Category: Corvette History

Vote For Your Favorite Baldwin-Motion Corvette

Published on by Scott

Which Baldwin-Motion Corvette is YOUR FAVORITE?

(scroll down to cast your vote)

From 1967 to 1978 Joel Rosen, Marty Schorr, and the crew produced an astonishing array of Chevy supercars. “The Fantastic Five” included the Biscayne, the Nova, the Chevelle, the Camaro, and Corvette. If you wanted a true sleeper supercar, the Biscayne was the way to deliver one heck of a surprise. While the big 427 and 454 monster cars got most of the attention, Mr. Motion would build you whatever you wanted. So, there were also a few Motion cars powered with enhanced 350 small-blocks, and a few Corvettes that received turbochargers!

All of the Baldwin-Motion cars were special and unique, but let’s face it, the Corvettes were the halo cars. Since every Motion supercar was custom-built according to the customer’s wants and checkbook, every car is slightly different. The only thing standard was Joel’s selection of heavy-duty after market parts needed to keep the machine relatively bulletproof.

From ‘68 to ‘78, there were six distinctive Baldwin-Motion Corvettes. Let’s have a look-see… Continue reading “Vote For Your Favorite Baldwin-Motion Corvette” →

Reeves Callaway’s C12 Corvette

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“Build To Standard, Rather Than A Cost”

“Specialty cars” have been with us for almost 100 years. As long as there have been those with deep pockets, there have been craftsmen who said, “I can build you a special machine – for a price.” By the end of the ‘60s, a few small shops and car dealerships began offering personalized performance cars. Names such as Shelby, Dana, Nickey, and Baldwin-Motion became legends. Although the performance party was over after ‘70, the passion never went away.

In the mid-’70s, Reeves Callaway was a young foreign car enthusiast fascinated with turbocharging. Turbos had been used on the ‘60 Corvair and Olds Jetfire V8, but it was the 1,000-HP ‘73 917/30 Porsche racer that captured the imaginations of speed freaks everywhere. Continue reading “Reeves Callaway’s C12 Corvette” →

The POWER of the Corvette

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From the Blue-Flame Six to the Mighty LS9,

a Salute to Corvette Engines

Check out the SLIDE SHOW at the bottom of this post!!!

If you are new to the Corvette hobby, it’s hard to realize that 57 years ago the car began as a 150-HP beauty queen, made from a new and exotic material called “fiberglass,” available in any color, so long as it was white. As soon as Duntov could get his “magic hands” on the first small-block Chevy, the party began. Dual quads showed up right away and before we knew it, in ‘57 we had a fuel-injected Corvette. Take that! European exotics! F.I. is common today, but back then, wow, that was American-style autoexotic.

Corvette engines all have a story – small-blocks, big-blocks, the new LS series engines. Continue reading “The POWER of the Corvette” →

Joel Rosen’s Motion Can-Am Spyder Corvette

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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” →

2004 Commemorative Edition Corvette – The “Best” C5 Corvette?

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It all goes back to one man’s passion for racing. Zora Arkus-Duntov was the only executive at GM that ever raced a car at Le Mans, let alone have class wins in ‘54 and ’55. Duntov took his passion and experience and poured it into Chevrolet’s little beauty queen, the Corvette, taking the car to legendary status.

Duntov had the kind of expertise that only comes from seat of the parts experience of putting it all on the line in a four-wheel drift. With each new development in the Corvette, he always had racing on his mind. Bill Mitchell called this quality, “having gasoline in your veins.” No sooner had Duntov stuffed the new 265 small-block into the ‘55 Vette, he started secretly working on his first Le Mans intended racer, the Corvette SS. Continue reading “2004 Commemorative Edition Corvette – The “Best” C5 Corvette?” →

Baldwin-Motion Phase III Shark Corvettes – Part 3 of 3

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Joel Rosen’s Sharks

Joel Rosen’s meca for Chevy supercars – Motion Performance on Rising Sun Highway, Long Island, New York. Note the custom fish-scales paint job! The Phase III Vega behind the Maco Shark was the car that brought the Feds crashing down on Motion performance.

As the new ‘63 Corvettes were hitting the showrooms, GM’s Chief of Styling, Bill Mitchell, was dreaming up the next Corvette. With the help of stylist Larry Shinoda and a small team of designers, the radical Mako Shark II was shown to GM’s management in Spring of ‘65. The non-running full-size mock up made jaws drop. Before the car was shipped to the New York International Auto Show, the order was given, “build a running version!” By October ’65 the running version of the new design was complete and headed out to the show car circuit where it received rave reviews. It was obvious – the Mako Shark II HAD TO BE the next production Corvette.

You can catch Part 1 HERE.

And Part 2 HERE.

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

Stunning Die-Cast Corvette Engine Models

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Corvette Engines As Miniature Automotive “Art”

Note the quarter on the display base for scale.

Modern high-performance engines are just amazing machines. A quick look at the most powerful production engine to ever come out of Detroit is the supercharged LS9 ZR1 Corvette engine. This 376-cubic-inch engine has a Net horsepower rating of 638-HP. Measured in the old “gross” power rating system and the number would be easily be in the low 700-HP range. The ZR1 and it’s little brother the 505-HP Z06 can easily smoke ANYTHING from the old glory days of the stump puller muscle car era and get double the gas mileage to boot!

But this isn’t about numbers, it’s about aesthetics. Take the plastic or carbon fiber covers off on any LS-powered Corvette and you’re greeting with a maze of complicated hardware. I guess I’m “old school,” but I enjoy looking at old, pre-smog control device muscle car and racing engines. The simplicity of those old mills was oftentimes “art.” Continue reading “Stunning Die-Cast Corvette Engine Models” →

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

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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” →

1957 Fuel-Injected Corvette: Detroit’s First Fuelie

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An American Auto Exotic – ‘50s Style!

1957 Fuel-Injected Corvette – An American Classic

Today, fuel-injection is no big deal. But lets roll back the clock at least 60 years. The first successful mechanical application of gasoline F-I was in the V-12 engines used in the WW II Messerschmitt Bf 109 airplane. After the war, Mercedes-Benz used direct-injection in their W. 196 Grand Prix racer, the 300 SLR racing car, and 300 SL sports car. Mercedes-Benz used a “timed direct-port injection” that was very efficient, but complex and expensive.

In the early ‘50s, the world of sports cars was pioneered by European car makers. Fortunately for us, one of the most powerful and influential designers in Detroit had the sports car bug. GM’s Harley Earl envisioned an American sports car and most of us are familiar with the beauty queen turned street brawler Corvette story. As fate would have it, Chevrolet chief engineer, Ed Cole hired another key player, a man with sports car engineering and racing experience – Zora Arkus-Duntov. Fortunately, GM had an engineer that understood the complexities of F-I, one John Dolza from the Rochester Division.

Continue reading “1957 Fuel-Injected Corvette: Detroit’s First Fuelie” →

Baldwin-Motion Phase III Corvettes – Part 1 of 3

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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” →

The World’s Only Jet Turbine-Powered Corvette!!!

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1978 Jet Turbine-Powered Corvette “Granatelli’s Jet Vette”


The January 2011 issue of VETTE Magazine is out (I know, I know, it’s only the beginning of November) and in my Illustrated Corvette Series No. 163 column I have covered the one and only, 1978 jet turbine-powered Corvette. The world’s ONLY jet-Vette is alive and well in an undisclosed location in Ohio. This is a story of unbridled imagination. Enjoy! – Scott

Detroit in the 50s and ‘60s was a time of “let’s try it” thinking. GM tinkered with the turbine-engine Firebird I, II, and III cars in the ‘50s. Chrysler had been making turboprop engines since before WW II and started their turbine car program in ‘54. Turbine-powered race cars showed up at the Indy 500 in ‘62 and ‘66, with little success. But it was the red STP-sponsored, Andy Granatelli car that stunned everyone in ‘67. By the end of the second turn of the first lap, Parnelli Jones took the lead until rain stopped the race. The next day, Jones picked up where he’s left off, leaving everyone far behind, until lap 197 when a $5 transmission ball bearing broke, putting the car out of the race. Granatelli was back the following year, but restrictions placed on his Lotus-built turbine car ended the Indy 500 turbine experience forever. Continue reading “The World’s Only Jet Turbine-Powered Corvette!!!” →

C7 Transformers-Centennial Corvette Roadster: Hot? Cool? Not?

Published on by Scott

So, what do you think? Would this work for you as the C7 Corvette Roadster?

One of the cool things about running a blog such as CorvetteReport.com is that you can track topics – what’s hot – what’s not. Speculation over the pending C7 Corvette is smokin hot! Perhaps it’s just the ho-hum economy and Corvette fans are looking for something to look forward to. After all, is the C6 Corvette deficient? We won’t get into the interior issue, suffice to say that there still might be time for a C6 interior upgrade, just to quiet the nit-pickers.

I have some other thoughts on C7 speculation that I’ll save for the next post, but for now, let’s take a gander at the latest variation on the Transformers/Centennial concept Corvette – the Roadster version, as well as an interesting application of the concept car’s styling queues to a C6 coupe. Continue reading “C7 Transformers-Centennial Corvette Roadster: Hot? Cool? Not?” →