1975 Chevrolet Chevelle Laguna Type S-3 - Muscle Car Memories | MotorWeek
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 16 июн 2018
- A segment I produced for the TV show MotorWeek as part of their "Muscle Car Memories" series.
By 1975, rising insurance and fuel prices combined with increased safety and emissions regulations had almost killed the market for muscle cars. However, one of the holdouts was the Chevrolet Chevelle Laguna Type S-3. Although the street-legal version didn't break any records, the car found big success at race tracks around the country. 
Авто/Мото
I love Motor Week. I particularly love their *"Retro Reviews",* where they show old road tests of cars, trucks, vans, and SUVs of the time.
I have been watching Motor Week for 35 yrs!
That is a cool body style!
I have a 76 Chevelle Laguna s-3 there great running cars it's my daily driver
Sweet! Loved them so much, that cool front end...
The 73 to 77 Chevelle was the largest ever.
LOVE IT...Have an original 21,000 mile 76 chevelle laguna 70's cool
That was my car in 1975!! OMG I can't believe it! Same color in and out. $3800.00 out the door.Bast Chevrolet in Seaford L.I. I LOVED THAT CAR!! Never a problem, never once.whis I had it back😔
I had a '74...white with red accent stripes....
The 3rd generation Chevelle wasn’t downsized for ‘73. It was actually upsized for 1973, especially 2-doors, which went from 198” long in 1972 to 203” long in 1973. Weight, wheelbase, etc were about the same between generations.
My dad has had his 73 chevelle for 15 years. Love that thing
When I was growing up, my cousins and I made a deal that our 1st cars would be from the year in which we were born.. So, my oldest cousin bought a 68 Mustang hdtp, 289 2v, auto. Nice car. My 2nd oldest cousin couldn't find a 70 Mach 1 but settled on a raven black 351 powered 69 Mach 1.. Again, nice car. Now it was my turn.. Houston, we have a problem... I was born in 75.. I am a Mopar guy, and everybody knows that short of perhaps a Duster/Dart Sport 360, there weren't any other Mopars from that yr that could be counted as a 'performance car' unless you just happened to find a B-body with a 400 Ho.. good luck. So I looked at GM. I found a couple of T/As but they were VERY expensive. Then I started looking at colonnade cars. I saw a nice Cutlass, but it needed an engine. I wanted a running, driving car. So, an ad came up in the Auto Trader, 75 Chevelle Laguna S3, 350, drives nice, complete car.. $1,500.00 ( in 1993) I went to look at it. Unfortunately, it was more bondo then metal... Still, I really liked the shape of the car. I'd still buy 1 to this day, if I could find a nice example.
Car's were cheap in the 90s still.. Now its just guts and put up wet and they want 10k for garbage.. Stupid Auctions.
So, what did you end up with? Did you cheat.like your cousin,and buy a '74?
So... did you get a Pinto or a Vega instead? :-)
Love you Bud. Your shows are great. Thanks
I absolutely love motor week! Especially the retro reviews. I'm starting to get into the early 2000s models. Around the time that I graduated from high school. One thing's for certain it seems as though John and Pat even if they are aging a bit, still got it!
I didn't know you worked on motorweek...being in the UK i love seeing some of those cars we never get to see over here, although i have owned a couple....keep up the good work.
The Laguna is a beauty
Awesome thanks 👍
Great report! A 1976 Laguna was my first car, and you never hear anything about them.
Fun fact, S-3 is a military term that means "Operations Staff" They make operational planning and training at the batallion and brigade level.
I own a 77 model. Made several trips to cali from Tennessee and finally dropped it's factory engine at near 400,000 miles. Then dropped a 300 horse gm crate and kept dailying it... today's technology and modern engines make the whole "it was underpowered slop" argument irrelevant
73 chevelle is a gem
Kudos for the nice card with original interior! Extra points for the vintage 1975 CD player!
Yeah, it would be cool to have the original radio to match the very nice interior...
Cool car mainly due to the fact you dont see them anymore and could get your hands on one for peanuts compared to an earlier 64-72 Chevelle.
your lucky to be able to get to work for John Davis... good for you man
Thanks, and thanks for watching too!
MotorWeek needs more videos by Joe Ligo!
1:04...........Deerskin Trading post........THAT brings back memories!!!!!!!! There was one about 15-20 minutes away from me in Danvers, MA!!!!!!
My Dad has a ‘76 Malibu Classic with the 6 cylinder.
One of the slowest cars I’ve ever been in.
Always loved these cars! One of the best looking cars on the road of that time of the 73 through 77 cars next to the Cutlass Supreme. A few mods to these simple motor would give it some more ponies but so what!? Its still a great car with great looks and offered alot for what was going on at the time of production and people forget that when they say it was slow. Well, what was fast? Anyway great video!
The positive of reviewing these classic cars is how it reminds us that we are living in the "Good Ol' Days" of the internal combustion engine. The 50s & 60s increased pushrod V8 displacement as a way to "muscle" the cars of the era. The height of the first Golden Age of Muscle Cars was 1970. As Joe mentioned, Detroit started to deal with a number of changes in the 70s, smog & emissions equipment, the switch from gross horsepower to net horsepower ratings, lowering compression to compensate for unleaded fuel, the OPEC Energy Crisis (parts I & II), the slumping economy, the challenge from Japanese imports, questionable quality, etc. This led to the dark period of the mid to late 70s when American muscle was more about looks than reality. The Type S-3 was a valiant effort but Americans had made the switch to economy-minded cars or moved to luxury-minded cars. By 1980, even the Pontiac Trans Am dropped large displacement engines from its options list.
What is impressive is how auto manufacturers have responded to these challenges. You have small displacement turbocharged 4 & 6-cylinder engines putting out far more horsepower than we saw available in the 60s. They are doing it much more efficiently while producing far fewer pollutants to damage our environment. The cars of today are far safer, more reliable, and chock full of technology versus their 60s ancestors. We are in the second Golden Age of Muscle Cars. I'm not sure how much longer the internal combustion engine will be with us but it certainly has come a long way in the past 50 years of evolution.
Agree, the worst blow was by far 1979. somebody in washington thought in '75 that the best way to help american consumers to overcome the oil crisis was to literally ban everything that had been done right in the last century, wanted it or not (most mechanicaly common sensed people didn't, automakers even less) and the oil price spike that happened that year, it just sealed the fate of american automakers for the 80's and what was left of that century.
Now what comes of Detroit performs and sells a whole lot better, but I can't help it but think of the globilization of car designs and the SUV craze that now car brands are not much more than a stock and a bunch of share holders running it, cars are not marketed with a experience on mind anymore, they are just comfortable safe and techy charriots.
As for this new muscle era, I will go and say that Mustang and electric will be in the same sentence in a decade or 2
This is trully a golden era, the Mustang Shelby, the camaro and corvette, hell, the overkill mopars...
Pick one meanwhile you can, nobody knows how much of them will be remaining after kids get their hands on them and 'learn lessons' on them.
I remember that car.
I loved it actually because it was a good compromise between muscle styling and real world needs.
Cool car :)
Back in 1985 I had a 1973 Laguna woodgrain wagon. I wish I had kept it and put a 1000 hp engine in it. You can do that now in my state because '70s model cars/trucks can be insured and registered as "collector vehicles, which exempts them from emissions tests.
the poor performance can be fixed with some good old hopping up with either hopping up the original engine, swapping in a big block Chevy or going with a LS engine swap.
Exactly. It's very easy and fairly inexpensive to double the power of those engines.
I have a 77 el camino with the same motor (but rebuilt) how would i improve the motors performance?
Bigdog302V8 put the 305 heads on it actually run better
A cam intake and good exhaust from headers on back will be good for 300 HP. The best factory heads made were the Vortec truck heads. With the right selection of parts they are good for about 375 HP on a stock bottom end 350.
The long and wide engine bay allow a variety of twisted 0 to be stuffed inside...unless it was a front wheel drive the gearbox change is simple enough.for me 488 viper with some decent axle ratio is enough.
I’m from Maryland, my uncle worked for motorweek. I’ve been to studio in Owings Mills 21117
Dad had a '75 Chevelle, probably the base engine, hit a headwind with the foot to the floor i'd run up to almost 120 & back down to 60'ish when the wind let up.
I'm surprised they were able to find one that was still stock.
You need to showcase a 75/77 Chrysler Cordoba
*Never knew this car Existed*
In 1974 model year the 454 could be had in a 4 speed. That version VERY rare.
0-60 in 10 seconds. Ah yes, I remember those days, and the worst thing is that there were even slower cars than that. That said, being as old as they are, many of those old cars are now exempt from smog tests and can hot rodded. Still hobbled by the 3 speed slush box, but I suppose that could get swapped out if money isn't an issue.
Please make an Auto Moment documentary on the 49-51 Ford Shoebox.
This car shared its frame with the 1973 Oldsmobile 442 cutlass, after 1973 the Oldsmobile moved on to a smaller body by fisher, the Monte Carlo frame from 1974 to 1990 then as a final gasp of the Oldsmobile cutlass, 442 was not a option the cutlass shared the 1990 impala sedan up till 98 and then the cutlass was finally axed in 99, and olds collapsed in 04
That "dead spot" after 30mph is because it isn't downshifting into first.. plus the gear ratios were spread far apart..
titanicwhiz Exactly. 2 bbl carb doesn't help either.
@@Lucille69caddy Only at very low rpms two barrels tend to make their torque less then 2500rpm but run out of breath at 4500rpm.. that said you could always get a bigger 2 barrel like 600 to 650 cfm.. that be a giant two barrel lol
titanicwhiz Back in the mid 80's I used to own a '75 Chevelle Malibu Classic with the 350 2 bbl. It was actually a great running car. It felt far more powerful than the 145 hp rating. I bought it from my dad, who bought it from my brother who was a car salesman. It was his demo, and had only 19,000 miles when he sold it to our dad. It had only 36,000 miles when I bought it.
Open the hood and upon inspection, it appeared to be like any other 350 small block. Fire it up and take it for a spin and you'll soon discover that wasn't the case. Even with only a 2bbl carb, it would kick down that Turbo 350 trans at 35 mph and all hell would break loose. That was it's sweet spot. 60 would be right there. Many Camaro and Firebirds of the day found that out, lol. A buddy in his dad's Saab Turbo did too when he tried passing me at a merge. Next thing we know we're doing 100 plus and he's car lengths behind me. That guy in his '67 427 Corvette showed his tail lights in a hurry though, lol.
While torquey around town, it was not a speed demon off the line. Respectable, but not blazing fast. It shined at mid-range and on the highway. Weird for it having only a 2 bbl, but that's the way it was.
I drove a buddy's '75 Nova 350 2 bbl and another buddy's '76 Chevelle wagon 350 2bbl and neither were near as powerful as my car was.
It appeared to be a ringer. My salesman brother was always wrenching and kept his cars in top tune. Maybe that explains the car's performance.
One car I'd love to see made into a 1/25 scale model kit of...
There’s a dead spot from 0 to 90.
Hahahaha. Yeah, you're right, sadly... Thanks for watching!
More like 85...
@@AutoMoments that car dosent look in totally restored shape so kind of unfair to judge its performance
Great video but way too short!
Hell, buy one and swap in any modern Chevy v8 and it gets a lot better.
Naw, keep the original engine, just de-malaise it. Rip out the pollution junk and bring the compression and tuning back to late 60's spec... it helps if you live in a state that doesn't have emissions requirements for a 1975 vehicle.
Give it a lovely 6 speed, throw some discs all the way around, raise the competence of the suspension. Now THAT'S a car worthy of it's sporty badging.
It's easy to get 300+ HP out of those 350's once the emissions junk is removed. The 3 speed transmissions are very reliable and will shift much better with an inexpensive shift kit. Those 70's cars were very slow stock but extremely easy to modify for better performance... unless you live in a state like California.
Ls1 4l60e lol
Not a great generation for the Chevelle - its best years was behind it, but the Laguna was a real upgrade. Thanks for sharing!
I imagine guys took out all of the smog pumps and put in high compression pistons and had a cool car.
As a young man these are my dream cars I ended up getting a 79 Malibu Super Sport and six months after I got it and rusted to the point that water was coming in through the windshield at the top of it I love these cars but they will built terribly it's a shame when you have to junk your favorite car
I can't believe I used to think the Laguna S3 was cool. Forgive me of my 70s nerdiness ;-)
Ah, the malaise era musle cars.
Disappointment on wheels.
Yeah...still a cool piece of history, but definitely not a fast one...
Still a great base for a muscle car. Only disappointment is the motor itself. Everything else is strong.
Ain't nothin a 350 swap or smog strip can't do.
Keep it stock and do a clean ls swap. What a sleeper this car could be!
I've seen this video on Motorweek couple of months ago
Yep! You're right. Just wanted to share it here with all our followers.
This era was so painful, LOL. These massive V8's that had to be neutered.
What? No tachometer? Not enough gauges for me. Still a a nice car in great condition. I like the swivel driver’s seat!
The swivel seat is totally a cool feature. Thanks for watching!
Whoa
Shoot, at 4mins, could the utility company put the pole any closer to the street?
I noticed that too, horrible placement.
Its the ultimate lead sled
4th gen, not 3rd. Or fifth depending how you break it down. 64-65, 66-67, 68-69, 70-72, 73-77.
OK first of all let say that i love your show.but you did not read the invoice correctly. it says the 454 was not available in California
but you could get it elsewhere. like New York. I know this because my second Laguna (big fan of them) was a 454 4 speed. I bought the car from the original owner for 1500 dollars. i loved it. The car was a monster!!!!!
Other GM literature and production records we checked said the 454 was not available, even outside of California. However, more than one owner, including yourself, have said that it was. Perhaps GM did some shoddy record keeping... Thanks for watching!
I was a Chevy mechanic back then and I can't recall any 454 Chevelles at that time but it could have been a Limited Production Option? I think you could get a 402 big block though?
I used to have a 1976 Chevy Malibu /Chevelle it was the exact same car different front clip different trim level
I can swear I have seen this episode before.
It aired on MotorWeek a few months ago, we're just sharing it here. That's what he talks about in the intro.
chevy had the 73 chevelle with the 427 baldwin motion engine,last baldwin chevelle ever built most expensive also $12,0000,the 427 put out over 500 horse power built to drag race came with a guannetee if it didnt go 125 mph plus or 11.20 seconds in quarter mile you got your money back
Ryan Gosling drove a 73 Chevelle coupe in Drive (but his had a 350 4bbl, being a California car)
50 free horsepower by hacking out the cat and putting in straight pipe. expect at least a second faster 1/4 mile time
Where do you get the crazy idea that "73s were "downsized"?? They were larger and heavier, not downsized.
Less HP than my Civic but love it though, have chevy pro stock model of chevelle by matchbox for 30 years
Cool! Thanks for watching!
technically, 1974 was the first year for the "plastic" nose not 1975. although the shape was different. 1975 forward was more "shovel" shaped as he mentions. i owned both a 1974 and 1975 back in the late 80's and early 90's. i still kick myself every morning for letting them go.
73 was actually first year for the Laguna with the urethane nose.
The cure for malaise era cars are modern drivetrains. Pass smog, and have great power! A Dodge Diplomat from the 80s with a 3rd gen Hemi engine would be a great candidate. 90s Mopar Magnums would be another candidate, but those states that follow California smog laws might be tricky. Only because you technically can't use a light duty pickup engine on a car. Other states that follow their own smog rules have much better engine options, or no rules at all. Check your local laws, and state laws before you shoehorn a Power Stroke into your Ranger or whatever combo you are thinking of. Engine swaps are fun.
any Mercedes Benz w123's on your ''to do'' list? i would love to see you do a video on those cars.
It's not on our list at the moment, but we'll consider it! Thanks for watching!
😍👍
These were not downsized for 1973. These things were bigger than the 1968-72 generation, if I recall correctly. Bigger on the outside, but the rear seat and trunk was pretty cramped. With front disc brakes, radials, roll bars, the handling was much improved over cars of a few years prior iirc. The downsizing for the GM intermediates was in 1978.
You are correct! Sorry for the mistake. Wheelbase stayed the same but the body got slightly larger. Thanks for watching!
Power was down and bulk was up, but GM was really focusing on handling and feel in these years. I learned to drive on a 1973 Impala wagon. The feel of the road through the steering wheel was very good, better than today's cars with the electric steering, and the large radials and anti-roll bar helped the handling to be pretty good for a softly sprung, 2 1/2 ton car.
I'm always hearing about the terrible rushed solutions to smog regulations in the 70s. Has anyone made a video explaining some examples of smog solutions implimented that killed horsepower? I want to know the mechanics.
Biggest one was EGR, which pumps some exhuast into the intake manifold (in order to lower combustion temps, which lowers NOx). Next was Catalytic Converter which would convert HC's in exhaust to water vapor, but wouldn't work with tetraethyl lead gasoline, hence lower octane unleaded. Catalytic Converters also forced single exhaust onto most cars save a few, because with true duals, you would have to have two Converters, one for each bank
Also smog pumps, belt driven air pumps that injected fresh air into the exhaust stream. And overall the engines had lower compression ratios. Also starting in 1972 they changed the way horsepower was measured from gross to net so some of it was just perception, a 1971 car making 300 hp might have been labeled closer to 200 hp but it was actually the same output.
I have one with a 383.
350 with 145 hp what a sad day for the chevy small block
My mom had bought a 75 Olds Cutlass with a 350 4bbl under the hood, nice car great performance but the lousiest gas mileage ever. The sticker said 15mpg city, 20mpg highway, the reality is that it got 12 miles per gallon, after 5 years, it got replaced by a, wait for it, Chevy Chevette. That got better mileage but 2 years later it was replaced by an '81 Z28, a much better replacement.
OMG a 350 with 145hp
If I were Chevy I would have been embarrassed to put this car up for sale.
Not downsized! Early '70s midsize GMs were quite the opposite. Downsizing hit in 1978.
Sorry, our mistake! Multiple people have pointed that out to us already. Thanks for keeping us honest!
A pair of heads and mild cam would wake it up
This a good project car. Throw in a modern crate engine or forced induction. Brakes upgrade. Leave the rest alone.
And the transmission. Put a 5 or six speed in it.
The bulked them out in the mid 70s to make them safer
You could buy this.... or a Vega. Between the two, only one is considered a classic. I bet you can guess which one.
350 put the 305 heads in it change valve bodies trans go three inch on exaust steel 10 inch wide station wagon rims delta 40 seris flowmaster then will be good up to 140 mph
Was this generation Chevelle *really* any smaller than its previous generation? Call me naïve, but it looks about the same, at least in overall dimensions, as the 1968-72 Chevelle.
Most cars of this era were either the same size, or bigger than their predecessors. The Detroit car makers truly were in a malaise. They had no idea what they were doing and the build quality on most cars of this era shows that.
I've heard the term "malaise" era cars. But I thought it was merely a derogatory term used for cars of the mid 70s. I had no idea American cars were truly poorly built.
The Detroit car makers were building some of the worst rust buckets you'd ever see. You'd buy a car and the value of it would belly-flop the second you started the ignition the first time. The big 3 were trying to figure out emissions controls, safety features and competing with fuel efficient cars from Europe and Asia, and did it very poorly.
For a glimpse of what the malaise era offered I'll link a couple of RCR video's.
1976 Chevy Chevette. ruclips.net/video/3yARgE9vosw/видео.html
1980 Dodge Aspen. ruclips.net/video/wGnMVijx5GE/видео.html
Okay. I'll check them out. I remember cars like the Chevette and the Dodge Aspen/Plymouth Volare. My aunt had a 1977 Aspen SE.
Given how long the *"Big Three"* had been producing cars up to that point, you'd think they'd know how to build good quality cars. How can they fuck things up like they did during the 1970s? That's never made sense.
It's slow stock. But you can easily shove big block crate motor in there. Also, I hear they'll fit 305 or so big ass tires under there without modifications. Sounds like a cheap drag car.
4:01 That is a very dangerous place to put a telephone pole.
Yeah, it does seem very close to the road there...
Este auto es mas bonito con el frontal del malibu1975🤩👍
Looks like a Chrysler Cordoba sort of..
Honestly, it would be a great car. Buy one . Take her to a speed shop and have her built to 400hp, throw in a 700r4 tranny. You'll probably have 10k in the whole deal.
I have always hated a sheep in wolf's clothing. However, there is a certain attractiveness that has grown on me. It is that kitschy tack.
5.7litre 145hp...
Keiji1978 And?
This was the year that they mandated the catastrophic converter, which sapped all the brute horsepower in cars!!
I really do like the styling of these malaise cars (probably why my daily is a Monte Carlo) but I won't argue the performance is abysmal. Just be thankful it has the 350 and not the 305, it's like being starving in the middle of a farm vs being starving in Reagan's jail cell.
Loser winS Reagan who?
Please do your homework and get your facts right. The 1973 to 1977 models were the largest Chevelles ever made. The downsized models began in 1978 when the Chevelle name was replaced by Malibu.
Sorry, that was our mistake. We goofed up in our research. You're one of many viewers who have pointed that our to us. Thanks for watching, anyways!
Absolutely nothing to get another 100hp..from that....
Stop inserting electronic noises whenever you introduce a graphic. It's not only distracting from the visuals and voice-over, it's just tacky.
Dump that engine and drop in a LS3.🏁
Even a 4.8 would be miles better
I just now realized just how bad the Chevelle was.I was 14 at that time and probably would have taken anything at that time ..we were poor.
HOLA AUTOMOMENTS!
*BUILD THAT WALL!*
*BUILD THAT WALL!*
*BUILD THAT WALL!*
Hola! Gracias por ver AutoMoments. Comparte nuestros videos con tus amigos, por favor! (Sorry if our Spanish writing isn't very good.)
Regulation don't kill performance. Cheap engineering does. They could had build a clean performance drivetrain. But their demo didn't want to pay more. Someday I want to take these old cars and make look stock but real alot better. There are plenty of mods to keep hp up and emissions down.
Auto manufacturers always have to balance quality and price. What good would a Chevelle with a good running clean high horsepower small block been if it would have had to cost $15k to be profitable? (Note, Cadillac was selling the Fleetwood 75 limo for about that to give you an idea of where car prices were in the mid 70s)
I can't believe the overweight, underpowered slug managed to win at NASCAR. Of course they gutted this pile and put a real engine in it, but the Lagunas I drove were sad as hell. Even the AMC engines made more power at the time than Chevy. The only thing that saved some of them was the forward thinking of the engineers who designed Mopar Small Blocks with small port, high swirl heads from the beginning, Fords smallish ports vs Cubic inches and AMC's great flowing heads and decent combustion chambers that even when. Enlarged for crap unleaded fuel, still had some decent quench to them and flow superior to any of the competition in the smog era. Chevrolet sat on their haunches and opened up their heads with huge combustion chambers regardless of what effect it had on performance or effiency. They were so bad everybody was hunting down the older castings and having the exhaust seats replaced with hardened ones. All the Auto Makers used stop gap emissions control widgets that exacerbated the problems they had to begin with, making engines far less reliable than their early counterparts. These were dark, dark times for hot rodders. And the few cars that stood out did so by cosmetics only! None performed worth a shit! None. When Car and Driver announced that the car with the biggest band for the buck was the AMC Spirit based AMX with the 6 cylinder engine, that has to tell you something was wrong, and I'm an AMC fan! Don't get me wrong, I've built everything and the motors I built for my customers had success in racing. But times were bleak when this tub of shit was released. If you find one today, it would be worth modifying with an LS based engine and modern Trans, but the original powertrain is pure scrap! Lots of 350's of that era had scrapped crankshafts due to the Uber soft cams they came with, that allowed oil pressure to bleed off the number 7 and 8 crank journal, scrapping the crank. The block were ok, YT compared to earlier ones they were lighter weight meaning Chevy removed material to make them lighter, also making them weaker. It was all about lightening the car to meet the EPA's MPG standards, and it backfired big time. Give that some thought if you try to restore one of these old nags!
Best thing to do with a 1975 Motor, if u have a boat, buy a heavy chain and use for a anchor, along with the Oldsmobile 403, and 307,