Vehicle Description
Gateway Classic Cars of San Antonio/Austin is pleased to present
this real deal 1969 Pontiac GTO "The Judge". Pontiac's GTO has been
credited with essentially helping invent the muscle car genre, and
though the redesigned 1968 GTO and its new Endura front bumper
certainly aided in the original regaining traction in the market it
created, it still faced competition from seemingly everywhere.
Since the 1969 model was to be only subtly changed from 1968,
Pontiac General Manager John Z. DeLorean decided that the GTO could
use a special edition to bolster sales & DeLorean preferred a
"premium supercar" to enhance the GTO's image. When the committee
delivered it, he approved it and later named it "The Judge," after
the catchphrase "Here come 'Da Judge," made popular on TV's Rowan &
Martin's Laugh-In. Under the Ram Air hood sits a 400CID V-8 and
features a Quadrajet four-barrel carburetor, an MSD ignition
system, a revised camshaft, roller rockers, and valves and valve
seats as well as bright-finished valve covers. Power is sent to the
rear wheels through a three-speed Turbo Hydramatic automatic
transmission and a Safe-T-Track rear differential. The car left the
factory finished in Antique Gold and was refinished in its current
shade of "Mango Pearl". "The Judge" package included a black
grille, a decklid-mounted "airfoil" wing, tricolor graphics, and
"Judge" labels on the front fenders. The cabin is trimmed in black
vinyl and features power windows, r134 converted air conditioning,
lap belts with front shoulder harnesses as well as a
console-mounted Kenwood head unit linked with a pair of
rear-mounted Sony speakers. Two-tone 14 Rally II wheels are wrapped
in 225/70 Cooper Cobra Radial G/T tires that were mounted in May
2020. Stopping power is provided by power-assisted front disc and
rear drum brakes, and the car is equipped with power steering. The
three-spoke steering wheel frames a 120-mph speedometer, a Rally
clock, and a combination gauge that includes coolant temperature,
oil pressure and fuel level, and the five-digit odometer shows 87k
miles, although true mileage is unknown. The 400 Ram Air III gives
this car a great deal of power and the fact that less than 7,000
Judges were ever produced in 1969, it ensure that this car will be
relevant for years to come!
