Neat Story: The Tale of the Iranian Baldwin Motion Phase III Camaro By Brian Lohnes Posted 02/09/10
Here's the improbable story of a 1974 Baldwin-Motion Phase III Camaro that has lived its entire life in Tehran, Iran. The car was built new by Joel Rosen and the guys at Motion Performance for a wealthy automotive enthusiast. The car survived the 1979 revolution and subsequent lockdown the country has been in seemingly ever since. It is now being restored by a group that is preserving the car collection of the late-Shah.
The car has lived an interesting life for sure and we'd venture to guess that it was and still may be the most bad ass street machine in Iran (and yes, we think it is just as odd to type that as it was for you to read it). The Phase III was a heavy breathing package which was based around a 454ci, 9:1 compression big block that wore ZL/X open chamber heads, an Edelbrock intake manifold, an 850-cfm Holley carb, and large diameter headers.
It got road tested in New York and then sent directly to Iran, where it has lived ever since. We got tipped off to the car's cool story by pal of BangShift.com, Martyn Schorr. If his name is familiar to you than you've probably seen his byline in magazines and maybe you've read one of his books. Most recently he penned the definitive Motion-Performance book, Motion Performance: Tales of a Muscle Car Builder.
Click Here to get the rest of this tale as Marty has the rest of the Camaro story and a bunch of great photos of the car prowling the streets of Tehran over at CarGuyChronicles.com.
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Written by Remy-Z
Feb 09 2010
This isn't too surprising to me. Every time I've been in Kuwait I've seen something different that has caught my eye...a Fox Mustang vs. a BUILT Iroc-Z...a bling'd out Intrepid on 22's...a nasty '01 Chevy Caprice (re: Holden Statesman) catching rubber in 3rd gear...they know how to party out there. I am surprised, however, to see a B/M [i]anything[/i] after '73...I thought the Phase III Chevelle was the last B/M car.
[img]http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/1973-1977-chevrolet-chevelle-4.jpg[/img]
Written by BangShift Forum Admin Feb 09 2010
http://www.bangshift.com/blog/Neat-Story-The-Tale-of-the-Iranian-Baldwin-Motion-Phase-III-Camaro.html
Written by Blazerteam Feb 09 2010
You americans wont believe anything,unless it happens to be in America :D.There where actually a lot of american cars in Iran.There where in fact a Cadillac factory there...maybe just a assembly factory,but anyway..there where a big market for american cars there.In later years,there have been found Dodge Daytonas there,and no..it wasnt a 87 model :D.
Shelby Mustangs too..There must have been alot of american muscle there,and probably still are..
Around the world,american muscle has its admirers..and they have in many falls,paid deeply to get their dream car.So the cars get expensive in foreign countrys,and have bigger chances of surviving.
I saw in the link,that Baldwin Motion exported a LOT of 427-454 Camaros AND Vegas.Wonder where??.Think about finding such a treasure...
Baldwin motion sold a 78 Corvette to a buyer in Norway in 78.Original with 454 ZL/X engine(Blueprinted LS/6)and M21 trans.it has survived.Heres an article from the norwegian magazine "AMCAR"in February 1980.L88 hood-minilite wheels and 69 model sidepipes where installed too.
[IMG]http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg320/blazerteam/Neste%201000%20bildan/Enno%20meira%20bilda/IMG-6.jpg[/img]