For less than $3,000, you could buy a Baldwin-Motion ’68 BIG-BLOCK, LOW-BUCK CHEVROLET with dyno-tuned 427/425 power, four-speed, and F41 suspension!
Overshadowed by the SS-427 Impala in the late-1960s, few enthusiasts were aware that Chevrolet was building a low-end, two-door “post” Biscayne that could be optioned with a 425 horsepower 427 big-block and four-on-the-floor. In 1968, Baldwin-Motion’s entry-level SS-427 Biscayne Street Racer’s Special, with a dyno-tuned 427/425 big-block, close-ratio four-speed transmission, Posi rear, F41 suspension with rear sway bar, HD radiator, and distinctive badging, was just $2,998.00!
The overwhelming majority of production 427-powered, full-size Chevys were optioned with the hydraulic-lifter 385-horsepower version of the venerable big-block. Baldwin-Motion’s Street Racer’s Special came with the solid-lifter L72 Turbo-Jet 427 with 11-to-l forged aluminum pistons, solid-lifter .491/.495-inch-lift camshaft, 785-cfm Holley four-barrel on an aluminum high-rise manifold, dual-point ignition, and tuned cast-iron exhaust manifolds. It was the ultimate ’68 BIG-BLOCK, LOW-BUCK CHEVROLET.
Joel Rosen and testers at Hi-Performance CARS Magazine took a brand new SS-427 Street Racer’s Special Biscayne to Raceway Park in Englishtown, NJ. The results were impressive, considering the hulking sedan weighed approximately 3,600 pounds and was shod with optional street performance tires. After a number of 13.88- 14.00-second runs, Rosen played with the plugs and timing and ran a best of the day – over 100 mph in 13.40 seconds! Running against the stopwatch, CARS magazine staffers recorded several 6.4 to 6.8-second 0 to 60 mph sprints at Englishtown.
According to Rosen, “Most Street Racer’s Specials had transaction prices in the mid-$4,000 price range.” The base 427/425 Biscayne at $2,998.00 came with slow manual steering, non-power brakes, and bench seating. Only dyno-tuning and status badging distinguished it from a factory stocker.
For more information on the ’68 BIG-BLOCK, LOW-BUCK CHEVROLET and the complete line of full-size models including the SS-427 Impala, check out OVER-DRIVE magazine @ https://over-drive-magazine.com/2025/03/05/1968-chevrolet-full-size-cars-fact-sheet/