eBay Find of the Day: 1972 Baldwin Motion Moray GT Corvette

Back in the late sixties, Joel Rosen and his Motion Performance speed shop was the go to place on the East Coast for serious automotive performance. Joel had partnered with Baldwin Chevrolet on Long Island to build turn-key street racers out of new Camaros, Novas Chevelles and Corvettes. During the years of 1967-74, hundreds of Motion-branded cars were built including this ultra-rare 1 of 1 1972 Moray GT Corvette which is now being offered on eBay.

The recent history of the Moray GT has been pretty well documented with photo spreads in both Corvette Fever and Hemmings. But prior to 2006, the car was almost lost to history. Dan Hayes found the car listed on eBay a few years back. Although it was listed as a Motion performance Corvette, the seller wasn’t quite sure what he had and listed the undocumented car at $30,000. Hayes turned to Rayburn Pennington, a longtime friend and an owner of a 1 of 3 1973 Baldwin Motion Manta Ray. Rayburn went directly to the source and called up Joel Rosen who told them what to look for. As details started to come together that verified the Corvette’s lineage back to Rosen, the seller attempted to double the price of the auction. Hayes was faster and used eBay’s “Buy It Now” feature to enter into a binding legal contract to buy the Corvette. The seller ultimately agreed to sell and Hayes got the rare Motion Corvette he always wanted.

One of the unique aspects of the Moray GT is that it was essentially cobbled together with parts from several different Motion packages. The front end treatment was that of the Motion Maco Shark, a design featuring a clam-shell hood with a recessed grille and hidden headlights. The rear comes from the Motion Manta Ray that has an extended sloping rear window with custom glass and a very high spoiler as its most notable design features. Inside, Motion’s custom interior gives the Moray GT button-tucked diamond patterned seats, door panels and dash. Motion plaques are located throughout the car, from the hood and inside the cockpit, to gracing the valve covers under the hood.

And speaking of under the hood, the Moray GT is powered by the factory LS5 454 with an output estimated to be 475 horsepower. An Edelbrock aluminum intake and a Holley carb sit on top while the hooker headers and sidepipes provide plenty of air-flow out of the big block engine. The 454 cubic inch V8 is mated to an M22 Rock Crusher with a 3.73:1 posi rearend.

Following the restoration that returned the Moray GT back to its original glory, Joel Rosen provided the ultimate documentation by personally reviewing the Corvette and leaving his signature on the drivers side t-top panel and in the center of dash pad.

This unique one of a kind custom Corvette has been offered for sale on ebay with a “Buy-It-Now” price of $600,000 and just three days remain on the clock. The seller is considering offers so take your best shot. You could be driving off into the sunset in one of the rarest Baldwin Motion Corvettes ever built!

Sources:
ebay, Hemmings & Corvette Fever

Related:
Corvettes on eBay: #1 of 5 1993 Lister Corvette
2005 Monterey Auction Results