Curbside Find: 1974 Chevelle Malibu Sedan – The Once Upon A Time Everyday Chevrolet

Photo from the CC Cohort by Michael Baker. Found in Maple Rich, British Columbia.

What was your generation’s desirable Chevy? And what was your generation’s junky Chevy? Those questions have been floating around my head after a recent post I made on a ’62 Impala. A model that when new was the brand’s top offering; but that as some commented, became the type of Chevy that was just a beat-up car when they were growing up. A “shorthand for generic, boring old car.”

Naturally, that statement also rang true to me… but when a different kind of Chevy entered the picture. Basically, any mid-’70s one before the great downsizing of ’77 occurred. Especially, one in rundown condition, with broken endura bits, and rust showing up. And if a 4-door with peeling vinyl top? Bingo! The Chevy beater easily found around my old high school!

So while I generally chalk myself to be in the Chevy fan column, I just can’t disagree much with the comment left on my Impala post. After all, overexposure to a model in a less-than-ideal state is not a way to win one’s heart.

And in my case, just about any everyday 4-door Chevy of the ’70s fits the “… generic, boring old car” mold. And during those high school days of the late ’80s, nothing was more generic than a mid-70s Chevelle. With minus points if a 4-door. Enter negative numbers if with a vinyl top.

So, does every generation have a junky Chevy they had been conditioned to dislike?

Now, if you happen to have owned one and loved it, I understand you. After all, this was the desirable Chevy of my Mom’s coworkers in those 1970s. (Actually, accessible-desirable, as the full-sizers were what they truly wanted).

So if you grew up considering trim options and maybe even purchased one of these set up as wished, your memories gotta be a hell of a lot different from mine.

Or what if you just owned a truly malaise-era underpowered one, and their sight brings nothing if not some kind of automotive PTSD?

In the end, these old Chevys just bring a thousand reactions. After all, those who experienced those days know that they were everywhere, and naturally, we all have some kind of opinion about them.

But even if now rare, distance hasn’t grown fondness and I still have to warm to these after all these years. But at least I have feelings about them, which is more than I can say about Chevys of the late ’90s and on.

 

Related CC reading:

Design Mileposts: 1974 Chevelle – First Mass Production Car With Blatant Mercedes Grille Ripoff

Curbside Classic: 1973 Chevrolet Chevelle Sedan Deluxe – In Search Of  A Better Face

Curbside Classic: 1975 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu Classic – A Dollop Of Sanity

CC TV: 1974 Chevrolet Laguna Type S-3 – “Selling The Chevelle”