When the Laguna was introduced in 1973, emission laws were really starting to ramp up. While horsepower numbers might have been down, that didn’t keep the Laguna from being a fairly impressive performer. With their aerodynamic front end, new chassis and dialed-in suspension geometry they handled well, road smoothly and were even competitive in NASCAR. Reader Eric N has been enjoying this S3 but has decided to let someone new have fun with it. It’s located in San Jose, California, he’s asking $10k or best offer, and you can find it here on craigslist!
This Laguna looks fantastic in photos and Eric describes it as an honest 10 footer. In 2014, it was sanded down and repainted. No rust was found and the Maaco paint job appears to have held up well. It might be resale red, but it actually makes the car look much sportier than it did in its original color. He’s provided photos of before and after, which you can view in his cl ad.
Along with the color change, the 350 V8 has been pulled out and rebuilt. It was bored 30 over, received a mild cam and new heads. Between the rebuilt, 650 cfm carb and new exhaust system, it should offer some decent performance. It’s recently received about $2k worth of service and drives great. As a matter of fact, Eric just drove it from San Jose down to Laguna Seca in Monterey, which was a 165-mile drive and it drove perfectly the entire trip.
A journey to Laguna Seca in a Laguna sounds fantastic to me! While it isn’t an all-original survivor, it really seems like a great classic. It’s ready to be driven and enjoyed as-is. You really don’t see these on the road much anymore, so hopefully, a Barn Finds Reader snags it and keeps in on the road where it belongs! So, what do you think of the Laguna S3?
Seller’s Listing: Here on craigslist
- Asking Price: $10,000 OBO
- Location: San Jose, CA
- Mileage: 48,000
- Title Status: Clean
List your car here on Barn Finds for only $50!
OMG, swivel buckets! Yeah!
Seller is a top-notch dude!!
A car like this, you can do ANYTHING to engine wise. A much simpler time.
Looks like a mover here, that worked small block belongs in this car,…so much better than the smog piled engine display when new. Forget big bucks here, just have some fun for the fun of it!
Eric….the seller checking in. Car definitely sounds mean.
https://youtu.be/8nxt5pzbRqg
Cold start with the electronic choke high initial idle and then you can appreciate the cam on the slower normal idle.
tough sell with the A/C chopped out of it, i have 2 73s i like the front much better on them
Depending on where this car goes, the next owner might want Vintage Air….for me that increases personal stress because engine temps go up. I cruised all the way to Laguna Seca last weekend and I don’t recall water temps all day exceeding maybe 193…even in town…(that’s the definition of cool cruising).
In my collection, 3 cars don’t have vintage air and never will due to not needing it for when/where the vehicles are used.
Heck in my ’69 Bronco water temps get “higher” without a vintage air already blocking the radiator.
I will say I was shocked at a car show in Nashville last year how maybe more than 90 percent of hot rods had vintage air.
Just not really necessary in California.
enesset it depends on where you live in California. Today, it’s 105 here, and will stay that way through the weekend. I have Vintage Air in everything, and those that don’t have it will get it.
Summers can get hot here (Mayacamas Foothills). The only virtue is that it’s dry heat as opposed to the Tropics, which is hot and humid.
Great looking car that you never see!! It’s like the Can Am and the last year GTO!! You just don’t see them!! This is a fine example of one!!!
There are so very few of the slant nose Laguna S-3’s left and it took me 4 years to find one that wasn’t a pile of junk. I bought this car sight unseen from across the country from the original builder because it was so nice and so rare.
In my/this case Rarity unfortunately does not always equal huge money. So many people chase pre-70 chevelle’s and Camaro’s at 4x and 5x this price. Why not have something awesome and unique?
Anywhere near this price is a solid value.
$10,000 seems like a good buy too!!
Amazing that Pete and his friend Malcom flew to San Jose hopped in the car and took an epic “bucket list” roadtrip all the way back to NY. Over 3k Miles!