The ex-Otis Chandler 500 horsepower Corvette is the centerpiece of Kevin Suydam’s spectacular Corvette and musclecar collection.
“Lurking in the dark like some hunchback, this Corvette’s sole purpose seems to be the removal, by force of speed, of pink slips from unsuspecting naifs.”
That is how author-photographer Randy Leffingwell describes this ‘69 Baldwin-Motion Phase III SS-427 Corvette, “Joel Rosen’s Saturday Night Special”, in American Muscle Cars, his coffee-table book on Otis Chandler’s legendary Museum.
Today this stunning, unrestored 14,451-mile white-trimmed, LeMans Blue Corvette resides in another sensational collection, surrounded by the quickest, fastest, rarest and most exotic examples of factory-built and low-volume “dealer/tuner” muscle machinery. Kevin Suydam’s collection is considered by true Musclecar aficionados to be the best of the best. Photo, right, Kevin, right, with Chronicles Editor, Marty Schorr at the Collection.
Originally built for Richard Eyajan in 1969, this Corvette started life as a 427/435 tri-power Stingray and, because of its exposure in the Chandler collection and coverage in American Muscle Cars, has become one of the highest profile Baldwin-Motion Corvettes. It’s also featured in MOTION Performance, Tales Of A Muscle Car Builder.
As a teenager in Kodiak, AK, Kevin Suydam learned about high-performance cars by reading every car magazine available. He dreamed of owning a Baldwin-Motion car even though he had never seen one in person.
“Of all the Chevrolet dealer-built specialty cars, Baldwin-Motion products, especially the Phase III versions, offered the ultimate in performance plus maximum-impact image. When I graduated high school in 1970 and moved to Seattle, WA, I bought my first real high-performance car,” said Suydam.
It wasn’t until the early-1990s that Kevin Suydam got seriously interested in collecting Baldwin-Motion cars. His first purchases were a 1969 SS-427 Camaro and a Phase III SS-427 Corvette, both still in the collection. The Baldwin-Motion Corvette was part of a two-car package from Chandler’s Museum that also included the ultra-rare, black-striped white ZL1 Corvette powered by an all-aluminum 427.
Originally delivered by Baldwin Chevrolet to Ohioan Richard Eyajan, the Phase III Corvette was invoiced at $7,672.45. The conversion from 435 horsepower factory tri-power to single four-barrel Phase III status included a Weiand high-rise alloy intake manifold, 850-cfm dual-feed Holley (L88) carburetor, dual electric fuel pump, Motion Phase III cam and valve train, Motion-Mallory Super-Spark ignition and tuned headers plumbed to the factory side exhausts. Also installed were Super-Bite suspension and traction bar, LeMans alloy fuel filler, L88 scooped hood, fender flares, slotted and polished mags, GT mirrors, SS-427 emblems and signature paint treatment.
With its original matching number 500 horsepower big-block, close-ratio M21 four-speed and 4.11 Posi gears, this unique Corvette still delivers ground-pounding performance. However, because of its low original miles, Suydam doesn’t drive the car very often.
“One of the reasons I don’t take the Corvette out often is that its thundering exhaust note often sets off alarms of cars parked along the road,” joked Suydam!
The single largest collector of Baldwin-Motion cars, Kevin Suydam, considers his Phase III SS-427 Corvette to be one of the most important cars in his spectacular collection.
“While my 1967 L88 (one of 20 built) and 1969 ZL1 Corvettes are the most valuable, historically-significant production cars in my collection, the Phase III SS-427 Baldwin-Motion Corvette is the centerpiece. It represents the first low-volume, modified or tuner Corvette that could be ordered new from a Chevrolet dealer. While surely not as sophisticated as a Callaway Corvette, the Phase III Stingray predates it by decades.”
The Phase III Corvette has been given permanent status in Suydam’s collection and will most likely never be sold. For more information about Kevin Suydam’s Collection, please visit, http://www.corvettes-musclecars.com/gallery2/main.php
Check out the history of Baldwin-Motion and its latest 427 & 454 Camaros at, http://www.officialbaldwinmotion.com/ and, http://www.amazon.com/Motion-Performance-Tales-Muscle-Builder/dp/0760335389