The 1974 Nickey Camaro is headed to Mecum Indy. The bright yellow 1974 Type LT Camaro is considered the last Stage III Nickey, and it packs every ounce of muscle that it’s earlier brethren did. Underhood is the iron-headed L-88 427ci big-block Chevrolet mill, which had to be ordered piece-by-piece, since GM no longer had assembled L-88s in supply, a modified TH350 automatic in place of the TH400 the car originally came with, and a Posi-equipped rear axle that originally packed 3.23 gears so the first owner could cruise at high speeds (it’s now sitting at a much deeper 4.56 ratio.) Showing 33,000 miles on the odometer, the Camaro led a fairly easy life: the original owner owned the Camaro for sixteen years before selling. The next owner drove it a few months before tearing down the L-88 to make the Camaro more street friendly and promptly lost enthusiasm for the project, leaving it in the garage of his mother’s house for twenty-eight years. Current Nickey owner Stefano Bimbi found the Camaro on Craigslist in 2010 and made a deal, then promptly sold the car to collector Mike Guarise, who commissioned the rotisserie restoration.
Early guesses for the Camaro place the value in the $135,000-$175,000 range. Will someone actually pay that kind of money for a 1974 Type LT Camaro, no matter what engine is in it? We will find out during the Mecum Indy auction, which will be held May 12-17th.
Auction Link: Mecum – 1974 Chevrolet Camaro Type LT, Nickey Stage III L-88
Nice fit on the front fascia. Neat looking car with a nice history. 135g’s is a lot of dough.
Yes . . . and No. Yes it’s a lot of money for a 1974 Camaro. No it isn’t a lot of money because it’s the last Nickey L88 powered supercar from the “Muscle Car Era.”