Joel Rosen & Marty Schorr Create a Corvette Legend!

From 1967 to 1969, the hottest street Corvette was the 427/435 L71. Not a bad ride for most folks. But Joel Rosen isn’t “most folks.” Rosen owned Motion Performance in Brooklyn, New York in the late ’50s and ’60s, and was having considerable success as a local drag racer-tuner. In ’67 Joel struck a deal with the owners of Baldwin Chevrolet, in Baldwin, New York, to make 427-engine versions of the new Camaro. When the ’68 Corvette came out, Joel knew that he had to make a special red-hot version. The ’69 Baldwin-Motion SS-427 Phase III Corvette was born.

You can catch Part 2 HERE.

Part 3 is HERE.

The first batch of Phase III Corvettes were equipped with ’65-’67 finned side-pipes.

The deal with Baldwin Chevrolet was that Motion would perform all of the conversion work and the car’s warranty would still be maintained. To keep everything balanced, the car was beefed up, inside and out! You simply could not miss these cars. Even sitting still they looked nasty and serious. A ’67 427-style hood scoop was grafted on top of the stock 427 hood along with a Pontiac hood-mounted tachometer. The wider tires were covered with wheelwell flares. Side pipes were either ’65-’67 style, ’69 style, or Hooker Header side pipes. An optional fastback window opened up the luggage space. Finished off with a unique stripe design, the car looked like a killer.

The 427 received an 850 Holly three-barrel on top of a high-rise manifold. Ignition used a modified Mallory setup with Ramcharger wires. Other goodies included a close-ratio Muncie four-speed, blow-proof clutch, heavy-duty suspension, and 60-series tires on Anson Sprint wheels. Every Phase III car was guaranteed to run 12.50 et @120 mph with a M/P approved driver at a NHRA or AHRA track.

Here’s the read view of Rosen’s Phase III GT. Note the fastback rear window. Duntov told Joel, “You did what I couldn’t.”

Unfortunately, Rosen was a high-profile, big fish in a small pond. In 1974, after seven years of building super cars, the Feds threatened to shut down and fine Rosen $50,000 per car for violation of the Clean Air Act. Rosen’s lawyer explained that he wasn’t operating a huge assembly line. Luckily, Joel got off with just a $500 fine, but the party was over. That’s what a little too much success, publicity, and horsepower can do to you. – Scott

You can catch Part 2 HERE.

Part 3 is HERE. And Baldwin-Motion Videos are HERE.

Parchment prints of the Baldwin-Motion Phase-III SS-427 Corvette are available HERE.

Also available is our NEW Laser-Etched 1969 Baldwin-Motion Phase III 427 Corvette prints are available HERE.