Vehicle 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
creme-de-la-creme 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!
