I love these old Lagunas. Credit having a slot car set with a couple of Lagunas in full NASCAR dress included in the set and it’s easy to see why they strike an affectionate chord with me. But to my eyes, it’s also one of the better looking cars to come out of the Malaise Era, and this 1975 example here on craigslist in Upstate New York is one of just over 7,000 made that year. In addition, this car is a numbers-matching example and retains its factory sway bars and 10-bolt rear. While I do love the factory swivel seats, some reupholstery work will be needed to make them perfect once again; fortunately, the rust doesn’t look too cancerous at this point but will still need to be addressed before much longer. Just the amount of “bits” that have remained attached to this car over the years, down to the grille badge and louvers over the opera windows, indicate to me that this is an honest car that deserves to be brought back. What do you think?
Wow I didn’t realize they were that few of them made…..I remember they were a pretty common site around my hometown of Hickory,N.C. back in the day! There must have been 5 or 6 of them running around that I would see pretty often!
This one isn’t too bad really. I had a ’76….man..that thing was a basket case! Only the front clip(fenders and hood)didn’t have rust holes! I didn’t realize how bad it was until I started taking it apart to do a “resto” on it. Looking back, I should have just drove it the way it was. I fell on hard times and had to part it out.
Mine was a “field find” that I found in the back of this acreage I was renting for a time. I was able to track down the owner(only by the grace of God), and get thing dirt cheap. It was originally a 400 car, but had been swapped to a 350 with 305 head and mild truck cam. It had the original TH350 in it, but had a stage 2 shift kit, so overall it went pretty good.
This one, if it has the 454 in it, would be a real find! ’75 was last year for the 454 in them, then ’76(last year for the Laguna S3) the biggest you could get was the smogged out 400 sbc. Either way, numbers matching makes it a real find. If someone here is interested in this one, look to see if the emblems have the “flag strip” on them. Most of them fell off over time, but if you have them, make sure to fine a way to make sure they don’t fall off…or get ripped off…..
I’d love to get another one. I miss my Laguna….Rust and all!
My Craigslist find 3 days ago number mach
And I just had to pay 2500 I couldn’t get it out of my pocket fast enough
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Very nice! Congrats on finding a nice one and a great deal.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. says his favorite car in his collection is a ’76 Laguna
A friend of mine bought one new and couldn’t wait to show me the “swivel seats”….I couldn’t resist but I burst his bubble when I told him Chrysler had them in 1959!!
no redeeming social value….
I had a 76 almost 25 years ago. Wish I still had it. Loved the way it rode and drove. Mine ended up rotting away and parted out. The front clip ended up on a buddies El Camino.
Seems to be the common theme.. I, too, had a ’76 and it died from terminal rear quarter rust. Still one of the best Chevelle models I owned. Nothing stopped that car.
Pic of Dale Jr’s Laguna.
Pretty sharp.
Love the car… My 76 Laguna S-3 number matching only 21,000 miles. Need to restore the one you found…
Hey!! That was MY car!! Tripped across this picture trying to show someone what an S3 was!!!