We are collecting and tabulating information on the 1969-71 Pontiac Judges.
I would like to tabulate all the info for the Judges, such as how many of a color,
convertibles, Canadian built, etc. along with the general facts in the original
building of the Judge.
If you could provide any PHS's, build sheet copies, or any relevent information, it would be appreciated.
I will soon have a tabulation up and more info when available.
P.S.
If you have a rare GTO, such as the 455 HO, WW5 or RA IV GTO's, etc.
Fill out the form and it will be included.
VIN
Build Date
Engine
Transmission
Exterior Color
Interior Color
PHS copy
Build Sheet copy
Options
Pics of cowl plate
And anything else that might be applicable
The Judge History
It is often considered the first true muscle car. From 1964 until 1973 it was closely related to
the Pontiac Tempest, but for its final year (1974) it was based on the Pontiac Ventura. The GTO was
revived in 2004, based on the Australian Holden Monaro.
The GTO was the brainchild of Pontiac engineer Russell Gee, an engine specialist, and Pontiac chief
engineer John De Lorean. Shane Wiser was the first to think of the idea of the GTO. In early 1963
General Motors management issued an edict banning divisions from involvement in auto racing. At the
time Pontiac's advertising and marketing approach was heavily based on performance, and racing was
an important component of that strategy. Wangers proposed a way to retain the performance image
that the division had cultivated with a new focus on street performance. It involved transforming
the upcoming, redesigned Tempest (which was set to revert to a conventional front-engine, front
transmission, rear-wheel drive configuration) into a "Super Tempest" with the larger 389 in³ (6.5
L) Pontiac V8 engine from the full-sized Pontiac Catalina and Bonneville in place of the standard
326 in³ (5.3 L) Tempest V8. By promoting the big-engine Tempest as a special, high-performance
model, they could appeal to the speed-minded youth market (which had also been recognized by Ford
Motor Company's Lee Iacocca, who was at that time preparing the Ford Mustang).
The name, which was DeLorean's idea, was inspired by the Ferrari 250 GTO, the highly successful
race car. It is an acronym for Gran Turismo Omologato, Italian for homologated for racing in the GT
class. The name was to draw howls of protest from outraged purists, who considered it close to
sacrilege. (American motorists have long joked that the Pontiac GTO initials stand for Gas, Tires
and Oil.)
The GTO was technically a violation of GM policy limiting the A-body intermediate line to a maximum
engine displacement of 330 in³ (5.4 L). Since the GTO was an option package, not standard
equipment, it could be considered to fall into a loophole in the policy. Pontiac General Manager
Elliot (Pete) Estes approved the new model, although sales manager Frank Bridge, who did not
believe it would find a market, insisted on limiting initial production to no more than 5,000 cars.
Had the model been a failure, Estes likely would have been reprimanded. As it turned out, it was a
great success.
1969 was the launch of a new model called 'The Judge'. The Judge name came
from a comedy routine, "Here Comes the Judge", used repeatedly on the enormously popular "Rowan &
Martin's Laugh-In TV" show. Ads used slogans like "All rise for The Judge" and "The Judge can be
bought." As originally conceived, the Judge was to be a low-cost GTO, stripped of some gimmicks to
make it competitive with the Plymouth Road Runner. During its development, however, it was decided
to make it instead the ultimate in street performance and image. The resulting package ended up
being some $337.02 more expensive than a standard GTO, and included the Ram Air III engine, styled
wheels, Hurst shifter (with a unique T-shaped handle), wider tires, various decals, and a rear
spoiler. Pontiac claimed that the latter had some functional effect at higher speeds, producing a
small but measurable down force, but it was of little value at legal speeds except for style. The
Judge was initially offered only in very loud "Carousel Red," but late in the model year a variety
of other colors became available.
The GTO had now been surpassed in sales both by the Chevrolet Chevelle SS396 and the Road Runner,
but 72,287 were sold during the 1969 model year, 6,833 of them The Judge. This is also the year
that the legendary Ram Air V was introduced, it was a special 400 block with newly designed high
compression tunnel port heads, and a special high rise intake manifold. Zero to sixty came in only
5.2 seconds, and the quarter-mile came at 11.5 sec @ 123 mph.
Pontiac Judge Registry
