R.I.P. Joel “Mr. Motion” Rosen Baldwin-Motion Supercars
Joel Rosen and Marty Schorr kept Corvette and Chevy Supercar fans TOTALLY STOKED back in the day!
To get your PDF version of the 1969-1/2 Baldwin-Motion Catalogue, CLICK HERE.
I was just in junior high school in October 1967 when the new C3 Mako Shark-inspired Corvette made its splash on the car scene. It looked like a sports car from another planet! Although it was different from the Mako Shark-II show car, it was still futuristic and very cool.
Sometime in the spring of 1968, I was hunting for my favorite car magazine at my local drug store, newspaper, and magazine stand. Then I saw the latest issue of Hi-Performance CARS magazine. CARS was an East Coast, New York-based monthly newsstand car magazine that was unlike the bright, glossy magazines of the West Coast Hot Rod, Popular Hot Rodding, and Car Craft magazine. All great publications, but CARS came out of New York City and had a wonderful, New York, “In-Your-Face” style.
This was Rosen’s prototype Phase-III SS-427 Corvette. Joel graphed on top of the C3’s big-block hood a ’67 427 Stinger hood scoop and made it look like it belonged there. The fender flares and Pontiac Hood-Mounted tach were cool custom touches.
Hi-Performance CARS Magazine became the house organ for the Baldwin-Motion Supercars
The cover was a bright yellow 427 Corvette, branded, “Baldwin-Motion SS-427 Phase III Corvette”! On top of the standard ’68 big-block hood bulge was a grafted-on ’67 Stinger 427 scoop that totally looked like it belonged there. On the sides of the Stinger hood were badges that read, “SS-427”. WOW! Right in front of the driver’s side of the hood was a hood-mounted tachometer, the same as the units installed on some GTOs. Very cool.
The deep-dish chrome Crager mages were shod with the widest tires of the day: L60x15 meats. Side pipes had been optional on Corvettes since 1965, but were not available in 1968. Instead, this brute of a Corvette wore 1965-1967 side pipes along its rocker panels.
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Rosen and Zora got along great. They always got together for cocktails when Duntov was in NYC.I couldn’t believe what I was seeing! Even though I was only thirteen, I knew this was the ultimate Corvette.
Corvette Generational History
Our 1968–1982 C3 Corvette Review: Engineering, Styling, Sales, and Legacy Story is now available.
What I was looking at was the inventive handiwork of Motion Performance owner, Joel Rosen and CARS magazine editor and chief, Marty Schorr. Joel and Marty’s relationship was that when Marty acquired muscle cars from the manufacturers, Joel would supertune the cars to perform better for the CARS road test stories. Made sense.
Rosen and Schorr were often special guests at the annual MCACN shows in Chicago.
But it was the 1967 SS-396 Camaro that launched the entire Baldwin-Motion experience. Motion Performance was located on Long Island, New York, just up the road from Rosen’s Motion Performance Speed Shop and race car shop. Joel and Marty came up with an idea to keep Joel’s shop running and, at the same time, provide super cool, ultra-performance big-block Chevy supercars.
Why did Chevy NOT offer Corvette factory side pipes and a Stinger hood for Camaros???
Here was the Baldwin-Motion Supercar plan
Customers would order a new SS-396 Camaro, and then choose the options and color they wanted. When the car was delivered to Baldwin Chevrolet, the car was then driven to Rosen’s shop for transformation. The 396 engine was swapped out for a 427/425 Corvette big-block, along with tricks Rosen learned racing in A/Modified Production. Rosen and Grumpy Jenkins swapped the NHRA A/Modified Production back and forth in the late ’60s. Rosen knew how to build a drag car and dial it back a little to make it streetable.
Young car guys (including me!) spent hours poring over Baldwin-Motion Performance Group catalogs. I still have mine!
When the car was complete, it was still under the car’s Chevrolet warranty because it was a new car. The 427 was a bolt-in swap. Rosen would custom-make each car according to the customer’s plans. The black ’67 SS-427 Phase-III Camaro was featured in CARS magazine road tests and advertisements. The Camaro had slotted aluminum wheels, fat tires, ’67 Corvette side pipes, and a Stinger hood. It was just “BOSS!”
Marty Schorr art directed and wrote copy for the “In Your Face” ads that ran in CARS Magazine. They made the magazine even more fun, too!
Rosen builds his own Grand Touring GT Corvette
The response was good enough that Rosen and Schorr decided to expand the “Phase III” branding to Chevelles, Novas, Biscaynes, and even Corvettes. Rosen loved Corvettes ever since he bought a new ’63 Fuelie Coupe that he hill climbed. He felt that the Corvette had all the underpinnings for a great GT – Grand Touring performance car.
It had a strong frame and chassis, a powerful big-block 427 engine, four-wheel disc brakes, four-wheel independentsuspension, and astonishing good looks. Joel decided to take the new Shark Corvette to another level.
Marty Schorr learned that when he put a Corvette on the cover of his CARS Magazine, newsstand sales shot up!
Covers such as these kept my desires for a Corvette “someday”red hot!
Joel Rosen spun the wrenches, and Marty Schorr spun the spin
Rosen and Schorr each were experts at something the other wasn’t. Schorr admits that he’s not much of a mechanic, and Rosen said he wasn’t much of a wordsmith. Together, Rosen and Schorr kept the loyal and faithful Chevy and Corvette fans stoked with regular articles, road tests, and “In-Your-Face” ads. It was just so much fun!
The first Phase-III 427 Corvettes had subtle flares on the wheel-well openings. Just a nice custom touch.
As Corvettes were Rosen’s passion, he constantly pushed the envelope for his specialty Corvettes. So, we want to share with you Joel Rosen and Marty Schorr’s Corvettes. Many of the cars had extensive, custom bodywork, so they were very expensive for their time. One Motion Corvette went out the door for nearly $15,000 (around $130,000 in 2023 dollars!), a HUGE amount of cash back then. A new ’68 Corvette with options could cost $5,000!
Some of the custom body designs worked better than others, but they’re all great time capsule examples of a unique time. Every Motion car was guaranteed to run 11.5 seconds in the 1/4-mile, with a qualified driver. Stock 427 Corvettes typically ran in the low 14s to high 13s. An 11.5 street machine was astonishing back then.
The Motion-Performance Experience comes to a screeching halt!
Rosen and Schorr’s enterprise came to a halt in 1974 when the Department of Transportation went after them for illegally modifying cars. The Fed wanted them shut down and succeeded. Rosen continued to build race cars and modify customer cars, but no new cars from Chevrolet.
In addition to a ton of expensive glasswork, this Maco Shark had a custom scalloped paint job.
Years later, the public caught up to the uniqueness of the Baldwin-Motion cars, and for decades, Rosen had a cottage industry of verifying Motion cars, as he kept all of the build records and VIN Numbers of all the cars he built.
The Tuckman 1971 Phase-III GT was the last “Phase-III Corvette” Rosen built.
To get the absolute history of Joel Rosen and Marty Schorr’s Baldwin Motion Supercars story, you MUST read Marty’s book, “MOTION PERFORMANCE: Tales of a Muscle Car Builder”. Marty’s prose is exactly what it was like reading CARS Magazine back in the day. You’ll feel as if Marty is right there, telling you the story. And the book is loaded with great photos, many by Schorr himself.
R.I.P. Mr. Motion, Joel Rosen
All this happened a very long time ago, and on October 9, 2023, Joel Rosen succumbed to bladder cancer. His long-time friend and business partner Marty Schorr wrote a beautiful tribute to Joel that you can read HERE. – Scott
PS – Here are a few more images of Rosen’s Corvettes…
This really happened and was not staged! While the driver admitted to slightly exceeding the posted speed limit, the real issue was that the license plate had fallen off! The police officer didn’t know what to make of this strange, WILD-LOOKING Corvette No citation was issued…
The Greenwood-style IMSA wide-body design brought the hearts of Corvette lovers back in the ’70s!
The Manta Ray had extensive bodywork.
Rosen was experimenting with various combinations of the body kits he was selling in his speed shop and his parts catalog.
The Moray Eel was a variation of the Maco Shark body kit.
Rosen’s Phase-III GT Corvette had a fastback rear window to open up the car’s very small rear trunk area. The engine in the Tuckman 1971 Phase-III GT was the standard look for Baldwin-Motion Supercars.
This is the “Astoria-Chas” “KO-MOTION” National Record-holder 1967 L88 Corvette. This is a great Corvette story that you can read HERE.
To get your PDF version of the 1969-1/2 Baldwin-Motion Catalogue, CLICK HERE.
Baldwin-Motion “WANTED” advertisement poster, HERE.
Baldwin-Motion “WANTED” advertisement poster, HERE.
Corvette Generational History
Our 1953–1962 C1 Corvette Review: Engineering, Styling, Sales, and Legacy Story is now available.
The 1962–1967 C2 Corvette Review: Engineering, Styling, Sales, and Legacy Story is now available.
Also, 1968–1982 C3 Corvette Review: Engineering, Styling, Sales, and Legacy Story is now available.
Click for Corvette Model Cars, C1 to C8 Generations
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