Pontiac’s GTO was still one of the industry’s leading muscle cars in 1969, but demand had already peaked. So, to generate more interest in the hot car, Pontiac cooked up The Judge edition, which was flashier than the rest when finished in colors like Carousel Red. This example of The Judge may be sporting its original (but flawed paint), yet the big news is that the performance side has been redone. Located in Laguna Niguel, this “Goat” will not come cheaply as it’s available here on craigslist for $118,000 (insured for $125,000). Once again, Barn Finder T.J. comes through with an interesting tip.
The Judge – which was inspired by a Sammy Davis Jr. bit on TV – was a three-year effort beginning in 1969. Sales numbers would be their best in the first outing at 6,725 coupes and 108 convertibles. That was less than 10% of overall GTO production which had already peaked at nearly 97,000 units back in 1966. When you ordered a Judge that year, it got you a 400 cubic inch V8 with Ram Air induction (366 hp), a 4-speed manual transmission with a Hurst shifter, a rear spoiler, Judge graphics, and more.
From what we can tell, this GTO is either all numbers-matching or darn close when it comes to accessories like the alternator. The car’s mileage has been verified by PHS at just 52,000. The seller has spent the last two-and-a-half years giving this car an extensive mechanical makeover, so we assume the body and paint are all that remain. Even the interior was stripped for work and then put back together.
The seller says this Pontiac is one of two Las Vegas promotional cars, but we don’t know why that’s supposed to be important. Many of the photos provided are of the mechanical restoration job, including lots of parts. We’re told this Goat has the rarest combination of options, but we don’t know if that’s just bragging or can be verified.
Goodies like those include the Parchment bucket seat interior, tilt steering, factory air conditioning (not installed), power front disc brakes, and an upgraded sound system. So, while the asking price is what it is, further investment will be needed if you want it to look as good as it may run.
Huh, and I thought it was Flip Wilsons, “Here comes da’ Judge”, a takeoff on Dewey “Pigmeat” Markams song. I have a friend in Wisconsin, who restored a Judge just like this, oh, say 20 years ago. The car was his moms and halfway through the restoration, he wanted to give up. Costs spiraled out of control, and he said, as a tribute to his mom, he finished it, but vowed never again.
The highest price paid for a ’69 Judge was $319,000 at auction. Someone clearly wants in on the action. Enjoy it now, in another 20 years, nobody will care about goofy themed automobiles that get single digit gas mileage.
It was on Laugh-In and also on Flip Wilson’s show. SDJ led the chant on Laugh-In.
Howard hard to believe they won’t be viewed as that fast either. Those electric cars are rockets. Ive driven 2. Wildly fast acceleration. Still prefer a gas ⛽️ motor myself 😌
Hi Stan, see the sun lately? My son lives in Portland, and on a visit here, he couldn’t believe how blue the sky was. I agree, I’ll stop using gas when they pry the gas handle from my cold hands, or we run out, but I see it beginning already, and it was a heck of a run,,,for some.
Ya, back in the day when we used to drag race down at South County shopping center and when I firewalled my ’71 Monte SS, I could see the gauge literally drop…
I am good with electric cars… I kid that I earn carbon credits to drive my 68 Cali special and my 63 Split Window on the weekends.
Electric is super fast…
I can’t post a link in these but if you look two years back in a search.. you can see this slow lil pony run…
Motor1 excert…
“In April, Ford unveiled an all-electric version of its factory drag car called the Mustang Cobra Jet 1400. Details were limited at the time, but Ford announced it was a one-off prototype. The automaker designed it in parallel with Ford’s other high-powered EV race car, the Mach-E 1400. A new video shows the high-powered electric coupe at the drag strip where it clocked an 8.27-second quarter-mile time at 168 miles per hour (270 kilometers per hour).”
I have also seen online Ford run four electric motors to a conversion box Cobra and hit faster times.
I wonder if people back in the day on the horse and buggy said… I will never get one of those horseless carriages to replace my horse. (Kidding)
This can be a great car restored but for the cash being asked I would rather obtain a 1968 Mustang Cobra big block.. but that’s just me…
I do love goats though… :-)
& how many good looking TWO door electric cars have you driven? & can you afford the new upcoming electric charger that makes phony v8 noises?
Intense speed costs big money. The base price for a 1969 Pontiac GTO was $3,156. Fair price & affordable.
When I first saw this I thought the asking price was way out there, but after some research I’m so sure. Mecum sold one in Harrisburg in July for $143k. Granted that one was a pristine example but if all this needs is prep and paint I guess it’s not such a bad deal. If you have that kind of money laying around. Not me though.
The one Mecum sold for $143k was matching numbers with only 300 miles on a fully documented restoration.
Butler inspired engine is a long way from Butler built, it could simple mean they bought some parts from them, then had the local machine shop prep the block and heads before assembling it at home.
The seller has a really well optioned car, but still needs to be restored. How much is a good story worth, especially when compared to whatever else is on the market for a similar price.
Steve R
At that price, this car doesn’t move the needle for me. If I want to pay 6 figures for a Goat, I’d buy a ’65 freshly restored one, not a car that looks like it came out of a comic book.
Certainly weren’t as elegant Terry as the earlier models.
It’s interesting that the “Judge” gets all the attention today, but was really the lower level GTO when new, it was developed to compete with the Road Runner.
Of course to do this car justice, you’ll have to take the whole car apart again , prep the body and under areas like the hood and trunk , and do the jams to make this car look showroom fresh again
All of the engine side air conditioning components are missing. That and that air cleaner decal pretty much tells me everything I need to know about the rest of this car. No thanks
Why would they have done so much work, especially the interior, without restoring and painting the body first is beyond us. Anyway, it is what it is, and what someone is willing to pay for a comic-car, no better than a regular GTO.
The site shut me down, so I’ll try again. Firstly, the 3 speed manual was the standard trans on these, even with the Judge package, not the 4 speed. Even if I had $118K, no way on God’s earth would I spend it on this one. Credit to the partial resto (and I do mean partial). The Parchment interior was not an extra cost option to my recollection, the sound system was am/fm stereo, which gave you 2 speakers, no big deal the sound was not that good anyway. So the A/C is missing in action (not a cheap fix) body work, paint, decals & stripe package has to be well over $25k…..who knows what else it needs….hey, they say there’s a sucker born everyday……someone would be almost insane to spend that money for this car….
35k to 45k for the Judge and then you take it apart restore it put it back together, now you have 110k to 120k in it.
Then it might sell on todays market for 125k.
NO, THANKS
I sold a ram air 3 4sp Judge just like this one last year that needed a resto for 25k had been sitting in a building for 32 years.
Lots of pictures but none of the PHS documentation. The one picture shows it is not a Ram Air but the rather a 400HO. And as far as I know, PHS does not verify mileage. They only provide documents for a particular VIN. No verification of any kind. Too much liability.
$50,000 tops.
118k is a pie in the sky asking price. Unimpressed.
Also, I would take a nice clean ‘68 without all of the silly decals any day. Never been one for screaming chickens and precursors to screaming chickens for that matter…
way too much cash. still needs at least another 20-30k put into it. good luck with that
There is something wrong in the force given the asking price of this thing, plus the ’55 Chev listed elsewhere today. The prices listed are so far out of touch with reality that I am amazed that the sellers even put them out there. Crazy!
For every seller with unrealistic expectations there is someone else on the low side just as far out of touch. The 55 Chevy has several commenters saying it’s worth $2,500 to $5,500. People don’t do their research, both buyers and sellers, it’s nothing new and is never going to change.
Steve R
wow a real live GTO JUDGE and all the mechanicals done in nice condition. i would drive it the way it is. excelent interior . all it needs is a coat of clear to preserve the battle scars of life. this would be the perfect GTO to copy what they do to the pickups these days… worth more the way it is. dont copy what everyone else is doing to there cars be a little different.if i had the cash id do the clear coat on the battle scars of my 1973 trans am life . besides the human body ends up showing the scars of life. the GTO should be able to show its bodily life. one thing though in the condition its in. it could easily be stolen. since it has 1969 anti theft features. keep it for the spring car shows. did you notice what picures show its features best. out on the roads of todays highway. if you mind the gas pains change the drive gears to just sippin whiskey and not chugging. you did a magnificent preparation . and you still have american sheet metal. take your grandkids for a drive so they can see what its like to be born in “69”… if you dont need the money keep it around for weekends.
Nice to see someone else that appreciates the originality of this one. 👍 Personally, I’d rather drive this one than a shiny fresh looking one. You can see this one was never crashed, never rusted out and it would get a lot more attention than its shiny counterparts. People flock to these faded timepieces to see what they can learn from their originality. Best of all, you can enjoy it and not worry about parking it somewhere for a few minutes. I think clear coating the patina takes away from it’s originality and is unnecessary if you’re not going to drive it in the rain.
I’m sorry, but everyone’s estimates to finish this car are low. At LEAST 50 thousand to blow it apart and redo everything that will make it a 200 thousand dollar car, including paint. To just buy it and paint it, WITHOUT correcting everything that has already been done might make it an 80 to 100 thousand dollar car. Sorry, it is what it is.
take a drive and see what 400 horses was like in 1969
There was about a 2 year stretch back in the late 90’s where it seemed every time I went to the boneyard I was walking out with a 4-speed console for a 68-72 GTO/Tempest. I must have bought & sold at least a half dozen of them.
I made a KILLING! Most of the time I was pulling them from our local pick-a-part with a flat rate of $20 for a console, regardless the model. A few I had to pony up and pay $100+ for but I didn’t sell a single one of them for less that $400.00 and a couple very nice ones I got over $500 and was even able to snag a real nice Hurst shifter with one. I think that combo netted me close to a grand.
Good times….good times.
Rustytech, while early on the original plan was for a lower cost GTO witha post coupe body, bench seat, chrome front bumper, and 350 HO engine with 400 heads, that was abandoned pretty early on and the Judge when it came out was an extra cost package on top of the GTO, so no it was not the lower level GTO when new. Only the orange paint lack of trim rings survived from the original concept. The late Jim Wangers retells the story in detail in his excellent book, Glory Days.
Excellent information. I too thought that the Judge was Pontiac’s answer to the Roadrunner, so I read Wangers book. Who says that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.