1974 Corvettes

While the automotive world was in the doldrums over the death of performance cars, Chevrolet couldn't make enough Corvettes to satisfy customers! Duntov's objective was to make the Corvette a quality car. Obviously, his efforts paid off. And despite major social changes, Chevrolet sold 37,502 Corvettes in'74, that's up 7,038 from '73 sales of 30,464. This made the bean counters very happy!

The name of the game in business is sales. If nobody is buying, it won't be sold for long. Remember the Fiero? The marketplace was changing and Duntov made enough changes in creature comfort and quality to strike a chord with the buyers. Demand was so high that the production was bumped from 8 to 9 hours. And even then, there were 8,200 orders returned to dealers "unfilled." Buyers wanted Cadillac quality for their $6,000. A major car magazine awarded the Corvette Best All-Around Car in '73 and '74. Considering the performance drop, this was amazing!

The obvious visual difference on the '74 Corvette was the new rear bumper. While other cars had huge chrome railroad ties for bumpers, the Corvette's new look was smooth and clean. The '74 rear bumper cover was made of two pieces, later year cars used a one-peice cover.

In an effort to improve life inside the Corvette, two small resonators were added to the exhaust system to tone things down. 1974 was also the last year for non-catalytic exhaust, as well as the last year for real dual-exhausts. The big-block 454 would be gone in '75.This was also the last year for leaded gas.

Under the hood there were three engines available. The base 195 hp 350, the optional $299 L82 350 with 250 hp, or the $250 LS4 454 with 270 hp. The standard transmission was a four-speed or Turbo Hydramatic. The option buy of the year was the $7 "Gymkhana" suspension that got you a thicker front anti-roll bar and high-rate springs. This was available on all Corvettes, but only 1,905 were ordered.

All of the extras added cost and weight to the Corvette. The base price for the '74 Corvette was now 6,001.50, But it didn't seem to matter to buyers. The Corvette was over 20 years-old and now had a solid performance image even though the rip snort'n, mean machine days were over. The three most popular options were now power steering, power brakes, and telescopic steering column. Buyers taste had changed and Duntov was right on target. The car still had untapped potential, you just had to extract it yourself. But, it was better than no Corvette at all.

Here's the story:
lllustrated Corvette Series No. 55 1974 - Mulsanne Corvette Show Car
"Recycled Again"

Only Bill Mitchell could get away with this. Bill always managed to have a hot daily ride. Engineering prototypes that weren't street-legal stayed behind the fence, but many of the show car Corvettes managed to go home with Bill. His usual statement on his "design study" cars was, "This thing runs like a bear!" For the Mulsanne Bill added, "This is the best Stingray ever."

The Mulsanne actually had three previous lives. Born as a stock 350 '68 Corvette, the car was originally the '69 "Aero Coupe" show car used to preview the '70-1/2 styling changes. It had a ZL-1 all-aluminum engine and a prototype four-speed automatic and was, well, a "real bear."

A short time later the Aero Coupe received the slim, Manta Ray-style side pipe covers, got a new paint job with the front bumper-grille assembly painted body color, and was renamed the "Scirocco." For the next four years the car worked as a pace car at Can-Am races. These were the days of heavy ZL-1 powered McLarren dominance. Mitchell thought it was cool that his Mulsanne pace car had the same basic engine as the McLarens. Like all of the Mitchell show cars, the Mulsanne had a large crowd around it at the '75 New York Automobile Show. Bill didn't pen every line on the Corvette, but his style was always present.

Painted bright metallic silver, the Corvette Mulsanne wore '75-style front and rear bumper covers. The pop-up headlights were replaced with four rectangular lamps under body-fitting clear plastic covers. The new hood had a raised center section with recessed, functional scoops on both sides. The curved
A-pillar, high-mounted racing mirrors, and electric rear window were all carry-overs from the Scirocco exercise. Since the Mulsanne was made to be a pace car, Mitchell kept the removable one piece roof panel, but added a periscope rearview mirror system. The interior was completely trimmed in leather with fixed seats and adjustable pedals and steering wheel.

Mitchell couldn't have a "stock" ZL-1, this engine was bored out to 454 cubic-inches and wore an experimental Rochester fuel injection system. Chaparral lace wheels and flames exiting the fender vents added show car splash.
Mitchell wanted the speedometer to look like a gunner's site. So a roller-type speedometer reflected speed numbers on to the windshield. This was so that the driver could watch the road while "blasting" past lesser cars. Designer Chuck Jordan said, "The man had flair!"