Duane, Email me the pics and I can sharpen them up as well as drop the file size down to show more detail and fit on the board.
Well we had a successful Photo-shoot today. This was the third time it was scheduled, with the first 2 being rained out. My friends Bill Jennings and Tim Garland came out to help and everything worked great. Below are a couple of shots that people never get to see, that is pics of the guy that was doing it. His name is Richard Prince and he took tons of stationary pics, plus some of the car in motion running down the highway. He is a very nice guy. The sun that you see behind the car is the sunrise. Billy and I had to get up by 3:30 Am to make this happen, so I am a little tired right now. The shots were taken at a business at the West Chester airport, which was the same location he used to photograph Tim's GSX. Enjoy. Duane
OK, I know there were different types of vehicles produced at the Motion Performance Shop but have now come to understand the way they are described/worded has huge differences as to their value and historical significance. Let's go into the differences as I understand them; "Baldwin Motion Cars" These cars were ordered new by Baldwin Chevrolet, then sent to Motion Performance where they had their performance updates, and then sold as new cars with factory warranties. By definition I believe they are all Chevrolets and were offered in many different models. Supposedly Joel Rosen has the vin numbers for all these cars and can document them. "Motion Cars" These were vehicles that were built at Motion Performance and were sold as "Motion Cars". These would include Phase III Cars, Corvette GT's, Mako Sharks, etc. They were built to a high level of performance, often with body/hood changes, were often stripped, and were made to carry on the "Motion" name. Both these cars and the "Baldwin Motion" cars were the heavy hitters of their time. I believe Joel Rosen also has the vin numbers for all these cars and can document them as well. "Motion Equipped Cars" These are the cars that customers brought into the Motion Performance shop for upgrades. The upgrades they received could have been as mild as a dyno'd tune up all the way to the full Phase III performance package and everything in between. These cars are also called "Shop Cars" or "Conversions", and the upgrades they received were dictated by what the owners wanted. Over the years Motion did hundreds of these cars and did not keep track of what was done to each car, or of the cars themselves, like they did with the "Baldwin Motion" and "Motion" cars. My car is one of these "Shop" cars, and I have described it as such in posts on this thread and in other places as well. I have not described it as anything other than that. My only mistake has been with calling it a "Motion Car" and not a "Motion Equipped Car". When people say it is not a "Motion Car" they are actually saying it was not one of the Heavy Hitters that was built and sold by Motion Performance as a "Motion Car"................However, what they are not saying is that it is not one of the hundreds of "Shop" cars that were built at Motion Performance. Now the people that own, built, and track these cars are just as adamant with regards to correctness as we are with our GSX's, and rightfully so. Also, just like not all Gran Sports are Stage 1's, and not all Stage 1's are GSX's, the same can be said for the Motion produced vehicles. Not all of them were "Baldwin Motion" or "Motion" cars, but quite a few were "Shop/Motion Equipped" vehicles. I talked to Phil about these "Shop" cars and asked why there is so little information out there about them. He said they were raced/wrecked/stolen/repainted etc. and basically got used up. He also said there was very little interest in these cars until the late 80's and by then most of them were gone. This same thing almost happened to my car. The guy that Jimmy bought it from was getting ready to repaint the car and make it into a race car. He had already started to sand down the stripes and was selling off pieces. If he had continued this the car would probably not have been recognized for what it was. The letter I have from Joel Rosen basically states it was a "Shop" car. If it is anything more than that, then I don't know about it. Again, as described earlier in this thread, we built the car as we found it and added a few extra "Period Correct" parts to it. We also beefed up the motor past what it originally was, but that just makes it more fun to drive. In the "Buick" world this is basically the best we can hope for, regarding Motion produced vehicles, as I do not know of any Buicks that were bought by Motion Performance and sold as "Motion Cars". Hopefully this "book" I have written clears everything up, if not then I can't explain it any better. I will change the title of this thread to better describe the car and will call it out as a "Motion Equipped" car when/if I put a sign together for the car shows. Thanks for taking the time to read all of this. Duane
Just finished giving all the background information the magazine people wanted. Should be interesting. Duane
Beautiful car. Well done on the restoration. “Motion Equipped” by Motion is good enough for me and in my opinion doesn't adversely affect this cars value or historical significance in the slightest. Though, to me at least, having the correct terminology to describe it now provides a level of confidence that it will be recognized and regarded for the special car that it is without the undertones of doubt. Its definitely in my Top 5 Buicks.
Thanks Jim, The magazine guys actually seemed more interested because it was a shop car. I guess they don't see many of these. Duane
The article is finished and has been sent to the editer. Richard Prince, who was the photographer also wrote the article, and it turned out really nice. He wanted me to proof it, and I tweaked a few things, but he did a great job. I will let you guys know how it turns out when I learn more. Duane
Hot Rod coverage!! Hot Rod Network: Buick Community Helped Restore Rare GS. https://www.hotrod.com/articles/buick-community-helped-restore-rare-gs/
Great article and pictures. Fantastic job Duane and Nick. Congratulations for saving this rare piece of history.
It takes a dedicated, knowledgeable, and somewhat sick person to take a car to the level of detail this one was taken. Absolutely beautiful! Congrats Duane and everyone else involved in the project.
^^^Agreed!^^^ The right person ended up with this car. Duane is meticulous and very detail oriented, this car deserved nothing less. All involved should be proud. I only wish I had something I could've contributed.
Shawn, Everyone on this board contributed something. The encouragement I received here went a long way to keeping us going. Duane
