There are lots of automotive auctions that take place every year, most of which go unnoticed on this site. Every once in a while one will pop up that is worthy of the attention of our fellow curbivores (remember Ron Hackenberger’s crazy hoard of 700+ cars from 2017 or the Lambrecht Chevrolet auction from 2013)? Well here’s another one to add to the list.
The Beneventi family owned and ran a Chevrolet dealership in Granger, Iowa since 1932. The most recent family member to run the dealership, Don Beneventi, owned and ran the dealership from the 1970s. Don amassed quite a collection of Chevrolets over the years, including low mileage trades and a handful of held back never-titled Chevrolets from the 1970s and ’80s. Don recently sold the dealership and is now selling off most of his collection. Let’s take a look at some of the more interesting cars, many of which are from the depths of the malaise era.
In my opinion, the jewel of the collection is this never-titled triple-black 1972 Monte Carlo that was ordered in 1972 as a demonstrator. It shows just 3,022 miles and is still sporting the original window sticker. Black was associated with luxury cars back in the ’60s and ’70s and was a common color for Lincolns and Cadillacs. It was not so common on Chevrolets, as only full-sized Chevrolets were available in black in 1972. The paint code of “01” indicates that this is a dealer special order, and the result is stunning: It does look a lot more luxurious than your run-of-the-mill Monte.
The interior is virtually showroom new. As a former demo, it sports a long list of options, including A/C, bucket seats, center console, rally wheels, and tilt steering wheel. This Monte is mostly show and no go, however, as it is powered by a 175hp 350 V8 and optional 3-speed THM automatic, which is the setup that most buyers likely left the dealership with. As I write this, bidding is currently at $38,500.
Next up we have this never titled 1977 Z28 Camaro which shows just 456 miles. This car was likely a demonstrator as well, given that it is equipped with a lot of options, and an automatic (again, how most of these cars would have been sold). 1977 Marked the return of the fabled Z28 moniker, which had been on hiatus since 1974. While the 165hp 350 V8 may seem (and is) wimpy, it was actually the top engine available in the Camaro in 1977, and the only engine available in the Z28.
The orange Z28 striping may not be everyone’s cup of tea, it seems positively subdued compared to the Trans Am that Pontiac was selling just up the street at the same time. How much for one of the best surviving examples of one of the worst years of Camaro? $36,000 as of this writing.
Here we have another never-titled car, this time a 1975 Chevrolet Caprice Classic convertible showing just 1,241 miles. The GM B-body convertibles have a nifty scissor top mechanism that you have to see in person to appreciate. Convertibles were on their way out by the mid-’70s, and 1975 would be the last year for the full-size Chevy soft top. You could only get the convertible body in the top of the line Caprice trim, and only 8,349 convertibles were produced in this ultimate year.
My grandfather had a 1973 Impala, so I have lots of fond memories staring at that dashboard. Not so fondly remembered are those molded plastic door panels that GM used on all their cars in the ’70s, the less said about which the better. While my memories are free, this trip down memory road is currently going for $23,750. which when adjusted for inflation is actually less than what it would have sold for new.
Here we have a never-titled 1978 Silver Anniversary Corvette with just 478 miles on the odometer. 1978 marked the 25th anniversary of the Corvette. The rapidly aging C3 platform, now in its tenth year, got a minor refresh with a fastback rear window and a refreshed dashboard.
It has a gorgeous red leather interior, T-Tops, and of course, all the options. Cost of entry for this nearly new Vette? Only $11,250 as I write this. I am honestly surprised that a nearly new Corvette is going for so little money. Granted, the emissions strangled 185hp L48 V8 represents the near nadir of Corvette performance, although this is actually up slightly from the 180hp the L48 produced in 1976. But still this is a C3 Corvette, a car that in this mileage and condition I would have expected to command more. I will leave it to the commentators to speculate as to why this is.
I have a real soft spot for this last car, a 1974 Chevelle Laguna S-3 with a 454 V8. These never failed to turn my head when I was younger. My well-worn Encyclopedia of American Cars claims that Chevrolet made 21,902 Laguna S3’s in 1974, but I would have guessed far less than that as these were rarely seen even in the ’70s when I was growing up.
With 51,000 miles it may not be quite as showroom fresh as the previous examples, but it has held up pretty well. This example was a demonstrator that was sold new by Don Beneventi and then traded back in to the dealership in 1980. At that point, it went straight into Don’s private collection. As a former demo, it has most of the available options, including the highly sought after swivel bucket seats, pictured above. Price to swivel into this example? $30,000.
There are actually over 20 cars available from the 1940s to the present, including the obligatory DeLorean (it seems like there is one at every auction). I’m glad to see some of these malaise era cars finally starting to climb in value. Check it out at the link below.
Some really stunning examples, there. Really, the only one that would be a hard pass for me is the Camaro, mainly because the silver paint and orange stripes just don’t do it for me.
I forget how stunning the original Monte could be, and this may be the prettiest one I have ever seen. The only improvement I could think of was to delete the vinyl roof, but then it would have been a pretty sorry demonstrator in 1972 without that feature.
The interior shot on the Caprice convertible gives me flashbacks of those molded doorpanels. It is funny how the Corvettes avoided that sorry feature. The Pontiac Grandville is my pick of those B body converts, but I do kind of like the colors on this one. And the S-3 is the same color as the Luxury LeMans my mother bought in 74. I have not seen an S-3 in a long, long time.
Interesting timing, since just two days ago, I saw several 1970s & ’80s Chevrolets – all traveling in the opposite direction as me. Ordinarily, I would assume they were coming from a car show, but this was at about 2:00 on a Wednesday afternoon, so I’m a bit perplexed.
In any event, these cars included a 1980s Monte Carlo Aerocoupe, a ’75-or-so Caprice coupe, and an early Monte Carlo. I can’t remember what color the Monte Carlo was, but it was dark, and impressive-looking. After I saw it, I was thinking about the irony of those cars being nicknamed the “banker’s hot rod” or banker’s sports car.” After all, Chevys and bankers? Not exactly a combination that’s often put together. I never looked at the early Monte Carlo from the standpoint of that juxtaposition before, and it’s a car I love. This featured car seems like the very personification of those nicknames. All the more reason to love it more…
I remember those Montes and not liking them very much. Maybe because I was a young college kid into sport cars. Now I see this triple black car and think it looks really nice. Maybe because now I’m a retired old guy who while I still have a sport car, don’t mind cruising around in some comfort. Time.
Me wanty the Monte!
Oh that Monte just about made my heart stop! First-generation Montes are right up there with the ’55 and first-generation Malibu in my books.
That is a very nice 1st gen Monte Carlo, but the price is way too salty for one equipped with a pedestrian 350. Even for a more desirable SS with a 454, it’s just too much. In fact, most of the other cars, although just as nice, are also priced too high.
The exception, oddly, is the Corvette. Yeah, it’s a lo-po seventies model, but for someone looking for a very nice C3 (and a silver anniversary one, at that), it doesn’t seem like a bad buy.
I’ve never heard of a Monte Carlo referred to as “the Banker’s hot rod.” I’ve only heard that applied to Buick Centuries and Wildcats. maybe it’s just a local usage. I most often heard the Monte Carlo called the “poor man’s Eldorado.” This example shows how cleanly the original model was designed. I remember a college class I was taking in 1973 where one of the students disparaged his Mom’s purchase of a new Monte Carlo as an example of suburban status chasing. I had a friend whose family were a bit more than middle class, and they considered a Monte Carlo, but felt that it was too flashy. They instead chose a Caprice coupe.
I also like the first year of the second gen cars. Even with the impact bumper the front looked much better with the large round head lamps. The inset ribbed tail lamps looked terrific with the non impact bumper. Unfortunately many of the early Monte Carlos were poorly modified into Low Riders which is how they are remembered. Kind of like the mullet stereotype with Camaros, it makes it hard to remember what they looked like stock.
It’s funny, as I was typing that comment, I Googled the phrase to make sure my memory was working correctly. I came up with many more references to Buicks than to Monte Carlos, which surprised me since I don’t remember that at all.
Typically, if my memory serves me correctly, the “Banker’s” nickname was given to the 454 Monte Carlos, though I recall Monte enthusiasts extending that to other models as well. But then again, I grew up in Philadelphia, where Monte Carlos were as popular as soft pretzels and cheese steaks, so maybe it is (was) a regional thing.
454 Montes were as common as hen’s teeth. Most had the 350 2 bbl. A good friend had a ‘74 Monte with the 350 2 bbl. I could easily take him with my 250 6 cylinder ‘69 Nova. “Poor man’s Eldorado is far more like it.
’53-’56 Packard Caribbeans were also sometimes referred to as ‘banker’s hot rods’…..
Bring back swivel seats! I’m sure it doesn’t meet current safety standards, but darned if they didn’t make for an easy ingress/egress.
Did they? I’ve never tried them, but they look to me like they require you to enter the car abnormally, i.e., butt-first. With the seat swiveled outward, you’d sit down in it with your feet still outside the car…then you lean back and swing your feet in. This would work great, I suppose, if you were wearing a gown, something else I have never tried.
Just wait until you’re older, and/or have knee replacements! Butt first entry will become a necessity, LOL!! 🙂
+1
Judging from the fan shroud a straight 8 would fit:
https://www.hemmings.com/stories/2020/06/10/hemmings-find-of-the-day-1972-chevrolet-monte-carlo-3#&gid=1&pid=5
I’d say the Monte is my favorite of the bunch. However I’d be most likely to take home that Caprice, I’m a sucker for white and blue (or red) interior. Since it would only be a fair weather cruiser so might as well have a drop top. The Corvette is tempting too thanks to its red interior.
The black Monte Carlo is apparently not the only black ’72 out there that came from the factory—but you did have to order it and wait. 1970 and ’71 Montes were available in black without a factory order.
I looked at the full auction docket, and the 1947 Chevrolet Fleetline 4dr Sedan would have to be my pick of the litter. Along with a nice snap-brim hat!
I agree the 47 Chevy Fleetline sure is a beauty!!
I’m impressed with the Monte’s bumpers; unobtrusive and well integrated, especially compared to the later cars shown (sans the Corvette.)
Wasn’t the ’72 covered by DOT’s new 5mph front / 2.5mph back bumper standard?
No. 5mph/2.5mph standards came into play in 1973, and then 5mph/5mph in 1974. 1972 was the last year the small bumper designs were legal across the board
No. Many 1972 GM products (not the Monte Carlo) added a horizontal rubber strip to their bumpers – for example, the full-size Buick front bumper or Riviera rear bumper – but otherwise these were much the same as the 1971 bumpers.
For 1973, the standard was 5mph front, 2.5mph rear impact with no damage, changing to 5mph for both for 1974. There was also a height-matching requirement for the front that didn’t yet exist for ’73, so that most 1974 front bumpers were vertically deeper than the equivalent ones in 1973; compare, for example, the 1973 and 1974 full-size Pontiac, Grand Prix, or Olds Cutlass.
How such cars as the 1974 Plymouth Satellite coupe escaped these requirements, I don’t know.
The Satellite passed thanks to those massive rubber blocks. At that point the standard was for a perfectly square hit.
I never quite understood this either, I remember it being mentioned a few times that there was an exemption to full compliance for models that wouldn’t return for 1975 like the E body’s as well as the AMC Javelin, but given the fact that the Satellite was a full reskin for 1973 you’d expect it would have had fully compliant bumpers out the gate. I mean look at the ugly stick Ford had to beat into the poor Torino in 73-74, the original rear bumper design was basically the same as the 73 Satellites. Or maybe renaming it Fury for 1975 was an effort to skirt the rule?
Lots of love for the Monte, but Collonades have really started growing on me and I have to give it up for the Laguna, 454 power in the depths of the energy crisis, excellent color combination and wheels and tires that actually fill out the underutilized expanse of those wheelwells really make it the standout of this bunch.
The Corvette and Camaro, meh. My intrinsic dislike of silver is working against both of them but I just never liked the 78-79 Corvette bubble glass, without the Pace Car spoiler it just accentuates the droopy ass of the 74 design rear end, and the revived for 77 Camaro Z/28 looks like a dollar store Trans Am. The hood graphic is bizarre in that it previews the shape of the tacked on scoop on the 78s yet doesn’t follow any natural lines or theme related to the body. In fact it reminds me of the Pontiac logo
Interesting rule about color choices vs status and size. Even when you don’t know the rule exists, the rule makes a difference in overall perception. I’m trying to picture a black Corvair or Nova, and I can’t even imagine it! But when I think of a Buick or Olds from those years, it defaults to black.
When I read your post I thought wait – I remember the first Corvairs in black! And apparently indeed they were available in Tuxedo Black. Falcons and Valiants were available and around in black as well. I’m not sure about these rules…
https://www.corvaircorsa.com/pntcpc60.html
I thought the same, In her early 50’s, Grandma had a ‘64 Valiant sedan in black/turquoise (with under dash air!). She was a high school English teacher so the staunchness matched the mid 1960’s professional image she acquired by that point.
*starchy*ness
This is one example of autocorrect being vaguely relevant, lol 🙂
That first Monte Carlo is spectacular. What a perfectly specced car. I’ve never been particularly fond of that era of MC, but that one might be changing my mind on them entirely. Really nice.
#IIRC: The first generation Monte Carlo attracted the same type/class of buyer who purchased the very first Buick Riviera.
Five years before the Seville, this should have been a Chevy based Cadillac. 472 power, turbo 400. Check all the boxes. Look at the grill. Look at the taillights. Look at the proportions. It’s screams Cadillac on a diet.
Someone once mentioned that the 1st gen Monte Carlo was a lot like the Dodge Charger, except where the Mopar leaned performance, the Chevy went towards personal luxury. They both tried to cover both the performance and luxury bases depending on how they were optioned. Just as it was possible to get a loaded Charger RT/SE, a Monte Carlo SS454 was available, as well.
I have definitely suggested that before, only I would argue the Charger was personal luxury all along. We associate it’s design with performance because it existed in the pinnacle of the Muscle car era and happened to be one of the best looking cars of the period in its second generation, but in 1966 hidden headlights, full width taillights and that original ritzy interior were the epitome of American personal luxury. What’s it missing compared to a Thunderbird or Riviera of the era?
The Monte Carlo was going the neoclassical brougham direction with its styling, but that was the style that would push out the brawny 60s style, just as that pushed away styling with tailfins, etc. Had it not been for unleaded fuel and rising insurance premiums there’s no reason to think the style ushered in by the Monte Carlo wouldn’t have had complimentary performance variants, and the early existence of the SS454 Monte Carlo you mentioned, as well as the Grand Prix SJ 428, which even had a 4 speed available are the smoking guns to that hypothesis. There could have been a Chrysler ‘doba with a TNT440 6-pack if they could have made it and had a market for it in 1975, and investors would be kicking them around auctions for $70,000 today. Just like how most everyone associates 68-70 Charger styling with performance because of its era, most people associate 70s PLC styling with malaise because of that era.
That Monte is truly irresistable, followed by the Caprice in my book…can remember those white GM interiors, either with blue or red dash and carpets, which takes me back in a good way.
The Laguna reminds me of a pet design peeve…usually represented by Pontiacs of the late 60’s and early 70’s…how can you put a chrome bumper on the back (in this case with overhanging sides) and a painted flush one on the front, I mean what the…? They front and back look like two separate cars. What head designer could approve and possibly think that’s good or coherent design.
When Pontiac finally fixed this on the Firebirds in the mid 70’s, the sales started to come to life…that was a big “duh” to me as a teen. Maybe Chevy should have done the same with the Laguna, which would look great if the rear bore any resemblence to the handsome front.
Wow, those are some great finds. Looking at the link to the auction, there are some other really appealing options. I really like that ’57 Chevrolet Sport Coupe with the 1958 Fuel Injection unit affixed. After that post on the fuelie Corvettes earlier this week, it rekindled my passion for the fuel injected ’57 Chevrolets. It’s price is pretty low at the moment, maybe because it wasn’t originally a fuelie car. It might be a way to get an affordable fuelie.
Of the cars posted here, all are great finds. I too gravitate to the ’72 Monte Carlo, a car my dad almost bough in 1972. I also really like that ’74 Laguna. It was the best looking Colonnade Chevrolet IMO. The 454 makes it really desirable in my eyes. That said, I wouldn’t kick any of the other’s out of the driveway.
One note though on the ’77 Z/28. It was a 170 hp engine, not 165. The Z/28 was introduced partway though the 1977 model year and it made quite the splash. Sure on paper it seemed feeble with it’s 170 hp LM1 350, but as I have stated many times, the LM1 punched above it’s weight class. The Z/28 was a good performer for it’s time, and while not quick by today’s standards, in 1977 it was one of the quickest American cars you could buy. FWIW, Car and Driver tested a ’77 and it ran the quarter mile in 16.3 secs, beating the 200 hp 400 cid Trans Am that ran 16.9 secs. And that C/D test was one of the slower ’77 Z/28 tests of the time, with Motor Trend running well into the 15 second range. Like I said, not quick by today’s standards, but it’d keep up with a lot of mid-displacement 1960s intermediates and pony cars. And while today maybe your CRV could beat it in the drag, I have no doubt the Z/28 would be a whole lot more fun.
I’m going to have to go look at the auction listings; looks as if the ones most interesting to me are shown there.
Having said that, the Monte Carlo is a stunner, even with the vinyl top, and not being an SS with the BB 4-speed.
I don’t think Chevrolet ever topped the styling of the ’70-’72 MC.