This is a good example of why you should replace those worn out ball joints immediately! This GTO rolled as a result of a failed ball joint. They don’t mention when it happened, but from all the rust, I’m guessing it happened many years ago. The body looks pretty tweaked to me and that is a shame because this GTO was fitted with the Judge package! The option package featured a 366 horsepower Ram Air III engine, Hurst shifter, and lots of visual effects. It was conceived to compete with Plymouth’s popular Road Runner model. It may not have won in the showroom, but I’m sure quite a few won at the strip. This project isn’t one I would want to take on, but perhaps there is someone out there with enough love for the brand and enough expertise to complete the job? It should be interesting to see what this ultimately sells for. Find it here here on eBay where bidding ends in less than a day!
Not the original engine, so it was already rode hard.
Judging ( no pun intended) by the rusty ash tray, and moldy rear seat, a good guess is this has sat outside for quite a while this was not lovingly put into a garage to be fixed at another time . you experts can correct me on this, but the roof looks like a tree branch fell on it, not consistent with a roll over Unfortunately this is the way some things go also, letting the ball joints go probably means the owner was delaying a repair till money was available, probably didn’t take care of the rest of the car either
Is it my eyes or does the frame in the front look bent downward. Without the correct engine and in the state of repair it’s in I think the bidding is already too high and I’m a GTO fanatic.
JW…..
I think you’re right,…non correct engine, the drivers side fender with a pronounced slope that wasn’t factory with the wheel rolled under, indicate a twisted frame and otherwise general condition… the bidding is already waaay too high in my book. My younger brother and I are also somewhat Pontiac Muscle fanatics, as we still have his 78-T/A, from his High School days in good condition to restore. It is all original and we also have a Race built 70 GTO Ram Air III to put in it for fun.
OldStuff 1941 That sounds awesome, friend had a new 78 T/A and it was a fun car to drive.
The seller said it “needs restoration”. That would be putting it mildly. Almost everything on this car is bent or rusted. No thanks.
WHAT?! hahahaha
Based on the bidding, Someone really wants that VIN and body tag…;)
Yep Namorroman… I think You hit the nail on the head….
Absolutely.
As my mother liked to say “some people have more money than sense”. The bidding on this pile of junk is insane.
Nah a bit of T-Cut and midless optimism will fix this, perhaps a new interior, Front axle, Front End, Bodyshell, Roof.
In fact keep the car’s Engine and Transmission and scrap out the rest. Buy another and keep the spare Tranny & Engine.
Who ever is bidding on this car would be better off in putting their money into their Lemans and to purchase an LS engine and pro mod what they already have. The engine does not match the car! And all of the parts to clone a ’69 GTO are readily available.
In reality, the car may have the VIN and Serial Numbers, which is illegal to change from car to car, BTW, but without the engine, you will get less than half for numbers matching Judge.
What? Hammer out the dents. Buff and polish…………
One of my ‘Buds’ in High School who was ‘That’ guy we all knew, or knew of,… Had a 69 GTO Judge, that his wealthier than most Dad bought him. It was in the bright Orange, no vinyl roof, Black interior, 4spd, Hot Motor configuration… We used to skip school to go and cruise the other schools looking for girls who would flock to that car as we drove up…On the weekends it was the same thing… the chickas LOVED that car… LOL… It was so fast and would do some of the most awesome burnouts I can remember….Seems I remember his had the Hide-a-way Headlights though…Does that sound right? Anyone?..
Also had another Bud, who had a Green GTO… 4spd. 400 that was a head jerker and fast too… Both super nice cars I remember the woodgrain on both dashes…
I think if he had a 69 with hide-away headlights, he might have been sitting on a million dollar car – they only made a few of them: https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2010/08/31/triple-black-gto-judge-to-come-up-for-auction-at-mecum-st-charles/
I think your right that in 69 the hide-away headlights were an option on the GTO.
JB, concealed headlamps were a $52.66 option, UPC code was T83 and the Pontiac order form number for the option was 414.
They were very common and as Pontiac used cars with this option in their advertising it was widely assumed to be standard….right up to the point where the dealer charged you that extra $52.66 for the cool looking covers that never seemed to line up right and tended to fail because the diaphragms for the headlamp door actuators tended to leak over time.
Hideaway Head lights were never standard on 1969 Judge ,Period ! I have 69 Judge and paperwork from PHS , and option only ! Sorry
JB, it wasn’t that he didn’t leave a place to reply.
Comments and Replies to Comments have a “Reply” button. Replies to Replies do not have a “Reply” button.
Jim Wangers is of course widely respected by all, and I have no idea what he once may have told you, but you are trying to argue a point that is long settled, not that anyone ever truly debated it. What comprised the Judge option package is well known and a quick look at a Judge’s original window sticker makes it very clear that the concealed headlamps were an extra cost option on GTOs whether equipped with the optional Judge package or not. If you want to believe otherwise despite every piece of real evidence, that is your right, but please stop spreading incorrect information. Do actual research instead of just blindly believing what you believe you heard. No one is infallible. Peace.
In his book “Glory Days” in Chapter 9: “Shifting Gears” Jim Wangers writes about the Endura bumper and the hidden headlights. He specifically calls them “optional hidden headlamps” and a bit later on wrote “Hidden headlamps were offered as an option.”
Wangers was the marketing genius at McManus, John, & Adams that had the Pontiac ad account), he was a key driver behind the Pontiac performance image and that of the GTO in particular. His nickname of “Godfather of the GTO” is well earned.
While Jim did not build or create the GTO, he was very involved in the creation of The Judge package. John DeLorean asked Wangers to be a member of the “Ad Hoc Committee” which was a special planning group inside Pontiac. Their concept, the E/T, was based on the lightest A-body Pontiac made, the pillared Tempest Sports Coupe(an available GTO body type for 1964-67 but dropped with the ’68 restyle). The idea was bang-for-the-buck and low weight, so heavy items like the Endura bumper and hidden headlights weren’t on the menu. DeLorean didn’t like the engine being under 400 cubes so the concept morphed into The Judge we know. Wangers describes this in great detail in Chapter 10: “Judge…and Judgement” in “Glory Days” including what was part of The Judge option package. Like all GTOs the hidden headlamps were an extra-cost option.
Such a shame! This car led a hard life. None original drivetrain. Repainted rolled and left to rot. Just dont understand the bidding.
Some of the comments have brought up some of my past memories.
I bought my first car, which was an orange ’69 Corvette convertible, black interior with a white top in 1977 at a police auction for $3,500.00. It had the 427 tri-power. I knew of “L88s” but the tag on the console was stamped “L89”. I drove the car throughout high school. It was a chick magnet! The girls all wanted to ride in that car, especially when I kicked in the other 2 barrels. The nose of the Vette would rise up and the force would pin it’s passengers into the seat. The girls, and some guys, could be heard screaming over the load side pipes as I shifted through the gears. I sold the Vette for college tuition and for more economical ’77 Trans Am. I later found out that the “L89” option was for the aluminum heads which Chevrolet only made 50 Vettes with this option. I saw one of these Vettes sell a couple of years ago for over $1,200,000…far above what I received when I sold mine for $16,000 in 1982. NADA has estimated that the car would be worth $1,635,000 today. If only we knew what these cars would bring…other than pure enjoyment in and out of the car. ;o)
It only needs a ball joint and some buffing out. I have neighbors driving cars in worse condition.
My Dad used to say, “jack up the radiator cap and run a new car under it.” I think this one would need a new radiator cap, too.
And why does it appear to have almost new tires?
went or $8500
Its a $1,000.00 car at most ,I have a Body and frame i can use to put One car together , but the other parts need the other car I have also use in restoration ,I can’t see that price that anyone would pay that kind of money ,But I’m looking for a Good Used GTO HOOD please if any one might have I’m interested not an aftermarket until quality gets better, I have a ram air factory fiberglass hood for trade or work something out ;jbullets5757@gmail.com
Have to wonder whether it was even a real Judge. Fender decal location was incorrect and the grilles looked like standard GTO grilles, though could just be faded. Would need to see PHS docs to know for sure.