, it's proving to be quite difficult to find a used set under 400-500 (in 16,17 or 18").

Once you figure out your lug pattern you can start looking up what oem wheels might work for you. Used oem should be cheaper than new. These are only 15 but recently I picked up these silhouette wheels.

[Keiths1976]

Lemons Bob u have a set of 4 of those ? Those are sharp i seen 14 inch of them i wanted to put them on my buick with the buick center emblem

[lemons bob]

They were stock wheels the first few years of the silhoutte, so they shouldn't be that expensive if you find them, but they are 15" wheels. Around that time there are several gms that had similiar style though, the best looking to me are the 16" grand prix. the basket weave was gold.

[Ciera91]

There's a set of 16x7 Bonneville lace style wheels at a wrecker by me. Was thinking about getting them, but then how would I fix my Speedo being off?

[PGuru]

There's a set of 16x7 Bonneville lace style wheels at a wrecker by me. Was thinking about getting them, but then how would I fix my Speedo being off?

As long as you get wheels similar in diameter, you should be fine. A couple hours ago, I came across a set of 16x7's, mesh, that I'm going to get (assuming I can find the time to make the drive out to pick them up). I'm going to pick up a set of 195/60R16's to go with it. This'll change my speedo by 1.2%, a negligible amount.

[Ciera91]

Mine is already off about 5mph, dunno why. But says I'm going 5mph faster then I am

[lemons bob]

As long as you get wheels similar in diameter, you should be fine. A couple hours ago, I came across a set of 16x7's, mesh, that I'm going to get (assuming I can find the time to make the drive out to pick them up). I'm going to pick up a set of 195/60R16's to go with it. This'll change my speedo by 1.2%, a negligible amount.

195's on a 7" rim might be too small, you might want to look at 225/50 r 16

[PGuru]

195's on a 7" rim might be too small, you might want to look at 225/50 r 16

Based on the information I've found online and my local tire shop, 7" is the widest recommend size for a 195. (It ranges from 5.5-7)

[PGuru]

I got some wheels picked up for me yesterday and will hopefully get them mounted sometime next week. Anyone got any idea what they're from? I'm fairly sure they're OEM; they have (faint) a chevy logo on the center cap).

[Keiths1976]

Lumina or lumina van I seen a few on a 94 lumina van in white