Here is an oft-told and unfortunate tale. A car stays in the family but its caretaker passes and a remaining family member is tasked with moving it along. And so is the case with this 1974 Chevrolet Monte Carlo. The car was originally purchased by the seller’s grandfather-in-law, ended up with his grandson (the seller’s husband), and is now available for sale, here on craigslist. Saint Johns, Michigan is its home and a firm price of $6,000 has been established. Pat L. gets credit for this find!

With a claimed mileage of only 35K miles, the 145 net HP 350 CI V8 engine has not been started in five years. There’s unfortunately no image of it included and no reference as to how it ran years ago. Stuck? It could be but being kept in a pole barn, on a concrete floor, at least out of the direct weather, could help with the cause but temperature swings, as in freezing, etc, are detractors. Interestingly, a three-speed manual transmission was still available at this late date but this car is typically equipped with a Turbo-Hydramatic, three-speed automatic transmission.

The fact that there is primer covering just the rear portion of the roof and both c-pillars, leads me to believe that this Monte was wearing a landau vinyl top at one time and then the dreaded happened. Often the case with those roof coverings, moisture trapping occurs and once that’s in play, there goes the roof panel. The rest of this car’s finish which I believe is what Chevrolet referred to as “Medium Green” looks OK, it’s faded, but passable. I noticed one small ding in the passenger fender but that’s about it. There are no images of the car’s backend so I can’t comment on that. Craigslist or not, there are not enough included images to realistically present what’s here. Chevrolet’s “everywhere” rally wheels were a Monte Carlo option in ’74 and this one has retained three of them. And while they could be original, they may have been added later.

Inside is a standard bench seat upholstered in parchment vinyl. It appears to be in sound condition with no indication of rips, wear, or discoloration. You get a real feeling of heft getting into out of a Monte Carlo of this generation thanks to the weight and size of the doors – they’re enormous. And unfortunately, that weight conspires to wear out the bronze hinge pins quickly resulting in a sagging door and a lot of slamming.

Family-owned cars, especially one that has almost reached a half-century, are always inspiring and parting with one is like jettisoning a family member. What’s not inspiring, is a plain jane Monte Carlo from this era. The build quality is fair, the material quality is arguably less than fair and the get-up-and-go performance is forgettable. I speak from my experience having worked on scores of these back in ’73 and ’74. Appearance is subjective, but my preference has always been aligned with the Gen 1 Monte from ’70-’72. I will say the ride and braking of these Gen 2 cars (’73-’77) are admirable, however. Where am I going with this? This is an ordinary mid-’70s car, and as pleasant as the family connection is, I can’t see the familial association enhancing the sale – it will have to sell in its own right. Anyway, that’s my take, what’s yours?