Corvettes on eBay: Super Rare 1 of 10 1969 Baldwin-Motion Phase III GT Corvette

Mar 31, 2015

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Corvettes on eBay: Super Rare 1 of 10 1969 Baldwin-Motion Phase III GT Corvette

If you’re a fan of just about any type of car, but especially if you’re a Corvette fan, a web browsing trip through eBay Motors on a regular basis is almost required—you just never knows what rare, odd, unusual, or just plain cool cars will show up. Currently being offered for sale is a super rare 1969 Baldwin-Motion Phase III GT Corvette with only 46,160 miles on the odometer. The auction ends Sunday, April 5, 2015 at 3:06 p.m. You can be sure that the current bid of $55,655 will not be close to the selling price. So far there have been 14 bids and, needless to say, the reserve has not been met.

Between the mid 1960s and the mid 1970s, if you wanted a Corvette, or any other Chevrolet product, that would absolutely kick butt at any drag strip in the country, Joel Rosen at Motion Performance was the man to see. Joel and Baldwin Chevrolet, a small dealer on Long Island, formed the partnership Baldwin-Motion through which one could order any Chevrolet product through Baldwin, and Motion Performance would add virtually any performance goodies you wanted to the car before it was delivered to you.

The fame of Baldwin-Motion cars far exceeded the numbers that were made thanks mainly to their overwhelming success at the drag strip. Joel offered a unique money back guarantee with his Phase III cars. Baldwin-Motion guaranteed they will turn at least 120 mph in 11.50 seconds or better with an M/P-approved driver on an AHRA or NHRA sanctioned drag strip. If any car failed to perform as stated, Motion would take the car back and refund the price to the customer. Joel Rosen recently said of his warranty, “I never had to pay out a dime.”

The 1969 Phase III GT for sale on eBay is one of 10 ever built and packs a 427 big-block producing something north of 500 horsepower. The Phase III GTs had a fastback-type rear window that made the area behind the seats more accessible, in addition to its radical front-end treatment, flared fenders and recessed headlights. The 427 connects to a an original Muncie M21 four-speed transmission. The car also includes:

Side exhaust
Functional hood scoop
Carpeted stowage area behind the seats
Firebird slit taillights
Motion slotted wheels
Edelbrock manifold

This car is the only Phase III GT to have Shelby GT side scoops on the B-pillars.

We did a little digging and discovered that this Phase III GT is from the Richard Berry collection was offered at auction in Mecum’s Kissimmee Auction in January of 2014, but was not sold. Sale price estimates at that time from Mecum ranged between $225,000 and $275,000. It will certainly be interesting to see where the bidding goes on this one. It’s a very rare and famous example of Corvette and Baldwin-Motion performance history.

Since there is no more football on Sunday, you may want to find a comfy chair, a beverage or two, and some munchies and watch the last hour or two of this auction. When the clock starts ticking down, it’s always interesting to see which bidder is willing to pull the trigger on what may be a six-figure purchase.