1969 GTO & 1969 GTO Judge
Locked into a two-year styling cycle, the appearance of the 1969 GTO was very similar to the look of the 1968 GTO. The most obvious exterior differences were with the grille, the parking lights, the taillamps, and the front and rear marker lights. The vent windows, the Pontiac crest on top of the Endura bumper nose, the “GTO” tape letters on the rear quarter panels, and the famous 6.5 Litre GTO emblem were all dropped in 1969. Interior differences included a different dash and different door panels. The hide-away headlamps, the hood-mounted tachometer, and the Rally II wheels remained as available options. The Rally I wheels were dropped from the option list in 1969.
The available engines for the 1969 GTO were once again variations of the Pontiac 400. The base engine for the 1969 GTO was a four barrel carbureted 400 rated at 350 hp. The optional four barrel carbureted 400 HO and the 400 HO with Ram Air II were both dropped in favor of the new optional 400 cubic inch Ram Air III and 400 cubic inch Ram Air IV engines. The Ram Air III was rated at 366 hp. The Ram Air IV, which featured header-like exhaust manifolds, high-flow cylinder heads, a specific high-rise aluminum intake manifold, a larger Rochester Quadrajet four barrel carburetor, high-lift/long-duration cam, and other special internal parts was rated at 370 hp. The no-cost option two-barrel carbureted 400 (available only with an automatic transmission) was once again available for folks who wanted a GTO but not the added gasoline and insurance expenses that came with the higher performance engines.
With other American auto manufacturers producing inexpensive stripped-down muscle cars, Pontiac countered back with a very special GTO, the GTO Judge. John DeLorean chose “The Judge” name based on the “Here comes da Judge” routine from TV’s Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In. The GTO Judge had a blacked-out grille, functional Ram Air hoodscoops, a rear-deck spoiler, stripes, and “The Judge” decals. The first 2,000 or so GTO Judges were all painted Carousel Red, which was more like an orange and was not available on any other Pontiac model. Later in the 1969 model year, the Judge option could be ordered with several other color combinations. Keeping the costs down, the Judge had a front bench seat instead of buckets, the Rally II wheels were without trim rings, and some of the GTO’s standard instrumentation were cost options.
The standard engine for The Judge was the 400 cubic inch Ram Air III while the 400 cubic inch Ram Air IV engine was an option.
1969 GTO Production Numbers:
58,126 Hardtops
7,328 Convertibles
6,725 Judge Hardtops
108 Judge Convertibles
Total Production: 72,287
1969 GTO Hardtop
1969 GTO Convertible
1969 GTO Judge Hardtop
1969 GTO Judge Hardtop – Rear View
1969 GTO Judge Convertible
Hey that is my car the silver one.
i picked a 1069 gto the shell body its in rough shape but i can fix it its has all the markings of the judge orange paint spoler closed head lights hood scoops no engine or trans i was looking at vin and it says 23737 looking at youre chart does that mean its a lemonds it say gto and looks like the judge it was sold to me as a gto
According to the VIN Decoder at http://ultimategto.com/cgi-bin/statsexplorer.cgi?year=1969&f1=vinmatrix , a VIN starting with 23737 is a two-door hardtop LeMans.
Im absolutely insane over the Judge; iv loved it since I was 16 yrs old. Muscle car King it is! A lady never tells her age, sooo lets just say I’m 34ish. The Judge may have hit the streets the year I was born? What month did the 1st Judge hit the streets?
In December 1968, Pontiac announced they’d be introducing a new car the next month. That new car was the GTO Judge.
my buddy has a 69 gto judge ram air 3 400 in caresel red its fully restored,he paid $2000 for it at a swap meet in 1990,has original window sticker and doccumentation,it was appraised at $135,000,he said it has a FOMOCO transmission,its a ford tranny???whats the deal with that
Hi Eric, thanks for visiting our website! I apologize for the delay, but I wanted to get the facts straight before responding since I didn’t have the answer myself. After doing some Google searches and consulting with some of our members, I’ve learned that Pontiac did indeed use a Ford built Dearborn M13 3-speed manual transmission as the standard transmission in 1969 GTOs. Apparently, the reason for this is that the GM built 3-speed wasn’t strong enough for the torque the GTO’s engine produced.
I’ve been trying to find 1969 GTO production numbers by transmission, but haven’t had any luck finding that breakdown. A couple of us in the club are guessing your friend has a rare car if it is indeed equipped with the standard 3-speed from that year as opposed to the more desirable 4-speed. Below are a couple of links to info I found through my Google searches.
http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/554507/69_GTO_3_Speed_Transmission
http://www.auto-roundup.com/index.php/gto-3-speed-transmission
Thanks for the great question!
Dan
Hi. I too had a 1969 judge with the 3 speed ford transmission back in 1985 when I was 18. Paid 2500.00 and sold it a year later for 4K. Thought I was a wheeler dealer who made a quick 2 grand…lol…White interior and hide away headlights. Didnt know any better and wish I had it now.
Can you guys tell me what a vin number 242379b125043 represents . What kind of car . I bought a truck and cleaning it out I found some old papers that appeared to be of some type car I’m thinking . Can you offer any information as the person also has an old car for trade on some house remodeling he wants me to do . Thanks
Stacy, thanks for visiting our site! Looking at the GTO VIN decoder on the ultimategto.com website (http://ultimategto.com/cgi-bin/statsexplorer.cgi?year=all&f1=vinmatrix), the VIN you’ve supplied appears to be of a 1969 2-door hardtop Pontiac GTO or GTO Judge built in Baltimore, MD.
Thanks guys but as there’s no numbers on the frame ..body or title to indicate a judge is a judge besides the options that’s on the car such as 722 casting number heads 2pc.intake ..round port exhaust manifolds..hood functional ..hood tach…3 PC.rear spoiler ..dash clock .. stripes …is there any other way too find out . The court house has it titled as a judge as well as insurance company . Thanks Stacy in Ga
We recommend sending the VIN to Pontiac Historic Services (http://www.phs-online.com/). They should be able to determine whether or not the car you have is a Judge.
Thanks . Stacy
I have a question …on a 1969 got and a 1969 got Jude …I’ve read that a judge had air intake in the grill.but I’ve also read that the grills are blacked out . My car has blacked out grills that you can’t see through. What are they meaning by air intake in grill. Thanks
The 1969 GTO Judge has functional hood-scoops (Ram Air) for the engine’s air intake. As explained at http://musclecarfilms.com/Pontiac_Ram_Air_2.html, a prototype for the Ram Air IV had four air intakes (the two hood-scoops and two intakes behind the grille). The grille intakes didn’t make it to production.
Do you know of any place that I can buy a ww….code 1969-400 short block . I have the rest …the heads and intake also manifolds ..my block can’t be sleeved .it split too far down.thanks and can anyone email what a phs document forms 69 ram air 4 judge would look like. There web when you view images there blury.I wanted to see what options they list before in purchased them .Ive read other places to buy them that said PhD didn’t supply all what a car had .so I don’t know what to believe .both company has years of experience so I don’t see why it wouldn’t list all options .my email is ….stacylashley1966@gmail.com. if anyone can show me what a clear phs would or supposed too look like thanks.
Hi Stacy, thanks for visiting our website! We apologize for the delay in responding. We’ll send your question out to our club membership to see if anyone has a sample of the PHS 1969 Ram Air 4 Judge document you’re looking for.
got a vin # for 1969 gto is this a Judge? 242379P Green in color friend found it in a field trying to buy? any help would be great!! thanks jim 573 259 1040
Hi Jim, thanks for visiting our website! The 42 in the VIN you’ve supplied does signify the car is a GTO as shown at http://tinindianperformance.com/Pontiac%20GTO%20VIN%20decoding.htm, however, there isn’t a breakdown signifying whether or not it’s a Judge. We recommend contacting Pontiac Historical Services (http://www.phs-online.com/) and asking them to research the VIN with the serial number, which should be six digits after the P in the VIN you gave us. We hope this helps!
thank you
Could the 1969 Judge be bought without rally wheels. Thought they might be part of the Judge package. Thanks
Hi Bob, thanks for visiting our website! The Rally II Wheels minus the trim rings were part of the Judge package from the factory.
Did a 1970 got convertible come with a automatic shift on the column ??? Thanks Avery santana
Hi Avery, column shift automatics were available in various years of the GTO. Whether or not any 1970 convertibles came out of the factory with column shift automatics, we don’t know. Our recommendation is to contact Pontiac Historical Services (http://www.phs-online.com/) with your question. They may be able to search their databases and give you a definitive answer. Thanks for visiting our site!
Avery, all 1964-1974 automatic transmission equipped GTOs came with a column shifter unless the optional center console was ordered.
I’m looking at painting my front grille black. What is the proper shade (flat, gloss, matte, etc.)???
Hi Dan, thanks for visiting our website! We have some answers and recommendations for you:
From one of our members who has a 1969 Judge: There is a difference in the colors depending on if the front grille is for a 1969 Judge versus the common variety model GTO. The Judge grille’s have a flat black finish on the “egg crate” part only. The outer trim is silver. The non-judge cars were simply silver and not painted black at all. The Judge’s with hide away headlight doors were black as well.
Another member recommends Krylon 53565 semi flat black (available through Amazon) spray paint. All that information is in Paul Zazarine’s GTO Restoration Guide (also available through Amazon).
Another member recommends also taking a look at the Ultimate GTO website (http://ultimategto.com/1969htcars1.htm) as a photo reference.
Awesome, thanks guys!
Hi,
How many Inches long is the 69 Judge convertible Rear Spoiler??Looking to purchase a used one,but I know that there was a difference in length between the coupe and the Convertible.
Thank you,
Steve-NJ
Hi Steve, thanks for visiting our website! According to one of our members who is very familiar with the ’69 GTO Judges, the spoiler should be 60 inches.
Hello All,
I’ve been trying to locate my old 69 judge that my folks sold back in 1989 because they wanted their garage space back and I was out of state working. I know it is currently registered in the state of Michigan and received a ground up resto in 2009. I would not bother the current owners but would just like to hear about what had happened to the car when they purchased her and tell them my history with her. The vin is 242379Z115950. Also when I owned her she didn’t have judge stripes or glove box badge so I didn’t even know what a judge was. I just loved my 69 gto. Anyway, if anyone can help I would really appreciate it. Respectfully, Jason
Of the 108 1969 GTO Judge Convertibles produced that year, how many of those were automatic?
Hi Taylor, thanks for visiting our website! According to http://www.judgeregistry.com/, there were 29 GTO Judge Convertibles with automatics produced in 1969. All were with the Ram Air III engine.
We recently bought a 1969 gto. can not seem to get info on it with the vin # it has only 13 numbers on the title. I need 17. I was told the 69 does not have17 in that year. Can you please email me?
Hi Mary, thanks for visiting our site! The VINs for 1969 Pontiacs are 13 digits. We recommend sending the 13 digit VIN you have to Pontiac Historical Services (http://www.phs-online.com/) to gather information on the GTO you recently purchased. Good luck!
What are the items unique to the 1969 Judge ?
Hi Donald, thanks for visiting our website! The Carousel Red exterior paint was unique to the 1969 GTO Judge as was the style of rear spoiler on the trunk deck. The spoiler on the 1969 models added enough weight on the trunk deck that Pontiac had to provide a trunk prop rod for the heavier deck lid.
hi there just wondering and may be a weird question but I can by a 1969gto convert 4 speed its painted the orange and black in side and has the judge strip and crest he has it as a a 69 gto not a judge I was talking to him and he was saying that the first owner smashed it up on the front and he says it was ram air 3.but now just a ordinary hood on it the reason he said back in the day to put every thing back on it it just had as much horse power the reason im sending you this message it could it be a real judge .I have a real 69 judge 2 door and the car im thinking about looks the same black out grill tail light are black rims thank you but if not a judge would still be a rare car with the 4 speed
Hi Ray, we recommend sending the VIN to Pontiac Historic Services (http://www.phs-online.com/). They should be able to tell you whether or not the car is a Judge.
Anyone looking for a 68-69 Pontiac 400-tri power. Have a complete one sitting on my shelf for sale.
Did 1969 convertible 4 speeds come with bench seat?
Hi Tom, thanks for visiting our website! To answer your question, yes, I found an example here: https://www.mecum.com/lots/FL0115-204253/1969-pontiac-gto-ram-air-iv-convertible/
I would like to know… Out of the 7328 convertibles how many came with the factory hood tech?
Hi Michael, thanks for visiting our website! We wouldn’t have an answer for your question, but perhaps Pontiac Historic Services does: http://www.phs-online.com/