Alright, this is just salt in the wound. Out of my past catalog of cars, one of the wildest machines I ever owned was a 1973 Chevelle that was equal parts pissed-off small-block, gearing that had no top end, and rust…you know, natural weight reduction. That was a car that I could rip the shifter down into first gear at 70 MPH, stand on the throttle, and watch the car get absolutely stupid. It was a riot. It scared my ex-wife so badly that after her second ride in the car she wouldn’t get into it anymore. It was big, it was ugly, and sadly it was losing it’s fight with rot. Which sucked, because I really came to like the overall shape of the car. The flat front end that wasn’t too pretentious, the round taillights still present. Compare it to a 1977 Malibu, and the ’73 just seemed a bit smaller. 

My Chevelle got sold off for a couple of hundred bucks in a stupid move (I should’ve kept that powertrain!) but I still look at the 1973s, especially at the Laguna cars, as potentials. I’d revisit one in a heartbeat…and then this thing pops up in my eBay “suggested” files. Notice the custom work that doesn’t involve gallons of black paint? No? Ok, look at the bunpers…or try to find the marker lights. Small details that somehow bring the Laguna’s look into it’s own. While the monochromatic black look isn’t something I’d personally jump for, you can’t knock the paint for being clean…it’s done right, as is the molded-in ducktail spoiler. The interior is more or less stock, with the floor-shift console and some attention needed here and there.

Underhood is a 350/TH350 combo, which might seem like weak sauce in a Colonnade car, but you don’t get closer to anvil-like reliability than a small-block. There’s an itch to find a 502 and make this thing a big-block car, but that’s work for another day. In the meantime, this is a summer evening cruiser. Take it out when the sun is just starting to come down from the sky and don’t come back until the stars are out. In between those two points in time, let everybody out and about drop their jaws as they watch the greens, oranges and reds of the sunset mirror off of the Laguna’s flanks.

eBay Link: 1973 Chevrolet Chevelle Laguna