eBay Find of the Day: 1983 Chevy Celebrity Eurosport Dragster
Ah, the Eurosport, Chevrolet's well-executed package for classing up the '80s A-Body front-drivers. Catch a Eurosport in your peripheral vision quickly, and it'd be easy to mistake it for a Volvo 7-series, or even an Audi 5000 (G). What we have here is a time capsule in two ways. First, the Celebrity was GM's redemption from the X-Body's failure to deliver on its potential. The Celebrity is the vehicle where the General got its act together, fully years before the Taurus, too. Secondly, this particular Celebrity was swept up in the Pro Street craze that customizers glommed on to in the days when a guy could pull off a hot pink tank top. It's a period piece, built when the Simpsons were still on Tracey Ullman.
The excesses of the 1980s are perfectly embodied in the decadent Pro Street movement; the same ethos drove the popularity of hair metal. There was an edge to it, an underlying basis in the blues. Pro Street's blues were the grit and rocket fuel fumes of serious drag racing. Many cars we'd kill for today (unrusted late '60s MoPars, anyone?) suffered the fate of being cut up and tubbed, then fitted with teeny tiny front tires on horridly ubiquitous Centerline phone-dial rims. The end result is a car that handles as well as a T. Rex does preacher curls with its wimpy little arms. Handling's not the point, insane craftsmanship and over the top everything are. This car, definitely has that with its pro build worthy of magazine coverage, triple-blown big block, tube frame, massive Mickey Thompsons, and the requesite drag chute and smart aleck license plate. Rather than cry over another increasingly rare car being hacked up by a cokehead fabricator, nobody will care that a Celebrity went under the knife. In fact, they'll stop dead in their tracks and say "cool." Get your bids in now, or just end everyone's suspense and fork over the 50G's for the thing. You'll be a hit at the local choke and puke cruise night. Thanks for the tip, SleighBoy!
Gallery: Pro Street Chevy Celebrity
[Source: eBay]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
xpolarx 1:32PM (6/05/2008)
That engine is pretty...the rest...not so much.
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rar 1:46PM (6/05/2008)
Ya gotta love the baby seat in the back.
LloydChiro 5:19PM (6/05/2008)
That car has a low self esteem from being laughed at.
DCragtop 1:36PM (6/05/2008)
Shoulda came this way from the factory...they woulda sold more.
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TriShield 1:37PM (6/05/2008)
On the contrary, you have to admire the level of detail and craftsmanship on cars like this despite whether you like the car or not.
I really miss the traditional blue bowtie and the black/red bowtie of the 80s and early 90s. Why GM uses all-gold now I'll never know, but it doesn't seem right.
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DCragtop 2:25PM (6/05/2008)
I'm with you on that one. Should have stayed blue.
Torrent 1:38PM (6/05/2008)
Great looking.....ummmm.......erm..... ehhh....... engine?
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Pokey 1:41PM (6/05/2008)
Man, this brings back memories!
I remember seeing this car at all of the car shows around here in the Midwest back in the '80s. This thing would always attract a huge crowd wherever it was! I still have Polaroid pictures of this car tucked away somewhere.
Glad to see it's still alive and well. It still looks good today!
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shadow 1:52PM (6/05/2008)
My mother had a 1985 Celebrity Eurosport wagon with a carbureted V6. Basically a good car, and it looked sharp for the time, but she still complains that she would need to shut off the A/C to make the thing accelerate.
Bet that isn't a problem with this car.
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Slayerab 4:39PM (6/05/2008)
My dad had a celebrity station wagon with a carburetor and it ate fan belts like a lineman eats lo mein at a chinese buffet. We always had to have the window opened because he wouldn't turn on the AC
Sleighboy 1:53PM (6/05/2008)
Thanks for sharing the GM FWD A-Body love Autoblog!
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Commuter 3:08PM (6/05/2008)
Hey sleighboy! I guess this is the perfect thread to say that 4tech (tech4?) emblem you have as your avatar always gives me the cold sweats. An engine that's crappy AND reliable: how am I supposed to hate it if it won't die?
My early adulthood flashes before my eyes everytime you post. >:-p
gearhead18 2:19AM (12/12/2008)
Hey, don't forget the X-body's!
JP 1:55PM (6/05/2008)
Very cool.
There is very nice fabrication work done throughout the car. not just the engine.
What does it take for people to see past the body they happened to use? Becides, The only domestic sedan of the time that was any better was the original Taurus.
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sanimalp 2:31PM (6/05/2008)
I agree. I think it is partly because we really don't care so much what it looks like, as long as it is fast. I can't imagine how much time it would take to build up something like that..
JP 6:00PM (4/02/2009)
Before I get ripped apart I know this is an 83 and the Taurus came out in 86. The auction says the car was built in the LATE 80's so presumably the Taurus was out and Chevrolet still sold the Celebrity.
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Sleighboy 2:10PM (6/05/2008)
The body base may be an 83, but the ground effects, grill, headlights/header panel are all from the "Eurosport VR" which was made in 87 and 88. The Celebrity ended life in 1989 as a 3.1L Wagon.
Benfolio 2:38PM (6/05/2008)
Actually they ended production in '90, and the 2.5L Iron Duke 4cyl and 2.8L was also an option.
I know because my mom cross shopped a Celebrity wagon (with woodgrain!) with an Astro back in late 1990.
The Astro won.
Sleighboy 3:07PM (6/05/2008)
Yes, well production ended in 1989 and 1990 was the first year for the Lumina, it's successor. I think dealers just used the 89 literature for anything sold in 1990 because I've never been able to find a 1990 dealer brochure.
That is correct about the L4, they are quite uncommon though.
KT 1:59PM (6/05/2008)
"Secondly, this particular Celebrity was swept up in the Pro Street craze that customizers glommed on to in the days when a guy could pull off a hot pink tank top."
Heh. Those were the glory days! I was going through some boxes awhile back and came across a bunch of my old hot rod pics. My brother and I used to go to Super Chevy Sunday whenever it was close by (which was usually at least 2/year. I'm sure if I looked close enough I could find a guy wearing pink in the background (sadly).
But back then Pro-street was the shizz.
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