400 V8: 1974 Chevrolet Chevelle Laguna S-3

The Laguna S-3 was Chevrolet’s top mid-size car, packing both performance and creature comforts into a package that was offered for three years (1974-76). Production numbers weren’t massive (less than 39,000 copies overall), so you don’t run across one of these Chevies every day. Located in Oneonta, New York, this 1974 edition is being offered out of an estate and is freshly serviced to be roadworthy. It’s offered here on craigslist for $9,500 OBO. Another tip brought our way via Tony Primo.

The 1973-77 era of the A-body Chevelles was part of GM’s “Colonnade” styling period, where convertibles and true hardtops were no more (safety was the supposed reasoning). The Laguna was added over the Malibu as top dog, but it was repositioned as a performance-type coupe only in its last three years. A 350-cubic-inch V8 was standard, with 400- and 454-cubic-inch V8s optional. The badging on this car suggests it was built with a 400, and the seller claims the engine has 6.6 liters (aka 402 cubes). But is it original? Less than 16,000 S-3s were produced in 1974.

We’re told this vehicle was a barn find with 99,000 miles (not exactly low as the seller postulates), and it appears to be on the market via the owner’s heirs. The automobile appears to be in fine shape and wearing old-school Cragar wheels (wider in the rear) as opposed to Rally’s, which would have come from the factory. An automatic transmission is on board with the shifter between the swivel bucket seats that were standard.

The body, paint, and interior all appear to be ship shape, so we guess the car was cleaned up after it left the barn that it may have occupied for years (we don’t know that specifically). The seller says the machine is currently registered and back out on the road, so we assume it may need nothing more than a new home. When was the last time you saw a Laguna S-3 up close and in person?