When the 1969 GTO Judge hit the showrooms, I was awestruck. Yes, I am a Chevelle fan, through and through, but the Judge just screamed muscle car to me. Orange, like this example, is the only color I can think of when I think of a Judge. I watched Laugh-In as a kid and remember Sammy Davis Jr. dressing up in robes and yelling, “Here come da Judge.” Pontiac wanted to give the GTO even more appeal to America’s youth than it already had since 1964. The radical idea was to attract a more youthful demographic during the counterculture movement. To me, it was just bitchin’! This gorgeous representation of the Judge is available here on craigslist in Laguna Niguel, California for $105,000. Thanks, Tony Primo, for the no-judgment tip!
The seller notes that this is an authentic, numbers-matching “real” verified Judge with numbers matching Ram Air 400 engine and 4-speed trans. The seller says this engine was professionally worked on and is the original WS 4-bolt block, bored .040 over. The original 400 Judge in 1969 produced 350 horsepower at 5,000 RPM and a huge 445 lb.-ft. of torque at 3,000 RPM. Quarter-mile times in ’69 for the Judge were a respectable 13.9 seconds for the time, with a quick zero-to-sixty of 5.4 seconds. The craigslist ad has photos of the engine and trans.
The interior is, in my opinion, a refreshing white upholstery with black carpet. No need to comment, since yes, I have an all-black interior in my ’65 Chevelle. The Hurst shifter adorns the top of the transmission tunnel. It looks like a retrofit radio with a USB port on the front, but it looks decent in the original radio slot. The car has power windows, power steering, and power disc brakes. The Carousel Red paint was applied in July of this year.
With an odometer reading of 53,000 miles, this GTO has spent all of its time in California. Hagerty valuations show a low of $100,400 and a high of $136,667 for a 1969 Ram Air IV GTO Judge. Classic.com shows the average sale price of $100,997. The frame on restoration looks like it was faithful to the original. So, the asking price of $105,000 is not extraordinary by any means. Can you put this Judge on your docket?
I fell in love with one of these in my vo-tech auto shop class in the late 70’s. it belonged to a teacher there and us kids pulled regular maintenance, at the time it had at least 200,000 miles and was naturally orange ( Carousel Red).