Vintage 1969 Baldwin-Motion Phase-III SS-427 Supercars PDF Catalog Booklet

Published on April 8, 2021April 8, 2021 by Scott

SUDDENLY It’s 1969! A Blast From the Past Baldwin-Motion Supercar Catalog

You can download your PDF booklet HERE.

My automotive coming-of-age started in 1965 when I saw a 1965 Sting Ray in a local Chevrolet dealer’s showroom. By the time the Mako-Shark-inspired 1968 Corvette came out, I was a full-blown motorhead. I thought the Mako Shark-II was the most beautiful car ever made. Although the 1968 Corvette wasn’t exactly the Shark show car, I loved it!

I was just in junior high school and was the only one in my family with an interest in performance cars. My way of keeping up with the burgeoning muscle car scene was through “Hi-Performance CARS Magazine”. My local small-town pharmacy had a huge newsstand rack with almost every car magazine published. And I knew what week the various titles came out.

One day in early 1969 on the newsstand, I spotted the screaming yellow Corvette on the cover with the cover copy saying something like, “Baldwin-Motion Phase III SS-427 Corvette Supercar!” As much as I loved the new Corvette, I loved the Phase III Corvette better! It had flared wheel wells and deep-dish Cragar Mags shod with FAT L60-15 tires. Atop of the stock 427 hood bulge was a ’67 Stinger hood scoop and a Pontiac hood-mounted tach. Finishing the setup was a set of 1965-1967 Corvette side pipes. WOW!

In the back of the magazine, there was an ad for a Baldwin-Motion catalog, for one dollar! I sent away for it and a few weeks later, my carpals and I were pouring over the catalog and bench racing how we would order our own personal Baldwin-Motion Supercar!

I still have that catalog today. So, before it gets lost or fades and falls apart, I thought I should make a PDF version to share. The 1969 Phase III SS-427 Corvette started at around $7,000, or around $51,000 in 2021 dollars. Today these cars are worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. As Marty Schorr told me once, “Joel and I had no idea these cars would be worth this much, and over 50 years later, people still love them!”

As Marty used to say in his editorials in CARS Magazine, “Nuff said!” – Scott

PS – You can access the entire collection of Corvette E-Booklets and the Duntov Files HERE.

Joel Rosen’s Motion Can-Am Spyder Corvette

Published on May 8, 2011 by Scott

The Last of the Motion Corvettes

By the late ‘60s, big-block Chevys were always contenders against anything from Ford and Mopar. Within the story line of muscle car history, the Baldwin-Motion Supercars are legends. For John Q. Public, a regular muscle car was often times more than enough. Then there were those who wanted more.

In the mid-’60s, Long Island speed shop owner Joel Rosen had areputation for building tough street and strip cars. Unlike Carroll Shelby’s deal with Ford to build quasi-SCCA Mustangs, Rosen struck with local dealer Baldwin Chevrolet to offer supercar versions of new Chevy muscle cars that were custom built to order and guaranteed to run 11.5 in the quarter-mile with a qualified driver.

From ‘67 through ‘73, Rosen and his team cranked out hundreds of unique Chevy supercars. But his most exotic cars were some of the Corvettes. Continue reading “Joel Rosen’s Motion Can-Am Spyder Corvette” →

1969 Baldwin-Motion Phase III GT Corvette – Part 2 of 3

Published on December 20, 2010May 25, 2011 by Scott

Joel Rosen Builds A Grand Touring Corvette

The term “GT” is arguably one of the most misused automotive designations. The term is an abbreviation for “grand touring.” A GT car is a road-going, lightweight, semi-luxurious coupe built on a high-performance chassis, for long trips, you need a car with plenty of power, a strong chassis, and loads of creature comforts to make the journey pleasant. Most high-priced European car companies all offered GT cars for their affluent customers.

In the ‘60s, Detroit carmakers started to use the GT term on pony and mid-size cars. Many enthusiasts wanted more and sought the help of specialty shops to build a package car. The original Shelby Mustangs were turn-key supercars. But at a small shop in Baldwin, New York, Joel Rosen was making his own machines called the Baldwin-Motion SS and Phase III Supercars.

You can catch Part 1 HERE.

Part 3 is HERE.

Continue reading “1969 Baldwin-Motion Phase III GT Corvette – Part 2 of 3” →

Baldwin-Motion Phase III Corvettes – Part 1 of 3

Published on December 4, 2010December 10, 2011 by Scott

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.

Continue reading “Baldwin-Motion Phase III Corvettes – Part 1 of 3” →