1971-74 mid-size coupes/sedans - top of line models (luxury, good tire, buy)

[Tennesseestorm]

Another request granted - this is for the MID-SIZE 1971-74 American sedans (with some 2drs pictured). Keep in mind that the GMs were redesigned and occasionally renamed during this time. 1973 brought some different names (for the Buick) and larger bodies. Also, Ford Torino/Montego was changed in 1972.

1974 Chevrolet Malibu Classic-
http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=25436 &g2_serialNumber=3 (broken link)
http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=25440 &g2_serialNumber=2 (broken link)
and 1972-


1973 Pontiac Luxury LeMans-
http://i13.ebayimg.com/04/i/06/bd/fc/56_1_b.JPG (broken link)
and 1972...
http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=70269 &g2_serialNumber=2 (broken link)

1974 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme-
http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=63299 &g2_serialNumber=2 (broken link)
and 1972-
http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=63209 &g2_serialNumber=2 (broken link)

1973 Buick Century Luxus/Regal-
http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=10157 &g2_serialNumber=2 (broken link)
http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=10155 &g2_serialNumber=2 (broken link)
http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=10167 &g2_serialNumber=2 (broken link)
http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=10169 &g2_serialNumber=2 (broken link)
1971 Skylark Custom-
http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=9978& g2_serialNumber=2 (broken link)


1974 Ford Gran Torino Brougham-
http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=10874 7&g2_serialNumber=2 (broken link)
and 1972-
http://www.lovefords.org/72bic/72_bic_tor.jpg (broken link)
and 1971 Torino Brougham-
http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=45360 &g2_serialNumber=2 (broken link)

1973 Mercury Montego MX Brougham-
http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=58426 &g2_serialNumber=2 (broken link)
http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=58429 &g2_serialNumber=2 (broken link)
1972 Montego Brougham-
http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=57600 &g2_serialNumber=2 (broken link)
http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=57603 &g2_serialNumber=2 (broken link)

1973 Plymouth Satellite Custom-
http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=66326 &g2_serialNumber=2 (broken link)
http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=66373 &g2_serialNumber=2 (broken link)
1972 Satellite Brougham-
http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=66089 &g2_serialNumber=2 (broken link)
http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=66095 &g2_serialNumber=2 (broken link)

1974 Dodge Coronet Custom-
http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=39251 &g2_serialNumber=2 (broken link)
1973-
http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=39099 &g2_serialNumber=2 (broken link)
1972-
http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=39052 &g2_serialNumber=2 (broken link)

[skywatcher75]

Cutlass hands down!

[rlrl]

blue Centuries indeed!! And great comparision to the blue Skylark which the Century replaced. I haven't seen the Satellite brochures since 1973, and the 73 Coronet looks first class(I don't like the new grille on the 74 though)

[rlrl]

that the torsion quiet ride had been advertised over and over for the Coronet in 73 and CR's reported the car was the noisiest in it's field!! It took Dodge until 76 to support their claims

[drb85650]

72 Olds Cutlass Supreme.
Of all the 70's midsize, a classic design that you can pull up to a 5 star resort in, or cruise in. And I'm not a "olds" guy.
Worked for Pontiac and Chevy 69-74, Lemans, Chevelle, just not impressive. And the big bumper models...when they came in on the transport, we honestly thought the bumpers were some sort of in transit covers to protect the "real" bumpers. Not even chromed, just a brushed satin finish. Rubber facias, plastic wheel covers.......bad times.

[rlrl]

when Axel Foley pulls up to a big fancy hotel in Beverly hills in his beat up '68 Nova in Beverly Hills Cop?!

[Bazzwell]

I'll go with the Plymouth or the Dodge. Sentimental I guess. The Buick though was a beautiful car.

Funny thing about these threads, meant in the nicest of ways of course. Having been around these cars new when I first started to drive brings back some very nice memories. But then reality kicks in and brings back more memories of working in the junkyard in the late seventies and early eighties when these stylish cuties became rusting hulks waiting to be crushed. They just didn't have legs to last.

Seriously, we had so many of these crawl in that most went straight to the crusher. We'd get orders to drain the gas, take any good tires and lights and then throw them on the truck. Most had no usable body parts, engines or trannys. One poor body man said he'd called twenty yards trying to find a bumper off a Century that wasn't rusted. We couldn't help him either. Just no legs and you don't see any alive these days that haven't been pampered since birth.

How things have changed. My LeBaron is from 1990, just hit 120k miles. One tiny rust spot, everything works, just routine upkeep and driven every year in snow since delivery. The wife has a 91 Buick. While it has some minor rust, it too runs along like a baby, even with 148k on the miles. What happened?

[drb85650]

Funny thing about these threads, meant in the nicest of ways of course. Having been around these cars new when I first started to drive brings back some very nice memories. But then reality kicks in and brings back more memories of working in the junkyard in the late seventies and early eighties when these stylish cuties became rusting hulks waiting to be crushed. They just didn't have legs to last.

So true. Fun to recall those days a little, but in reality the quality of the cars stunk. We were surrounded by cheap plastic interiors that warped horribly, faded, broke in your hands. Couple that with the early attempts at smog controls....we got it good these days.

[Tennesseestorm]

lol. I know. Thankfully though here in the south, rust is not too much of an issue (where I live in Tennessee), even on these old cars. Neither my 72' Chevrolet or 73' Pontiac have any rust and the undercarriages are still rock solid. I have never seen a 1990 or 1991 car here (originally from here) with any rust. I guess its a "northern" thing. I had a 1991 Buick (Park Avenue) as well, without even a speck or rust, but I seen some from up north (on ebay) and had rusty rocker panels. I guess starting in the 90s that even northern cars hold up better - I guess better rust proofing or something? I have seen some 90s cars from up north though with alot of rust. I bought a 1994 Lumina that was originally from Ohio. The undercarriage was covered in heavy rust. I was amazed... at the time, I never knew even cars from up there rusted that badly, but they do- especially the undercarriage from what I am told. My mom has a 1997 Oldsmobile and the underside is as shiney was it was in 1997 when grandpa bought it new. Not even a spot of surface rust. We do get some snow though and some road salt is used, but nothing like up in the northern states thank goodness.

On the flip side, my aunt that lives in Detriot Michigan and she had to buy a new car every 3-4 years because of rust. She used to complain because she lived here in the 50s and never had to deal with rusty cars.

Originally Posted by Bazzwell

I'll go with the Plymouth or the Dodge. Sentimental I guess. The Buick though was a beautiful car.

Funny thing about these threads, meant in the nicest of ways of course. Having been around these cars new when I first started to drive brings back some very nice memories. But then reality kicks in and brings back more memories of working in the junkyard in the late seventies and early eighties when these stylish cuties became rusting hulks waiting to be crushed. They just didn't have legs to last.

Seriously, we had so many of these crawl in that most went straight to the crusher. We'd get orders to drain the gas, take any good tires and lights and then throw them on the truck. Most had no usable body parts, engines or trannys. One poor body man said he'd called twenty yards trying to find a bumper off a Century that wasn't rusted. We couldn't help him either. Just no legs and you don't see any alive these days that haven't been pampered since birth.

How things have changed. My LeBaron is from 1990, just hit 120k miles. One tiny rust spot, everything works, just routine upkeep and driven every year in snow since delivery. The wife has a 91 Buick. While it has some minor rust, it too runs along like a baby, even with 148k on the miles. What happened?

I think the small cars in all of the 70s really apply here (with the cheap plastic interiors), but it was more like the late 70s for the big cars that started to decline on the interior quality. It depends on the area too... cars from the south, especially the deserts, the interiors will literally bake in them, so they will deteriorate faster than say a northern car. Some cars I know with issues is that the dash pads are bad for cracking on the 1971-76 Chevrolets (and this lasted up through the 1990 models) and not as bad on 71-76 Pontiacs, but again it was an issue on the 77-90 Pontiac big cars. Oldsmobile, Buick and Cadillac did not seem to have this problem near as bad- even in the 70s. The early-late 70s BIG Fords had a nice quality interior- better than the 80s I think. The Ford dash tops in the 70s were bad for fading though and really bad in the 1980s. Then the late 80s - thats the era I think of when I hear warping interiors - look at the late 80s GM cars like the Beretta. Our neighbor bought a brand new 1988 Chevy Beretta. By 1991, the dash had started warping and the interior started ripping. Also, I have a friend with a 2005 Monte Carlo... she had to take it back last year because her dash top started warping.

Guess we have really had to deal with good and bad though most of the decades since the 1970s. The 1960s cars and back seemed to be simple and reliable.

Originally Posted by drb85650

Funny thing about these threads, meant in the nicest of ways of course. Having been around these cars new when I first started to drive brings back some very nice memories. But then reality kicks in and brings back more memories of working in the junkyard in the late seventies and early eighties when these stylish cuties became rusting hulks waiting to be crushed. They just didn't have legs to last.

So true. Fun to recall those days a little, but in reality the quality of the cars stunk. We were surrounded by cheap plastic interiors that warped horribly, faded, broke in your hands. Couple that with the early attempts at smog controls....we got it good these days.

[73-79 ford fan]

I have not seen any qualty issue with the full size 70s thru 80s cars at all which I have been around my whole life. I still see a lot of them running around here too.