I noticed that there is a 70 Nova L78 car bought from a Dealership in North New Jersey and sent to Motion Performance.Awesome looking Motion Nova!!

its a beautiful looking Nova but I wonder if sending your car there after buying it from somewhere else really makes it a motion car??? I know you could have bought all the go fast goodies from motion back in the day via mail order. Would a car built that way be a motion car??? Awesome car none the less :)

BUT I guess since Joel says its a Motion car then I guess it is...;)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/__Cars-Trucks_1970-Motion-Performance-SS396-Nova-Numbers-Matching_W0QQitemZ190223134100QQptdnZCarsQ20Q26Q20 TrucksQQptdiZ2282QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item190223134 100&


All I can say about it is I wish it was mine:D

Good point,there was a 68 Camaro recently found in Hawaii that is a similer situation but has owner history and paperwork.Car was bought new from a Dealership in California then sometime after being driven for a while was sent to Dana Chevrolet for 427 transplant.

By the way in or around 1972 Baldwin Chevrolet closed its doors,so Joel brought cars in from other Dealerships. Joel told me over the phone he brought cars in from Reedman Chevolet in Langhorne PA now owned by Bruce Toll ,of Toll Brothers house builders.

its a beautiful looking Nova but I wonder if sending your car there after buying it from somewhere else really makes it a motion car??? I know you could have bought all the go fast goodies from motion back in the day via mail order. Would a car built that way be a motion car??? Awesome car none the less :)

BUT I guess since Joel says its a Motion car then I guess it is...;)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/__Cars-Trucks_1970-Motion-Performance-SS396-Nova-Numbers-Matching_W0QQitemZ190223134100QQptdnZCarsQ20Q26Q20 TrucksQQptdiZ2282QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item190223134 100&


All I can say about it is I wish it was mine:D

Short answer is yes; as Motion did all of the work (or you could it yourself just as well) he didn't sell COPO vehicles that were built by the factory. It is the relative rarity of a COPO vehicle (supply side limitation) that makes a Motion car less valuable than a car Don Yenko sold (even though all he did was to fill out an order form without getting his hands dirty).

So far as that goes I am not taking anything away from Don; as he was a racer and engine builder that made his claim to fame racing Corvairs. My Baldwin-Motion Phase III Camaro had an L-88 crate motor built by Don Yenko under the hood (it left the factory as a 1967 350 SS/RS). It used a special aftermarket casting (as in Dart or Merlin; but actually cast by Chevrolet's Tonawanda plant) with Don's last name cast above the timing cover signifying the higher nickel and tin content in the four bolt main block.

Baldwin Chevrolet loved the idea of COPO cars but hated the idea of investing their own cash into ordering them from the factory. Luckily Yenko was not that far away geographically so they often bought cars and motors from Yenko in PA for resale or installation in the cars they did get on consignment from GM.

Big Dave

LAB Machine Services and Flagship Marina both of Long Island did Machine Shop Services for Motion Built cars.These are the 2 I know of personally through my extensive research of the Motion built cars. Tom Fileman was owner of Flagship marina.Have a old article on Flagship Marina and have personally talked to Tom. He shared info that was real neat.By the way he did stamp the engine pads with a invoice work order number....

Seems back in the Day Camaro Supercars were plenty,Harrell Camaros,Nickey Camaros(Harrell & Bill Thomas),Dana Chevrolet Camaros,Motion Camaros,Baldwin Motion Camaros,Scuncio Camaros,Norwood Camaros (Mel Perry),Yenko Camaros,Berger Camaros,Malchom Konners Camaros,Wallace Camaros,,,,Most in 1969 were Factory Copo Camaros,some doing transplants to 427 with L-88 's for example.Now it seems that the Novas have come into their own since so few were transplanted to 427 or modified by places like Motion Performance who did whatever the customer wanted,even interior dyes and change of paint.Dan McMichaels Motion Camaro had a change of paint by Joel Rosen of Motion Performance.Now how rare is that,again Change OF Paint,not sure of anyone else doing that for customers backin the day!! Battaglia Autobody of West Orange NJ or Batt Autobody was one of those that did work for Joel. Article on Canadian Killer Corvette that Joel Rosen of Motion Performance have had Battaglia Autobody do the car! Pretty neat stuff!

Seems back in the Day Camaro Supercars were plenty,Harrell Camaros,Nickey Camaros(Harrell & Bill Thomas),Dana Chevrolet Camaros,Motion Camaros,Baldwin Motion Camaros,Scuncio Camaros,Norwood Camaros (Mel Perry),Yenko Camaros,Berger Camaros,Malchom Konners Camaros,Wallace Camaros,,,,Most in 1969 were Factory Copo Camaros,some doing transplants to 427 with L-88 's for example.Now it seems that the Novas have come into their own since so few were transplanted to 427 or modified by places like Motion Performance who did whatever the customer wanted,even interior dyes and change of paint.Dan McMichaels Motion Camaro had a change of paint by Joel Rosen of Motion Performance.Now how rare is that,again Change OF Paint,not sure of anyone else doing that for customers backin the day!! Battaglia Autobody of West Orange NJ or Batt Autobody was one of those that did work for Joel. Article on Canadian Killer Corvette that Joel Rosen of Motion Performance have had Battaglia Autobody do the car! Pretty neat stuff!

Every dealer in the country was willing to install equipment or options back then, some got a rep for their efforts, others (Baldwin-Motion) advertised; and still others remained unknown.

Back in my day Ferman Chevrolet was big into road racing and backed David Heinz with three 7.0 liter Corvettes sponsored by McDonalds a new "fast" food joint that had just opened up in town. They raced around the world but it was too elite a crowd for such a common car for them to reap any good "press" for their efforts.

Ferman would order COPO cars from the factory and did. They would also put anything the customer wanted in anything that had a flat rate labor code they could bill against. So there were many motors swapped at the dealer that said 396 that left with 427’s. All it took was a crate motor sitting on the floor of the parts show room to spark additional sales. I bought three L-88’s that way before I learned how to build my own.

Big Dave

Big Dave,Yes I totally agree with lesser known Dealerships doing 427 engine swaps.I know myself of several.What Motion had going was people like Marty Schorr to promote Joel Rosen and Motion Performance.Marty wrote for several HiPerf Eastcoast magazines back then. Also the fact that Billy Mitchell who ran the 68 Black AMP Motion Camaro of Motion Performance and later opened World Products. Dennis Ferrara with the Motion Sponsered 1970 Camaro also helped promote the Name Motion Performance too back then. Joel did Full race Competition L-88 motors for Novas and Camaro customers.Being the loction helped too,right close to NY city and across from NJ. I personally met Brooklyn Heavy in Jersey City back in Jan of this year and he was owner of 2 Motion cars,one he got to see again that day on January of this year.Brooklyn knew Joel from his very beginnings when Joel had a repair station in Brooklyn NY. Joel was there at the right time,right location and had the right people at the time to make this happen!!

Nice car but come on $200,000? Really?

1968MotionL88Nova and Big Dave you are both exactly right. I am the owner of the car that you guys are talking about here on this forum. Kind of funny you mention Marty Schorr because he is the guy that is writing the book now about Motion Cars. He wants some information about this car because he feels it is super rare and very interesting. I think it would be a honor to have my car in his book or even a mention of it. I tell you Joel and Marty really knew what they were doing back in those days. I just wish Joel was a little more open to discussion on his cars like Carol Shelby is. I don't mean to the point that everyone could start cloning out his cars. I respect the fact that he has put a cap on his parts being recreated all over the place. After all it is his creations and I think it's only right that he gets the money for the parts he sells on the cars. I know if it was me I would be eager to talk about the awesome pieces of history I had created. They are truly works of art. Theses cars did make him and put him in the position he is in today. He says well these cars are in the past and I have moved on. I know it's in the past, but without the past there would have been no money coming in to invest in the future.........:). Anyway, I am off my soapbox now so I just wanted to let everyone know I appreciate all the cool comments about my car. She is one bad mamba jamba!! And for the comment by raidmagic. Do a little checking and you will see that Motion cars, Yenkos etc bring a pretty penny. Heck, there is close to 2 years invested in the restoration of this car not to mention all the money it cost....lol. You guys have a good one.

Thanks, Jeff

a clone is a clone, anyone can have one... but a REAL car, now that's very very special ;)


nice car, i hope the new owner appreciates it, drives it and takes care of it... i hope it doesn't sit hiding away in someone's shop never to be driven as it was intended ;)


Johnny (drive it like ya stole it) but don't get caught :D

I lowered the Reserve on the car and it has been met at $111,100. I have tons of people watching this auction and the car will go to the high bidder. Someone is going to get one heck of a deal, and I believe people will bid to win. If it doesn't then I guess it's my loss. :eek:

Thanks, Jeff H.

And for the comment by raidmagic. Do a little checking and you will see that Motion cars, Yenkos etc bring a pretty penny.

Yes they do and I felt $200,000 was high. Appearently others agreed. Congrats on the sale.