Brahms Chevrolet, Palisades Park NJ

[jannes_z-28]

We have a 69 SS/RS here in Sweden that is supposed to have a dealer installed 427 by Brahms Chevrolet, Palisades Park in New Jersey. It was ordered for racing by some Carleen and sponsored by Brahms according to the story. It was raced at Englishtown between 69 and 71. The present owner here has some documentation like the service book wer it says:

SERVICE INSTALLED 427 HIGHPERF ENGINE FOR OFF HIGHWAY USE ONLY. VOIDS THIS CONTRACT OF NEW VEHICLE WARRENTY. Then it has the VIN 124379N550532 and a stamp: WARRANTY Brahms Chevrolet Company,inc. date 3/21/69 Void

Anyone knows anything about this dealer and possible the car.

http://tott.ulkhyvlers.net/~mats/meetings2008/Lycksle2008/ccs/08ccslycksele7.jpg


Jan

[COPO_Anders]

Doesn´t anyone have any info about Brahms Chevrolet in Palisades Park,N.J ? Was this a highperformance dealer or just your ordinary local dealer ?

http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hmmm.gif

[PeteLeathersac]

Googling shows Brahms Chevrolet was purchased by a large Automotive dealership conglomerate called the Major Automotive Group which itself appears to be part of the Fidelity group...or the other way around?.
If you can find him, James Wallick is or has retired as Ceo of one or both of these companies after working up to this position from Ceo of one of the early dealership acquisitions, Brahms Chevrolet..
Sounds like more of a golfer than an old car guy but if you can track him down perhaps he could remember some names of those who may have been involved in the earlier years at Brahms?.
Long shot no doubt but that's the best Googling seemed to offer also I checked the NCRS database and Brahms didn't appear listed as a dealer of any of the reported Corvettes on file..

Sure sounds like a cool car...please share more pics of the car and docs if you can!.

Good luck!
http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beers.gif
~ Pete

[DaveC68]

I've had no luck myself finding any info on Brahms....
My 71 SS454 Monte Carlo was sold new there, the build sheet indicates that it was ordered by the the Chevrolet Zone Office out of Englewood New Jersey to be delivered to Brahms. http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dunno.gif

[resto4u]

That car was bought off ebay, i remember it. I think the seller might have been from iowa. There was a discusion about this car either here or team camaro in the past. Roger

[Schonyenko2]

Check the front pad stamp. I think the 427 belongs to a 68, or 69 Impala if it's the same car I'm thinking of.

[jannes_z-28]

Thanks for the info.

According to the guy who owns it now here in Sweden Brahm installed a L88 that they bought from Yenko. This engine blow up in 1971 and after that the car was stored for many years. It was sold from Brahms as a race car with cage and other stuff. It had the name Carleen and was sponsored by Brahms. They apparently sold a few other Camaros like this one in 1969.

Jan

[COPO_Anders]

How was the term "service installed" used back in 1969. Is it a way of saying that it was installed by the service department, regardless of if the car was new or a few months old, and regardless of if the engine was "healthy" or blown to pieces ?

http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dunno.gif

[COPO_Anders]

I called Joe Spino in Jersey City two days ago, since I was told that he bought most of his Chevrolet parts at Brahms. He said that they were an ordinary dealership not known for sponsoring racecars or swapping engines. He mentioned 4-5 other dealerships who was int this, I reqognized Baldwin-Motion and Burns Chevrolet among them. He could not remember one single car sponsored by Brahms even though he spent a lot of time at the tracks. He also told me, as a sidenote, that he was the second guy to drive into Raceway Park in July 1966 when they opened up at 4 am.
They had a partsdepartement with good connections into Chevrolet. He ordered a 425 hp 396 back in 1964 before there were any 396 cars in the streets. They delivered the engine but could not supply him with tune-up instructions, so a friend of his who knew Smokey called him to get the info. Joe also bought several L-88´s from Brahms.

What a supernice guy !

[dtook]

Hello Jan , I started at Brahms Chevrolet as a parts delivery person and worked my way up to assistant manager & parts manager after the sudden death of the manager . We had a massive inventory of collision parts and an even more impressive high performance parts department . We were known as a high performance dealer in the tri state region. Guys would blow up cars at the track on the weekend and buy out our inventory on Monday morning . We always had bare blocks, partial blocks, ring & pinions, cams, cranks, etc. I could go on and on . We supplied parts to powerboat builders using Chevy big block engines and famous area engine builders. I do not recall our dealership ever sponsoring a race car of any kind .However , i do recall the area factory rep getting involved in our service department doing some engine swaps including on my cousin's 1967 Impala big block.

[Carleen]

Is your name Leon?

[Neil E]

This super old tread brought back some good memories. Coop Andres said he called Joe Spino in Jersey City to ask about Brahms Chevrolet. I knew Joe very well and had a lot of good times hanging out at the Neighborhood Garage. Joe was a super nice guy and was a real character. He passed on in 2014, but the good memories will last forever.

[fsc66]

Looks like they closed the doors end of Aug 81’. Bunch of ads from early 60’s through 80’

Paul

[dtook]

My name is David . I started working at Brahms Chevrolet in 1971 and left as parts manager in 1995 . Ownership issues and the changing landscape led to it being shuttered . Samual Brahms would not have been pleased with the end result. To this day I care for relationships with former customers who are successful builders in the hot rod / Corvette restoration world. Thank you to the person who put up the Brahms closeout ad. Memory lane indeed .

[Carleen]

Its my Camaro and its Brooklyn Hevys Brooklyn Wild Pumpkin.
My understand is that Heavy bought a 430 Can Am engine at Brahms Chevy.
It was never Sponsored by Brahms.

[Carleen]

a

[Carleen]

Its a COPO 9561 (possibly also a COPO 9511) RS Baldwin Motion SS427 Phase III
VIN 124379N580532
X22 M22

[Carleen]

David. I talked to a guy named Tom Lyon that worked at Brahms Chevrolet.

Robert Parnicky who was the manager for the parts department. He was instrumental in the dealership getting into hot rod parts. When I started there he was getting rid of all the high performance parts. After 1970, auto emission requirements and auto insurance pretty much killed the era. He use to carry L88 motors, L88 short blocks and aluminum heads.All big stuff. I remember one customer who raced speed boats, he own a steel fabrication company that manufactured storage vessels for oil, ect. He would get two 454 LS7's at a time. I recall the cost for both was about $5400 US.

The building is long gone, it was torn down in the 80's and now a strip of Korean stores. Robert Parnicky died around 1979 from a heart attack.
There was a mechanic who worked there who was big into racing in the 50's and 60's by the name of John Kelch. I just remembered another guy who worked there for a while. He had a 68 Z28 and a 58 Apache panel truck. It had flames painted on it and a 425 HP 409 along with a Muncie 4 speed. I forgot his name but I know where he use to live and I think he still lives there. He started at the dealership in the late 70's.

James Wallick, the CEO of the auto group that bought Brahms was a long time after. I would say late 70's. The owner of Brahms was Mr Brahms. I forget his first name. He had a partner named Ray Moriarty. They also ran an export division in NY called Brahmo. They exported a lot of cars and parts to the middle east. Mr Brahms was pretty old when I started working there. He sold the dealership, I forget the name and I think the group bought it from them. Mr Brahms died around that time.

The COPO office in Englewood was close by and was basically a stocking warehouse for all of GM. I was there many times picking up parts. GM also had a warehouse in Bloomfield, NJ that stocked more drive train parts. That's where L88's would have been stocked along with LS7's.I was there many times as well. Any machine work or modifications would probably been done in Patterson, NJ. Patterson was a big silk manufacturing town as well as a big industrial town that supplied a lot of material for the war effort. It was and I think still is has a lot of engine shops. I use to go to these shops supplying them with parts. J&J engine balancers, Dick Simonac and Papa Huff come to mind.

The Englewood warehouse is now a shopping and housing complex. Funny, I work in Englewood for the board of education

[dtook]

Hello Carleen , Most everything is accurate . Robert Parnicky was my boss until his unexpected death . He indeed deserves credit for convincing ownership to invest heavy in high performance inventory . At that point I took over as parts manager . Mr Brahms first name was Samual . The race boat builders business name was Elizabeth Fabrication and they bought a ton of big block hardware . The owners prior to Wallick ( Apple Chevrolet )and after Brahms were Albrizio ( Albrizio Chevrolet ) Yes , long tall John Kelch was a master mechanic . I went above and beyond the call many times to get him his parts . Gasoline Alley ( Paterson NJ ) as it was known
home to J & J , Huff , Simonak were some of the best engine builders and machine services around . Before the building was torn down , I purchased the vertical double sided porcelain neon Chevrolet sign that then went to Bob Caruso a long time customer and former owner of Corvette Country of Alpine NJ and current owner of Billy Bobs Fast Expensive Cars in Jackson Township NJ.

[luzl78]

I know bob caruso very well,as well as his partner bob russo. Great guys.I bought my 67 maroon/ tan 427 Conv. Vette from bob. He still has his 66 coupe behind his shop. He put a ls7 in it and almost lost his life when he lost control under high speed. He talked to Zora about the crash and he told him the cars were not able to handle 600 hp. It’s quite a sight to see the car’s destruction and see bob still with us.

[dtook]

Iuzi78, Thank you for this reply. You must also know Bob Caruso had a
second near fatal accident ( no fault of his own )
other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Enjoy the sweet 67

[dtook]

Iuzi78, Thank you for this reply. You must also know Bob Caruso had a
second near fatal accident ( no fault of his own )
other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Enjoy the sweet 67

[luzl78]

Iuzi78, Thank you for this reply. You must also know Bob Caruso had a
second near fatal accident ( no fault of his own )
other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Enjoy the sweet 67
I did know that.I told him he’s got 7 lives left.