1974 Chevrolet Laguna S-3

Description

1974 was a very interesting year for GM, as the automaker offered several similar-styled mid-sized models that were still desperately clinging to the muscle car era. Between the Monte Carlo, the Ventura, the GTO, the Nova, and the Malibu, consumers had a lot of options to choose from. For our money, the rare Laguna S-3 was the crème-de-la-crème of the group, offering a refreshing take on the A-Body as the top-of-the-line luxury Chevelle available, albeit with a sporty urethane front end and streamlined 2-door coupe design that distinguished it from its siblings. This particular 1974 Chevrolet Laguna S-3 has been fully restored and features a period-perfect livery atop a stock interior, flashy oversized wheels, and thundering 383 Stroker V8 heart matched with a smooth-shifting 700R4 automatic overdrive transmission underneath. For those who want to be unique and turn heads everywhere they go, this tastefully upgraded Laguna S-3 definitely checks all the right boxes.

Offered between 1973-1976 only, the Laguna was in fact the top-of-the-line 3rd generation Chevelle, placed above the Chevelle Malibu and Chevelle Deluxe offered in these years. These fairly unique cars are often forgotten in the traditional classic car world because insurance regulations and the Feds had waged war on horsepower and performance, so Americans shifted toward bigger, luxury cruisers over gas-guzzling muscle cars. The Laguna managed to balance between the two pretty evenly, offering plenty of power, slick performance-oriented design, and luxury styling and options all rolled into one great-looking package. The urethane front end was purposely designed to conceal the gaudy 5MPH bumper systems all American cars were shackled with, and despite those tough parameters the Laguna's designers manages to make this car look pretty slick with its fuselage inspired shape and raked stance. We love that when this particular '74 was restored, they painted it right back to its original Bronze Metallic over White color combination, managing to encapsulate an era without making the car look too dated. The paint was resprayed several years ago, and although it still shines up great and looks slick in person, you can certainly see a few imperfections up close. Thankfully, when the paint job went down several years back it was completed to a high standard, so despite those minor blemishes it still looks like a million bucks when it's bombing down Main Street. A white vinyl top matches the painted-on stripes on the bottom portion of the car, perfectly breaking up that otherwise "hang-around-brown" color, and with the addition of chrome bumperettes and eggcrate grille up front, a big chrome bumper in the rear, and proper Laguna Type S-3 badges in all the right places, the curb appeal is through the roof.

The serviceable feel continues in the stock interior with beautifully reupholstered black vinyl bucket seats up front that look so sporty you might think they were swapped-in from a later-model Camaro. Not only are they some of the most comfortable seats that came out of the 70s, but the front buckets both swivel, and they've been split by a factory center console upgraded with a chrome B&M shifter inside. Stock door panels, a matching rear seat, expansive dash, taut headliner, and plush black carpets all work perfectly together in this well-presented, sporty interior, and a few choice upgrade elevate the entire cabin. Those include a full complement Dakota Digital gauges inside the stock woodgrain bezel, a fat leather-rimmed steering wheel at the helm, and an upgraded retro-sound AM/FM/CD stereo in the center of the dash. You also get a factory A/C system that's been upgraded with modern hardware and R134a refrigerant, so it actually works like it should, and the seatbelts fore and aft add a modicum of safety inside. Out back, there's plenty of storage room inside the carpeted trunk, where the original jack set is still in tow.

As we mentioned before, federal fuel/emissions regulations and insurance companies robbed power from this generation of American cars. That's why this Nova was given a brand new heart: a built 383 Stroker V8 packed with aluminum heads, an upgraded cam, a giant Holley 4-barrel carburetor, an Edelbrock NASCAR-series intake manifold, and long-tube headers at the flanks. All that extra pop brings back memories of the powerful lightweight A-Bodies we all loved in the '60s, and with a giant aluminum radiator with dual electric fans, an HEI ignition, and a March serpentine belt system complete with polished billet pulleys and brackets, this Laguna is supremely reliable as well. The engine bay's been neatly dressed as well, with black Chevrolet valve covers at the flanks and a chrome open-element air cleaner up top, while the prodigious bark from the Flowmaster X-pipe dual exhaust system below lets everyone know this isn't your Grandma's grocery-getter. A 700R4 4-speed automatic transmission with overdrive was added to handle all that added power and tackle highway speeds, spinning a heavy-duty 10-bolt rear end protected with a Summit aluminum differential cover. A giant swaybar, fresh bushings, and upgraded shocks help this Laguna track true up front, while those subframe connectors and a giant Detroit Speed swaybar keeps the rear end planted to the asphalt. Power steering and power 4-wheel disc brakes with cross-slotted rotors enhance the driving experience, and staggered American Racing "Old Style" Torque Thrusts wrapped in 225/55/17 front and 295/40/18 rear Nitto radials finish off the look perfectly.

Not too many people would have taken the time to restore a Laguna S-3 correctly, which makes this '74 an interesting classic wherever it goes. Call today!