At $15,650, Could This 1974 Chevy Camaro Cause A Commotion?
The ad for today’s Nice Price or No Dice classic Camaro warns that the “price goes up as any restorative actions are taken.” Let’s decide if the current asking puts any teeth to that threat.
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It’s undisputed that older Ford Rangers are really hot right now. The new ones are doing alright too, but it seems the old ones, like the 1998 Ranger XLT standard cab we looked at yesterday, are really bringing the heat. A solid set of work credentials and a $6,800 asking price made that Ranger worth considering, and that earned it a 69 percent Nice Price win.
Ford and Chevy have long been competitors here in the U.S. car market. When Ford introduced the Ranger, Chevy was right there with the S10. And, back in the day when Ford built itself a money printing press called the Mustang, Chevy was right behind with the carbon copy Camaro. These two pony cars diverged over time, with the Camaro eventually making a name for itself, even if it played in a category coined for its main competitor.
Today’s 1974 Chevy Camaro is notable for a number of factors. First, it’s a single-year body style featuring the revised nose and rear end required to accommodate the then-required five-mile-per-hour bumpers, but still with the original smaller rear window. In 1975, that rear window would be changed to a wrap-around style for improved visibility. This Camaro also has what, for the time, was probably the best drivetrain — a 350 CID V8 and a Borg-Warner four-speed manual transmission driving the rear axle.
Two engines were available in the Camaro for ’74: a 250 CID six and the 350 V8. The latter was available in four flavors, ranging from 145 horsepower at the low end to 100 ponies more for the range-topping Z-28.
This being a California car ( as noted in the ad by its original blue and gold plates), it likely carries the LM-1 “Turbo Fire” V8 with a Mama Bear-like 160 horsepower and 250 lb-ft or torque. Being a California native, it was also probably built at the General’s Van Nuys assembly plant. Out of the 151,008 Camaros built in total for 1974, the vast majority had some version of the V8. However, only around 10,000 cars were optioned with the four-speed stick.
This car looks to be a survivor but shows its age and 134,000 miles of use in the battle-worn paint job and weather-dulled aluminum bumpers. The black-painted hood could be evidence of further paint degradation on the panel, or just something someone thought might look cool. To be fair, it does look pretty cool. The car rolls on factory steelies missing their center caps but wearing brand new BFGs, perhaps in compensation.
Things are surprisingly better in the cabin, with upholstery and a dash that look perfectly serviceable. Even the shoulder belt retainers on the bucket seat headrests are still intact, something that’s not usually the case in these cars. Hopefully, this is one of the later ’74s that doesn’t have the seat belt/ignition interlock, or if an earlier one, it has had that defeated.
According to the seller, the car “Runs and drives great” and comes with both a clean title and a recent front-end rebuild. That’s apparently not the only update in the works, as the ad warns prospective buyers that the price will climb as restorative work is undertaken. That price at present is $15,650 per the ad title, although the seller counters that by saying it’s $15,500/best reasonable offer in the body.
We’ll go with the $15,650 asking since that’s the first and it’s the biggest in the ad. What’s your take on this four-speed/V8 Camaro and that price tag? Does that seem like a fair price for the car in its present state? Or, in your mind, should the restoration be farther along for a price that high?
You decide!
Sacramento, California, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
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