RIP: Joel Rosen aka Mr. Motion of Motion Performance Passes Away at Age 83

The Corvette (and Camaro) world recently lost another member of the “old guard” as Joel Rosen of Motion Performance fame passed away on October 9th, 2023, just shy of his 84th birthday after a one-year battle with cancer.

Joel was known as Mr. Motion throughout the high-performance era for modding Camaros and Corvettes out of his Motion Performance shop on Long Island. In the late 1960s, he teamed up with a local NY Chevrolet dealer and created the brand of Baldwin-Motion with his friend Marty Schorr who was editor of “Hi-Performance Cars” magazine. The Baldwin Motion partnership saw Rosen and his shop responsible for some of the most powerful Chevy supercars ever built while stories of his car’s exploits were featured extensively in Schorr’s magazines.

Joel got his start tuning engines and making performance modifications in the early ’60s after a stint in the Air Force in which he attended the Reciprocating Engine Mechanics School at Shepherd Air Force Base in Texas where he honed his skills as an engine tuner and builder. He opened his own shop in 1963 in Brooklyn which had one of the only dynos in the area and he soon became the go-to guy for preparing cars for racing. During this time, he and his wife Judith were highly successful in local racing circles after campaigning a fuel-injected 1963 Corvette Split-Window Coupe known as the Skunk due to its Daytona Blue exterior with a white stripe.

Joel Rosen, Motion Brooklyn 1963 Fuelie with trophies

“Each Wednesday evening, we ran at Roosevelt Raceway (eighth-mile drags), Fridays it was Islip (eighth-mile drags) and Saturdays it was Westhampton (quarter-mile drags). Sundays were reserved for road racing and solo gymkhana events,” said Rosen in a magazine interview. “One Wednesday night I won Stock Eliminator at Roosevelt, blowing the doors off the undefeated local champ, Gary Stowe, in his 409 Impala. I also unseated the reigning Islip champ (modified 409/425 Chevy) the first time out. We raced the Skunk between four and five times a week.”

A few later the shop was moved to Baldwin on Long Island, and its at that time that Joel and Baldwin Motion were building high performance Chevrolets utilizing the new L88 engine which was available on any Baldwin Motion Chevy. One of those is the iconic KO-MOTION 1967 Corvette driven by “Astoria Chas” Snyder who would later lose his life serving in Vietnam, but his Corvette lived on to set records including the A/Corvette AHRA World Record of 11.04 at 129 mph.

1967 L88 Corvette ‘KO-MOTION’

Beginning in 1969, Motion Performance deviated from the engine tuning script as Joel began building his Phase III GTs which also included extensive body modifications in addition to the engine upgrades. The Phase III GTs came with Motion Performance’s guarantee of running 120 mph at 11.50 seconds or better at sanctioned drag strips. It’s said that 12 Phase III GTs were built and none were the same due to the heavy customization ordered by the individual owners. Other custom Corvettes to come from Motion Performance including the Motion Maco Sharks, Motion Manta Rays, and the Motion Can-Am Spyder.

In the mid-seventies, the reign of Motion Performance came to an end due to the oil embargo, increasing fuel economy standards, and the EPA’s targeting of performance shops. In the 1980s Joel was known more for his expertise in breeding snakes and he was the largest breeder of rare boas and pythons in the US. Joel was also fascinated by 18th and 19th Century Japanese culture which led to him and his wife Judith amassing the latest collection of rare vintage Ningyo dolls outside of Japan. Later in life he was selling highly detailed aircraft and naval collectible models.

Joel Rosen with the Baldwin Motion 540 SuperCoupe at SEMA 2005

Joel returned to the automotive world in the mid-2000s with the creation of the 540 Camaro SuperCoupe which won the GM Design Award at the 2005 SEMA show. There was also a limited build of 1969 SS-427 engines and 12 Phase III Baldwin-Motion Camaros were also built.

Rosen had kept all of his paperwork from his days running Motion Performance and he offered a documenting service to help buyers or owners determine whether or not a high-performance Corvette, Camaro or other GM vehicle was built at Motion Performance. This service will continue under the guidance of Chevrolet performance enthusiast Kasey Alford who purchased Rosen’s archives. He can be contacted at [email protected].

Joel Rosen with longtime friend and partner Marty Schorr in 2005

Joel Rosen was a loving husband, father and grandfather and is survived by Judith, his spouse of 62 years, daughter Robin Sue Rosen, son Shawn Rosen, daughter-in law, Robin Rosen, and grandchildren Zachary, Travis and Bailey Rosen. His favorite pets – Ragnar (dog) and Archie (Kinkajou) also survive him.

Joel Rosen’s story and the history of Motion and Baldwin-Motion are the subjects of a book, MOTION Performance Tales Of A Muscle Car Builder by Martyn L. Schorr.

Joel Rosen in 1967

Thanks to Marty Schorr for his update on Mr. Motion’s passing and for providing the photos for this article.

Related:
MCACN 2011: Motion Maco Corvette Unveiling
Last Baldwin-Motion Phase III GT Corvette Found
Baldwin-Motion Phase III Corvette at Eyes on Design Show

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