22k Miles: 1974 Chevrolet Corvette 4-Speed
The C3 model Corvette was nearly halfway through its production run by 1974, and with over half a million third-generation Corvettes sold during the 1968-1982 model years, it’s not uncommon to still be able to find nice examples for sale. A case in point is this very low mileage 1974 Chevrolet Corvette located in Miami, Florida. It can be found here on eBay with a current bid of $7,900 and a little over 2 days left on the auction. This is a no reserve listing, so the highest bidder will be taking this car home.
The Vette being offered here is Dark Brown, Chevrolet Code 68, with a saddle interior. The seller says that this is the original color combination, and both the exterior and interior appear to be in overall well-preserved condition. The story goes that a previous owner of the car since 1974 had the rear bumper upgraded from a two-piece unit to a one-piece in 1976. After that, for some reason, the car got parked and sat until he passed away. 1974 also marked a change to the rear end of the C3, as it lost its squared-off tail and chrome rear bumpers and gained a more sloped look from the back.
The car is said to be numbers-matching with 22,771 miles. It has had some brake work done, including new calipers and a new master cylinder. It also has a rebuilt radiator and carburetor, newer BF Goodrich Radial T/A tires, and a recent tune-up. The car is said to start right up and run great. Purists will appreciate that it comes equipped with a 4-Speed manual transmission. Engine, clutch, and transmission are all said to be strong. The only thing under the hood that is not original is the air cleaner, as the original one was missing. All of the gauges including the clock are working, as are the wipers, power windows, and headlights. I always liked the factory location of the key-operated burglar alarm, which from 1974-1977 was located on the driver’s side front fender next to the Stingray emblem.
It’s really hard to find much fault with this Corvette from any angle, and it looks like it could be ready to be enjoyed by the next owner with very little work to be done. The 4-Speed will definitely add to its desirability, and although it was standard equipment it’s pretty cool that you get T-Tops as well. It also comes with a clean title. What are your thoughts about this 1974 Chevrolet Corvette? With the low mileage and condition, what do you think is a reasonable price to pay?
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Comments
The L-48 Vettes were so anemic. I believe jello has pudding this color too.
I was in night school with a lady who was the original proud owner of a beautiful dark green metallic ’74 Vette with tan interior, the 15 x 8 Rallye wheels and oh it was something. She drove it to class every night then one night she did not show up. The next night, the last night of class, someone else brought her and I asked her where her Vette was? I could tell she was shook up and she said it was totaled. I couldn’t believe it because I knew she babied that car and never got on it. She told me the stretch of road she had been on which I knew well. She said the really frightening thing was the roads were completely dry and she was in the inside lane closest to the lane divider and when she started into the slight curve to the left there was no warning, the car just broke free and the rear came around impacting the passenger side hard then continued around and stopped before the driver’s side hit. Thankfully she was not seriously injured from the impact or flying glass. I always wondered if something in that FE7 Gymkhana suspension broke or if her car had been equipped with the rear stabilizer bar like in ’75 if things might have turned out different for her.
They all had rear stabilizer bars, was integral to to the suspension, I’d be inclined to fault driver error, I had a 71 LT-1 and a 76 L-82 both stuck like glue in the dry…
Brown/Saddle looks sharp on C3’s. Nice low priced entry into the hobby.
The interior shows a great deal of wear for only 22k miles.
Considering this car is nearly 48 years old, the interior looks pretty good. Materials do break down over time, regardless of the amount of use.
The photos show it to be a fairly clean, and unmolested car. Original motor and trans, original radio, the dash and console have not been hacked up, 3 pedals, a great deal for under $15k. As long as there are no bad secrets underneath, this one is a keeper. Just as Bakyrdhero stated, a low priced entry into the hobby, spot on.
As mentioned, an inexpensive way into the Corvette hobby. I never liked the side view of the 74-78 rear end treatment, I’d swap a 79-82 rear with the spoiler. IMO that was the best thing they did since they went away from the chrome bumper. 4 speed, small block, this is a blank canvas to play with!
Nice car, should bring $10-14k.
No A/C in Miami??? YIKES!!!
It looks like they repainted the engine. The original engine paint on cars even with very low mileage do not hold up well. Maybe they lost the original air cleaner doing the detailing. Are there any records verifying the 22K
If it is 122K it looks a lot better than any other 1974 at that price. There aren’t many “starter” Corvettes left and this is a nice example.
Nice car, cleaner than my 77 was. But I also noticed that bright orange/red paint on the engine. That would require an explanation.
My son-in-law just bought a ’76 in this color combo after his first trip to the Mecum Indy auction. He wanted a red one but once he saw the root beer brown he fell in love with it. I never liked the C3 with the sloped rear but seeing it parked in his garage next to his C6 it grew on me real fast. It’s an elegant ’70s machine. We took it for a short spin on Mass Ave in Indy last weekend and got 3 compliments, one guy saying, “never sell that car.”
They are old cars and should be treated as such, but the reason Chevrolet sold so many is because people kept buying them. The 30-somethings seem to appreciate Bill Mitchell’s baby.
The 74 Corvette had an (ungainly) 2-piece rear end.
This looks like a rear end piece from a 76-77 Corvette.
Correct. The rear “bumper cover” was split in two down the center and it did not have the built in bumper guards either (until 1975). Maybe the build date is 1974 and they confused it for a ’75. The emblem on the tail is newer, like from a 1977.