When you shop for a classic car, it pays to know what you’re looking for. Of course, that can be difficult — most of us cannot learn so much information at the spur of the moment, or perhaps the level of online or printed information is poor (and, let’s be honest, AI is no help). However, I am going to show you one bit of information with our Pick of the Day that may make or break your consideration. This 1970 Pontiac GTO Judge is listed for sale on ClassicCars.com by a dealership in Benson, North Carolina.
Despite what you may read on some lousy websites or Facebook groups, the Judge package for the 1969 GTO did not create a competitor to the Plymouth Road Runner. The concept can trace its origins to a Tempest-based Road Runner-fighter, but it evolved from that because John DeLorean did not want a model to poach sales from the GTO. Instead — and DeLorean deserves a heap of credit for this — he asked for the creation of the opposite. What DeLorean ended up approving was a GTO in a bright orange color with stripes, spoiler, and upgraded Ram Air engine.
Why is DeLorean worthy of credit? Because he anticipated things that were going on in the market. Sure, he missed the opportunity for a low-buck performance car like the Road Runner, but look what was going on in 1969-70: Hurst/Olds, Mercury Cyclone Spoiler and Cougar Eliminator, Buick GSX, and AMC Rebel Machine. The Judge also was first to market, though Mercury did a test run of “Color Code” cars before the Spoiler was officially released in the spring of 1969.
Advertising wonk Jim Wangers (who never worked at Pontiac, despite the claims of those very websites mentioned above) was totally against the Judge returning for 1970. The GTO was restyled, giving stylists something new to play with when it came to Judge decals and spoiler, but Wangers was a marketing purist at heart, believing the Judge was created to kick sales up a notch for one moment, then disappear. Of course, that didn’t happen, as you can see here.
Aside from the new styling, the GTO introduced a new 455 that replaced the 1967-69 428, an engine never available for the GTO. Ram Air was available for the 455, but it was considered to be a lesser engine than the Ram Air III and Ram Air IV 400 engines — strange, considering General Motors finally allowed engine sizes competitive with its rivals. Possible reasons? New management was not friendly to performance (with DeLorean now at Chevrolet), and the Ram Air V engine that ended up not achieving production status.
We began with the premise that knowledge is power or, to paraphrase Sy Syms, an educated consumer is the best customer. You may desire a 1970 Pontiac GTO Judge and like what you see, but this may not be the Judge for you — whether it is may depend on your age and disposition. The key here is the invoice from PHS Automotive Services that clearly shows the close-ratio transmission (M21). So? Look at the performance brochure and the “prestige” brochure and, among all the small type, it says Close-ratio (available only with 3.90:1 and 4.33:1 axle ratios for special driving). Yes, this Judge has digger gears (indicated in the invoice as axle-spec-ord), which means it’s a poor highway cruiser and air conditioning won’t be on the option list. Do you really need AC, Boomer?
Nonetheless, there’s a lot to like about this Atoll Blue Judge powered by the Ram Air III 400, such as the 8-track, Rally Gauges, special springs and shocks, heavy-duty radiator, remote mirror, and console, among other items. Given the $98,500 price, you better make sure you’re the target market for this Judge.
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