@@TedwardDrives Yep, you get it. For me it was riding in the back of Mom’s dark green Chevy Nova. I just went to a CAA car show this weekend and every time I stuck my head in an old car from that period I was instantly reminded of early childhood.
We had a bunch of GM cars in the '60's and '70's. Olds Cutlass coupe, sadly with a Powerglide. Then the Olds Delta 88 Coupe, then my '75 Olds Skyhawk, then Dad bought a '75 Mercedes 240 diesel....on and on...
Also grew up in the 70's. I'm sure the same smell as my uncle's 70 Buick Skylark and friend's 68 Pontiac, and I was brought home as a baby in a 65 Pontiac Tempest 326.
Very scary that it can break the tires loose even on a 2-3 shift from a slush box by the very definition. Shows how dangerous tires of that era were and how horribly inadequate they were at handling the torque of the big V8s.
@@dmc7911 True but the problem is also you throw on some R888r's on there and you'll overpower the suspension and you'll tend to drive much faster than the car is capable of. Atleast with bad tires you know to take it easy and never speed. Not advocating for bad tires lol but just something to think about
My '71 Pontiac Lemans Sport had almost the exact interior! It was the same body after all. I had an AM radio stock and someone put an 8-track player in the glove compartment for some reason.
I had two GTOs both convertibles. 68 had 3 speed stick with factory Hurst shifter and 69 was auto like this one. They all chirped the bias ply tires from 2nd to 3rd gear. I ran three radials and bias ply on right rear wheel for more "chirp ability". Sold it for $3650 in 1983 which was a lot at the time. Now you can appreciate the smile these cars put on your face... Nicely done. PS. You could also get a factory tach on the right pod where the clock was on this Judge. Mine had that set up.
My dad has a 69 judge. All the muscle car options and manual. Went through an insanely detailed 8.5 year restoration and it's terrifying how beautiful the car is inside and out, bottom, top, very amazing car.
This reminds me of the first time i took my 67 Shelby Gt500 for a spin after i bought it ,and i just couldn't wipe the grin off my Face for the entire drive, even as a european i have to admit nothing beats good old american muscle,the sound,the smell... :)
Wow the kids loving the car speaks volumes!! Everyone loves real cars like this. Sounds great. Looks great. Funky paint colors. As you said no 7 year old gives a crap about Teslas. But something like this will spark their imagination and they will remember it forever!
my great grand-parents had a 1940s two door black pontiac which was abandoned, its engine was stolen and eventually the car was scraped . beautiful car ! i did some searching and most likely was a pontiac torpedo. before that car he had a 1920s car which was requisitioned by the greek army during WW2
Please keep doing what you're doing! I hope over time more and more people will submit and volunteer their cars so it's a comprehensive collection. A lot of other UA-cam videos are just walk-arounds and no actual driving.
Too bad there isn't a counter for the amount of times that I've pressed the like button on this vid. As an old American Muscle car fanatic who's from the other side of the Atlantic, this (video) really made my evening, especially with the kids sincerely praising the car. Please do more of these old American Muscle Legends. The world needs to know what they're missing on, and may God bless!
6:25 the power steering on old American cars did not adjust it's power output between being stationary and moving, hence why they can be steered with basically one finger when you are moving. Modern systems turn the power assist down when the speed picks up. I have a truck from this era that I ended up putting a much smaller wheel on since the stock one was literally falling apart. Factory wheel was huge which combined with the power steering made it extremely light to turn at any speed.
My dad and I fully restored a 72 Monte Carlo YEARS ago, crate ZZ4, 700r4, 12 bolt... Big duals. Sounds great, runs great.. gets waves and offers to buy it every time I drive it.. Dad's last car ride ever was in it..😔 Wish me luck tho.. I'm doing a heater core in a couple weeks.. I did one 40 years ago in a 71 that I had, I don't remember it fondly. Still Love those Judges !
In High School 1972 I bought a 69 Judge Carousel Red 4 speed Ram Air III with 49,000 miles for $1250 which was really expensive then. The car was like NEW, all original and beautiful. Mine had the optional hood tach as well with a black interior. Stock 3.55 posi and F70 14" tires and Rally II Rims which did not include trim rings for the GTO Judge. The car was factory rated at 366 HP and 445 Torque BUT actual Gross HP was well over 400 which was the common thing the car makers did back then. After 2 years the the car was destroyed by my abuse and sold for $900 with a replacement Bonneville 400 and lots of body damage. I added Deep Dish Cragers and G60 Wide back tires and rear air shocks for a small lift. Yesterday I attended my 50th High School reunion and so many people reminded me of the Judge and what an animal the car was and they way I drive it so out of control but with skill. I'm glad to say I didn't die in that car. Today I drive a 66 GTO Tripower 4 speed and a 69 442 Convertible with an added 70 455 4 speed as well. I'd like to also buy another 69 GTO some day. www.motortrend.com/features/horsepower-hijinks-story-behind-factory-underrating-muscle-car-power-1960s-1970s/ Roger Huntington wrote an article about what these engines actually put out; here is the list: (All are gross hp & torque figures.) Engine----------Advertised--Rated HP & Torque---------True HP (?) Buick 455 Stage 1-------360@5000----510@2800------420@5400 Camaro Z/28 302--------290@5800----290@4200------310@6200 Chevelle 396 L-78-------375@5600----415@3600------400@5600 Corvette 427 L-88-------430@5200----450@4400------480@6400 Mopar 340-4 bbl---------275@5000----340@3200------320@5600 Mopar 440-Magnum------375@4600----480@3200------410@5400 Mopar 440 Six-Pack------390@4700----490@3200------430@5600 Mopar 426 Street Hemi---425@5000----490@4000------470@6000 Mustang Boss 302--------290@5800----290@4300------310@6200 Ford 351-4 bbl Cleveland--300@5400----380@3400------340@5600 Mustang Boss 351--------330@5400----370@4000------360@6000 Mustang 428 Cobra-Jet---335@5200----440@3400------410@5600 Mustang Boss 429--------375@5200----450@3400------420@5600 Oldsmobile 455 W-30-----370@5300----500@3600------440@5600 Oldsmobile 350 W-31-----325@5400----360@3600------350@5800 Pontiac Ram Air 400------366@5100----445@3600------410@560
In 1977 off Burnside in Portland OR there was a whole indoor lot of these in perfect shape, low miles. They all had the same price tag - $9000.00 I paid nearly that for a VW Scirocco LOL.
Love the car and the sound, That ponco torque is legendary, and the high revving engines for the time. Pontiac was really ahead of their time, still a die hard fan. Bought a 91 trans am convertible not long ago and everyone I let drive loves it!
yeah this isn't really my thing. It's nice to see some survivors from an era long gone and I know a lot of guys appreciate these sorta cars. It's incredible what other manufacturers were producing in 1969. Such different machines for different markets.
God how I wish Pontiac would bring back the GTO, my grandfather has a 1970 GTO with the 400ci and the hood tach (awesome) and honestly it's about as good as it gets for 70s muscle
The funny thing about the handling of the GTO, it was one of the best handling of the muscle cars. The 1969 GTO Judge and 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle are the two cars that got me hooked on muscle cars, everything else from the era is just bonus as far as I am concerned. And as some one used to driving land yachts around from time to time, I can imagine a GTO feels more like a sports car in comparison.
Back in the day, between HS and College when I worked for a couple of years full time, I had a '70 GTO. Broke my heart but I just couldn't afford to go back to school and pay for gas at the same time. It hurts inside to see one to this day.
I hade a 1972 Olds Cutlass S. That was one of my favourite cars of all time. I drove it in 1976, early January, minus 20° C, from central Alberta to Vancouver. Then from Vancouver, all the way down to Santa Barbara. The effect of the air getting warmer and warmer as we headed South was delicious. Coming from minus 20° to what felt like summer to us, was magical. We were planning on staying for 3 months warm weather training for the 1976 Olympics, so the car was loaded up with all our stuff. But the car drove great. Not a single problem all the way to Santa Barbara and back to Alberta. Of course it wasn’t a GTO or a 442. It even had a bench front seat. The only upgrade I did was to have the single exhaust from the 350 2bbl upgraded to a dual exhaust. I bought it used, but It was in great shape, with just 30,000 miles on it. It was a metallic copper color with a brown vinyl interior. The body was the same basic body as this GTO or an Olds 442, neither of which I could afford at the time. But it was a great car that just ate up the miles with no effort. The now dual exhaust just quietly rumbling in the background as the miles flew by. It was a coupe like this GTO, so no B Pillar to spoil the wide open space when the front and rear windows were both rolled down. Even though it wasn’t the high performance version like a GTO or 442, I really loved that car. I was just a car guy on a student’s budget. Being a car guy, the things I noticed right away in Santa Barbara, were all the older vehicles from the the 1960’s in any shopping centre parking lot. They were all spotless inside and out, looking like they were brand new and just washed. That kind of car was rare where I came from because winters up north just destroyed cars. After I washed my car in Santa Barbara, it stayed perfectly clean for 3 months. No wonder Californians love their cars! There was to be one more surprise. One day we took a drive up the coast to a little Dutch community called Solvang. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, or not seeing. Where were all the bugs? In the summer in Alberta, after a few hours on the highway, your windshield and front bumper would be covered with dead bugs. But the Cutlass didn’t get one bug on it the entire trip to Solvang and back. Magic. One more reason that California is the perfect climate to own a nice car. Don’t let the sun bake it and your car will stay looking like new for decades!!
I'm not sure earlier GTOs are considered more desirable, authentic Judges are right up there. The '70 perhaps even more so with that Endura nose styling.
Their only oddity is that the passenger side bank of cylinders is farther forward in the car than the driver's side bank. Yet per GM practice the front cylinder on driver's side bank is numbered as #1. Ordinarily piston engines number their cylinders #1 as the farthest one from the crankshaft's output flange. Sixty years ago I lowered a Pontiac's oil pan and was amazed to see the connecting rods on the crankshaft as: 2,1,4,3,6,5,87 They were ALL made that way 1955 - 1979 ! Why did they do that? Because they wanted the distributor+oil pump drive to be on the passenger's side of the camshaft. Why? Because it made the side thrust imposed on the distributor-oil-pump-drive go upwards where it could be met by the engine-oiled thrust washer on bottom of distributor not the greased-on-installation-only top thrust bearing that Chevrolet and others had.
I agree however I think it’s a crime to put tooth pick rods in a V8. Ford did that later too. Just limits the aftermarket power making ability out of the box without having to tear the engine apart.
After graduating from High School in 1979 I was able to purchase a ‘69 GTO 2Door Hardtop in silver Ram Air III car for $800.00. Turbo 400 trans and 365 HP was an enjoyable combo. One feature I wish you would have shown was manually shifting the trans. If you applied pressure to the right the shifter would stop in 2nd and third gears, kind of like a slap shifter. I only owned it for a year but it still is around, restored as a Carousel Red Judge clone.
Thats one thing i really love about my 66 Cadillac, it as an alectric downshift switch which seems to not have been the case for many cars including maybe this one. I’m not sure but it took a second on the highway to downshift when drove onto it, with the electric downshift its instant, no hesitation.
My brother had a GTO that my dad and him built a 400 and put it in. Needless to say it was very fast. Then a couple years later he bought a light blue cuda with a 340 that would rev to 7500 RPM before the valves started floating. That cuda stomped his GTO in the quarter.
I had a 1972 Pontiac Lemans with the optional ram air hood and "endura" bumper so it looked just like the GTO of the same year and it came with the 350 /2 barrel motor as standard equipment. That didn't stop me from adding all the available performance options in my price range and with 4 barrel, dual exhaust, shift kit, msd ignition, and a 125 hp. Nitrous plate it was a 13 second car. I hate myself for selling it. 😢
Also had to add, my dad and I fixed up a 68 gto convertible when I was in high school. Oh my god, hours just retapping the block and laughing, and in senior year I drove it there. Oh my god was that a highlight, all the kids with nissans and the type would try. That car is still a superstar and icon to this day,, for anyone lucky enough to drive a GTO, you should BTW if you want to hear her go it 9:049:5510:26 and 14:57 thank me later
I drive a 75 Firebird with a 455 - goes like hell, but what I really love is just cruising around and listening to the exhaust grumble - seems to say, yeah, I'm bad...
The GTO is a car your grandmother could drive to the grocery store, and then drive it to the track and run 13's in stock trim. BTW with the addition of a stiffer front stabilizer bar, and rear stabilizer (Like the 70 GTO has) the GTO can handle corners very well for a mid-size American cruiser. In stock form it was quiet at idle, a smooth idle (except Ram Air IV with a light chop) but a nice deep note when you hit the throttle. And there will be some intake roar coming from under the hood. The 69 GTO was the only model-year that came with four mufflers, two reverse flow (typical) from 2 inch head pipes, to 2 1/4 outlets with short resonators near the end of the tail pipes. The resonator tucked neatly in the space between the frame and inner quarter panel sections. There is nothing on the market that SOUNDS like an original exhaust. The closest match may be the Corvette L88 spec muffler which is low restriction, and do not have that cheap aftermarket bell-like sound.
I have a Mustang GT, but I’m genuinely not much of an American Muscle guy. However this.. this has me thinking maybe my love and passion for old BMWs and Miatas has been misplaced. This is fabulous
I used to have a Lemans. Same body almost. I used to scrounge around for parts that were starting to get scarce in 1984! Back then, you could go to a used car lot and still get an old muscle car!
I drove a 1969 SS 396 3 speed manual orange Camaro and my best friend had a 69' GTO red 3 speed manual . in 1970 High School and we had a blast running all over town. His did was a photo freak and took some pictures of my very shiny camaro and I didn't think anything about it to even get a copy. It was such a fun car back then and witnessed all the great muscle cars of that era....... by the way the baddest was the Z28 camaro stock.... a beast.
My '71 Pontiac Lemans Sport had almost the exact interior! It was the same body after all. I had an AM radio stock and someone put an 8-track player in the glove compartment for some reason.
Love these cars! At 53, they were obviously before my time; however, my father-in-law has a very nice collection of them including one like this that is a Ram Air 4. Love visiting him and seeing how his restoration of them over the last several years since his retirement. My only knock on this particular car is that it would sound much better with a chambered muffler like Flowmasters instead of what it currently has. Would have more of that classic muscle car sound.
My friend had a 1968 Firebird 400 stock. It did a speedometer Indicated 111 in a marked quarter mile. Laugh if you want but a 304 AMC Gremlin slightly modded was pretty bad ass too.
I grew up with an 82 Bonneville, it was so massive and just sounded so good, obviously not like this GTO, but still had that GM feel of the era to it, God I miss cars like these!
Love the review of a classic muscle car. Hope there are more in the future! I grew up with my parents owning a 68 Lemans 350. Was by no means a GTO, but i always thought it was a cool car and this video brings back memories of my childhood. Plus I can smell the GM interior through my phone as well lol
i have a 70' olds 442 with a 455 rocket and a th350 that was put in sometime in the late 70's with a wicked shift kit, the 2-3 shift will lay a 100 yard patch of rubber on the highway if you are getting on it
Reminds me of my 400 Firebird with a hot cam and 650 4-bbl Holley and Hi_perf Shift kit and custom suspension and headers....14 inch wide tires...fast and could corner too!
Yeah man!! Caught me off gaurd in the best way with this one. I can't pinpoint the very beginning of my car obsession. It's always been there really. But oddly enough, it was definitely part Bruno Sacco Benz & muscle like these Goats amongst a few other gems ✌️🤘
My uncle had a brand new one in ‘70 - same interior, Lawn Boy green exterior, 400 Tri-power, U-stick auto. I sure would like to see that again. I remember him doing massive burnouts in front of the house.
Man, I miss old cars!!! 6.555L NA V8...yes! 😊 But I personally prefer the earlier GTOs. The 66 is 🤌🥰 But this one is also beautiful and awesome! 9:06 that chirp into 2nd was nice!
There is nothing like having a big V8-automatic and leaving 30 feet of rubber between 1st and 2nd gear, and getting a nice chirp on the 2-3 while doing the "gangsta lean". 🤩 New cars are faster, but they don't make me smile like those old muscle cars.
The GTO and other late sixties GM cars had variable ratio steering. This accounts for more wheel steering movement to about 30 degrees off-center, to where the ratio increases, and car responds more positively to driver input. You have to get used to it, as the steering feels a bit sluggish, until you lean into a corner, and the car does respond! The '69 GTO could use a stabilizer bar upgrade that the 70's got from the factory. I believe the front is 1 1/8 inches, and also came with a rear stabilizer. There isn't a need for a tach with the turbo-400, since it will shift at about 5500 RPM at full throttle. The automatic is fun to drive, and every bit as fast as a 4 speed, if not faster! My second car was a '69 GTO in carousel red (same as this video) with white pearl interior, base 350hp engine with experimental heads (more than 350hp) and the turbo 400.
This court has been called into session to pass judgment on a special new car from Pontiac. All rise for the Judge! - You definitely need to see the Pontiac commercial for the Judge with Paul Revere and the Raiders!
Any of the 68-70 performance package GM A bodies seem pretty awesome. Would be great to see you do a 442 or GS as well and see how it compares! I'm a big Olds and Pontiac fan and am sad they are both long gone!
Had a Goat--the hood tach looked neat, but every time you slammed the hood, you jarred it until it lost accuracy. Also, if you push that console shifter over to the passenger seat, you can manually shift like the old Hurst dual gates--same as Z28's once they lost their staple shifter
Git get the 4 speed version of this car!!! As a 80s kid, i loved the thin steering wheel of older cars, when i first started driving newer cars, i absolutely hated bulky steering wheel
"here come the Judge" did not originate on Laugh-In. Pigmeat Markham did the "heyeah (here) come da judge" schtick, which made a mockery of formal courtroom etiquette, which became his signature routine back in the 50's at the Apollo theater. "Here Comes the Judge" is a song bythe same soul and comedy singer Pigmeat Markham, first released as a single in July 1968 on the Chess label (maybe the first true rap song). Markham's most famous routine was "discovered" by the general public only after Sammy Davis Jr. had performed it as a guest on the March 25, 1968 episode of Laugh-In. The phenomenal ripple effect of Davis's version of "the judge" led to Markham's opportunity to perform his signature Judge character himself as a Laugh-In regular during the 1968-69 television season.
This is a pure joy of hearing the power of V8!
Definitely not a Tesla!
You would have no problem hearing this beast coming from round a corner that's for sure 😂
Especially at 08:55...
As a child from the 70s I can literally smell the interior of this car through my phone. 😂
haha completely right. My dad always had a 72 vette in the garage and this is such a familiar cluster of old GM materials
@@TedwardDrives Yep, you get it. For me it was riding in the back of Mom’s dark green Chevy Nova. I just went to a CAA car show this weekend and every time I stuck my head in an old car from that period I was instantly reminded of early childhood.
We had a bunch of GM cars in the '60's and '70's. Olds Cutlass coupe, sadly with a Powerglide. Then the Olds Delta 88 Coupe, then my '75 Olds Skyhawk, then Dad bought a '75 Mercedes 240 diesel....on and on...
Same here, I can still remember the unique smell of the old Pontiacs I rode In as a kid
Also grew up in the 70's. I'm sure the same smell as my uncle's 70 Buick Skylark and friend's 68 Pontiac, and I was brought home as a baby in a 65 Pontiac Tempest 326.
'When you take a look inside the car' ... empty beer cans should be all over the place. True Time Stamp
Hahahhahah
"BUT OFFICER, FREE BIRD WAS PLAYING!"
True!
YESSSSS
The engine sound when you let it rip is feral and amazing!
One thing-needs more "Sweet Emotion."
Aerosmith, nice.
You guys got your tickets?
Or cow bell - Deep Purple
Are you cool man?
I was expecting the 1st to 2nd chirp but not the effortless 2nd to 3rd chirp. What a beautiful fun car.
I almost started laughing because I was not expected the 2-3 chirp haha
@@TedwardDrives probably chirps into every gear
445 lbs of tq at like 3000 rpm will do that.
Very scary that it can break the tires loose even on a 2-3 shift from a slush box by the very definition. Shows how dangerous tires of that era were and how horribly inadequate they were at handling the torque of the big V8s.
@@dmc7911 True but the problem is also you throw on some R888r's on there and you'll overpower the suspension and you'll tend to drive much faster than the car is capable of. Atleast with bad tires you know to take it easy and never speed. Not advocating for bad tires lol but just something to think about
I was 13 years old when this car debuted. It was astounding. Still is.
My '71 Pontiac Lemans Sport had almost the exact interior! It was the same body after all. I had an AM radio stock and someone put an 8-track player in the glove compartment for some reason.
I had two GTOs both convertibles. 68 had 3 speed stick with factory Hurst shifter and 69 was auto like this one. They all chirped the bias ply tires from 2nd to 3rd gear. I ran three radials and bias ply on right rear wheel for more "chirp ability". Sold it for $3650 in 1983 which was a lot at the time. Now you can appreciate the smile these cars put on your face... Nicely done. PS. You could also get a factory tach on the right pod where the clock was on this Judge. Mine had that set up.
My dad has a 69 judge. All the muscle car options and manual. Went through an insanely detailed 8.5 year restoration and it's terrifying how beautiful the car is inside and out, bottom, top, very amazing car.
This car literally jumped right to live damn, also that sound from the rear is just godlike
Only 80k miles on 55-year-old classic muscle is amazing. What a gem.
Edit: 9:03 😯
This reminds me of the first time i took my 67 Shelby Gt500 for a spin after i bought it ,and i just couldn't wipe the grin off my Face for the entire drive, even as a european i have to admit nothing beats good old american muscle,the sound,the smell... :)
Back in my high school days friend had a ‘69 Grand Prix with a 428 HO package and 3:90 gears. The cars he out ran with it was surprising. Great car.
Wow the kids loving the car speaks volumes!! Everyone loves real cars like this. Sounds great. Looks great. Funky paint colors. As you said no 7 year old gives a crap about Teslas. But something like this will spark their imagination and they will remember it forever!
You. Will never. Have a hot rod again. Not Trump or Kamala or RFK Jr and certainly not Jill Stein.
Best car you've had on the channel. Nothing beats v8 muscle
Lucid Air Sapphire
One of my favourite American cars the GTO. Have to say what a lovely part of the country you drive around (im in the UK)
my great grand-parents had a 1940s two door black pontiac which was abandoned, its engine was stolen and eventually the car was scraped . beautiful car ! i did some searching and most likely was a pontiac torpedo. before that car he had a 1920s car which was requisitioned by the greek army during WW2
That car is tuned perfectly, nice runner!
Please keep doing what you're doing! I hope over time more and more people will submit and volunteer their cars so it's a comprehensive collection. A lot of other UA-cam videos are just walk-arounds and no actual driving.
Too bad there isn't a counter for the amount of times that I've pressed the like button on this vid. As an old American Muscle car fanatic who's from the other side of the Atlantic, this (video) really made my evening, especially with the kids sincerely praising the car. Please do more of these old American Muscle Legends. The world needs to know what they're missing on, and may God bless!
6:25 the power steering on old American cars did not adjust it's power output between being stationary and moving, hence why they can be steered with basically one finger when you are moving. Modern systems turn the power assist down when the speed picks up. I have a truck from this era that I ended up putting a much smaller wheel on since the stock one was literally falling apart. Factory wheel was huge which combined with the power steering made it extremely light to turn at any speed.
4:26 in stereo that's a real treat. Love a bit of burble
My dad and I fully restored a 72 Monte Carlo YEARS ago, crate ZZ4, 700r4, 12 bolt... Big duals. Sounds great, runs great.. gets waves and offers to buy it every time I drive it.. Dad's last car ride ever was in it..😔
Wish me luck tho.. I'm doing a heater core in a couple weeks.. I did one 40 years ago in a 71 that I had, I don't remember it fondly. Still
Love those Judges !
I drive a relatively modern German V8, but to me the best the sound in the automotive world is that of a pig iron American V8 ♥
In High School 1972 I bought a 69 Judge Carousel Red 4 speed Ram Air III with 49,000 miles for $1250 which was really expensive then. The car was like NEW, all original and beautiful. Mine had the optional hood tach as well with a black interior. Stock 3.55 posi and F70 14" tires and Rally II Rims which did not include trim rings for the GTO Judge. The car was factory rated at 366 HP and 445 Torque BUT actual Gross HP was well over 400 which was the common thing the car makers did back then. After 2 years the the car was destroyed by my abuse and sold for $900 with a replacement Bonneville 400 and lots of body damage. I added Deep Dish Cragers and G60 Wide back tires and rear air shocks for a small lift. Yesterday I attended my 50th High School reunion and so many people reminded me of the Judge and what an animal the car was and they way I drive it so out of control but with skill. I'm glad to say I didn't die in that car. Today I drive a 66 GTO Tripower 4 speed and a 69 442 Convertible with an added 70 455 4 speed as well. I'd like to also buy another 69 GTO some day.
www.motortrend.com/features/horsepower-hijinks-story-behind-factory-underrating-muscle-car-power-1960s-1970s/
Roger Huntington wrote an article about what these engines actually put out; here is the list: (All are gross hp & torque figures.)
Engine----------Advertised--Rated HP & Torque---------True HP (?)
Buick 455 Stage 1-------360@5000----510@2800------420@5400
Camaro Z/28 302--------290@5800----290@4200------310@6200
Chevelle 396 L-78-------375@5600----415@3600------400@5600
Corvette 427 L-88-------430@5200----450@4400------480@6400
Mopar 340-4 bbl---------275@5000----340@3200------320@5600
Mopar 440-Magnum------375@4600----480@3200------410@5400
Mopar 440 Six-Pack------390@4700----490@3200------430@5600
Mopar 426 Street Hemi---425@5000----490@4000------470@6000
Mustang Boss 302--------290@5800----290@4300------310@6200
Ford 351-4 bbl Cleveland--300@5400----380@3400------340@5600
Mustang Boss 351--------330@5400----370@4000------360@6000
Mustang 428 Cobra-Jet---335@5200----440@3400------410@5600
Mustang Boss 429--------375@5200----450@3400------420@5600
Oldsmobile 455 W-30-----370@5300----500@3600------440@5600
Oldsmobile 350 W-31-----325@5400----360@3600------350@5800
Pontiac Ram Air 400------366@5100----445@3600------410@560
In 1977 off Burnside in Portland OR there was a whole indoor lot of these in perfect shape, low miles. They all had the same price tag - $9000.00 I paid nearly that for a VW Scirocco LOL.
I'm a '90s kid, but I know cars from my parent's era were hot and powerful. American muscle!
Love the car and the sound, That ponco torque is legendary, and the high revving engines for the time. Pontiac was really ahead of their time, still a die hard fan. Bought a 91 trans am convertible not long ago and everyone I let drive loves it!
my grandfather had this car when I was growing up. I loved every chance I ever got to sit in it and hear it start up. Still my favorite from this era
I have owned several Pontiacs with 400s my favorite V8. My 69 Grand Prix had a custom cam and head combo very fun great video
I remember seeying this car for the first time in a movie back in like 2005 when i was a kid, never forgot about it! beautiful machine.
yeah this isn't really my thing. It's nice to see some survivors from an era long gone and I know a lot of guys appreciate these sorta cars. It's incredible what other manufacturers were producing in 1969. Such different machines for different markets.
God how I wish Pontiac would bring back the GTO, my grandfather has a 1970 GTO with the 400ci and the hood tach (awesome) and honestly it's about as good as it gets for 70s muscle
The funny thing about the handling of the GTO, it was one of the best handling of the muscle cars. The 1969 GTO Judge and 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle are the two cars that got me hooked on muscle cars, everything else from the era is just bonus as far as I am concerned. And as some one used to driving land yachts around from time to time, I can imagine a GTO feels more like a sports car in comparison.
Back in the day, between HS and College when I worked for a couple of years full time, I had a '70 GTO. Broke my heart but I just couldn't afford to go back to school and pay for gas at the same time. It hurts inside to see one to this day.
Part of the package was the Orange paint also. There were no other Pontiacs with that paint color. My cousin owned one and drove it into a ravine.
I hade a 1972 Olds Cutlass S. That was one of my favourite cars of all time. I drove it in 1976, early January, minus 20° C, from central Alberta to Vancouver. Then from Vancouver, all the way down to Santa Barbara. The effect of the air getting warmer and warmer as we headed South was delicious. Coming from minus 20° to what felt like summer to us, was magical. We were planning on staying for 3 months warm weather training for the 1976 Olympics, so the car was loaded up with all our stuff. But the car drove great. Not a single problem all the way to Santa Barbara and back to Alberta.
Of course it wasn’t a GTO or a 442. It even had a bench front seat. The only upgrade I did was to have the single exhaust from the 350 2bbl upgraded to a dual exhaust. I bought it used, but It was in great shape, with just 30,000 miles on it. It was a metallic copper color with a brown vinyl interior. The body was the same basic body as this GTO or an Olds 442, neither of which I could afford at the time. But it was a great car that just ate up the miles with no effort. The now dual exhaust just quietly rumbling in the background as the miles flew by. It was a coupe like this GTO, so no B Pillar to spoil the wide open space when the front and rear windows were both rolled down.
Even though it wasn’t the high performance version like a GTO or 442, I really loved that car. I was just a car guy on a student’s budget. Being a car guy, the things I noticed right away in Santa Barbara, were all the older vehicles from the the 1960’s in any shopping centre parking lot. They were all spotless inside and out, looking like they were brand new and just washed. That kind of car was rare where I came from because winters up north just destroyed cars.
After I washed my car in Santa Barbara, it stayed perfectly clean for 3 months. No wonder Californians love their cars! There was to be one more surprise. One day we took a drive up the coast to a little Dutch community called Solvang. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, or not seeing. Where were all the bugs? In the summer in Alberta, after a few hours on the highway, your windshield and front bumper would be covered with dead bugs. But the Cutlass didn’t get one bug on it the entire trip to Solvang and back. Magic. One more reason that California is the perfect climate to own a nice car. Don’t let the sun bake it and your car will stay looking like new for decades!!
I love tedward
I'm not sure earlier GTOs are considered more desirable, authentic Judges are right up there. The '70 perhaps even more so with that Endura nose styling.
The pontiac V8 is one of the greatest V8 engines ever produced.
100%🎉🎉🎉
Their only oddity is that the passenger side bank of cylinders is farther forward in the car than the driver's side bank. Yet per GM practice the front cylinder on driver's side bank is numbered as #1. Ordinarily piston engines number their cylinders #1 as the farthest one from the crankshaft's output flange.
Sixty years ago I lowered a Pontiac's oil pan and was amazed to see the connecting rods on the crankshaft as:
2,1,4,3,6,5,87
They were ALL made that way 1955 - 1979 !
Why did they do that? Because they wanted the distributor+oil pump drive to be on the passenger's side of the camshaft. Why? Because it made the side thrust imposed on the distributor-oil-pump-drive go upwards where it could be met by the engine-oiled thrust washer on bottom of distributor not the greased-on-installation-only top thrust bearing that Chevrolet and others had.
@@patrickshaw8595 Ford did the same thing with the passenger side cylinder bank.
I agree however I think it’s a crime to put tooth pick rods in a V8. Ford did that later too. Just limits the aftermarket power making ability out of the box without having to tear the engine apart.
@@calebemerson9317 they make power just fine as long as you're not constantly pegging the redline
I had a 69 judge back in 1989 Carousel red, standard and right down the street in Burlington. For a second I thought you had my car... Nice video
After graduating from High School in 1979 I was able to purchase a ‘69 GTO 2Door Hardtop in silver Ram Air III car for $800.00. Turbo 400 trans and 365 HP was an enjoyable combo. One feature I wish you would have shown was manually shifting the trans. If you applied pressure to the right the shifter would stop in 2nd and third gears, kind of like a slap shifter. I only owned it for a year but it still is around, restored as a Carousel Red Judge clone.
Thats one thing i really love about my 66 Cadillac, it as an alectric downshift switch which seems to not have been the case for many cars including maybe this one. I’m not sure but it took a second on the highway to downshift when drove onto it, with the electric downshift its instant, no hesitation.
I certainly remember these cars new from my youth. They have still left an impact that lasted my lifetime.
My brother had a GTO that my dad and him built a 400 and put it in. Needless to say it was very fast. Then a couple years later he bought a light blue cuda with a 340 that would rev to 7500 RPM before the valves started floating. That cuda stomped his GTO in the quarter.
i wish i could have a job like you do... YOU STRUCK GOLD ON THIS ONE
Bless all the people that have experienced the GTO. Happy for them, especially if they can tell their children/friends about their experience.
Gonna love this video!
I had a 1972 Pontiac Lemans with the optional ram air hood and "endura" bumper so it looked just like the GTO of the same year and it came with the 350 /2 barrel motor as standard equipment. That didn't stop me from adding all the available performance options in my price range and with 4 barrel, dual exhaust, shift kit, msd ignition, and a 125 hp. Nitrous plate it was a 13 second car. I hate myself for selling it. 😢
I was 12 in '69 and remember seeing all the cool cars of the time. This is one of my favorite👍
Gorgeous car! My pop had a 65 Pontiac Tempest with the 326 when I was born until 75. Had a 78 Pontiac Grand Prix myself.
Also had to add, my dad and I fixed up a 68 gto convertible when I was in high school. Oh my god, hours just retapping the block and laughing, and in senior year I drove it there. Oh my god was that a highlight, all the kids with nissans and the type would try. That car is still a superstar and icon to this day,, for anyone lucky enough to drive a GTO, you should BTW if you want to hear her go it 9:04 9:55 10:26 and 14:57 thank me later
Makes me think of driving my Dad's '97 K3500 with the 454. Sounds the same, has that light effortless steering. Gotta love boats.
Here comes the JUDGE!!
Hideaway Headlights was the best looking 69 Goat!!! I use to own 2 of them!
I drive a 75 Firebird with a 455 - goes like hell, but what I really love is just cruising around and listening to the exhaust grumble - seems to say, yeah, I'm bad...
The GTO is a car your grandmother could drive to the grocery store, and then drive it to the track and run 13's in stock trim. BTW with the addition of a stiffer front stabilizer bar, and rear stabilizer (Like the 70 GTO has) the GTO can handle corners very well for a mid-size American cruiser. In stock form it was quiet at idle, a smooth idle (except Ram Air IV with a light chop) but a nice deep note when you hit the throttle. And there will be some intake roar coming from under the hood.
The 69 GTO was the only model-year that came with four mufflers, two reverse flow (typical) from 2 inch head pipes, to 2 1/4 outlets with short resonators near the end of the tail pipes. The resonator tucked neatly in the space between the frame and inner quarter panel sections. There is nothing on the market that SOUNDS like an original exhaust. The closest match may be the Corvette L88 spec muffler which is low restriction, and do not have that cheap aftermarket bell-like sound.
Reminds me of my orange 1968 Firebird 400. Wonderful driving experience. Impressive top speed
I have a Mustang GT, but I’m genuinely not much of an American Muscle guy. However this.. this has me thinking maybe my love and passion for old BMWs and Miatas has been misplaced. This is fabulous
I used to have a Lemans. Same body almost. I used to scrounge around for parts that were starting to get scarce in 1984! Back then, you could go to a used car lot and still get an old muscle car!
I drove a 1969 SS 396 3 speed manual orange Camaro and my best friend had a 69' GTO red 3 speed manual . in 1970 High School and we had a blast running all over town. His did was a photo freak and took some pictures of my very shiny camaro and I didn't think anything about it to even get a copy. It was such a fun car back then and witnessed all the great muscle cars of that era....... by the way the baddest was the Z28 camaro stock.... a beast.
"I like your car!" It's so awesome to hear that these days, especially from a kids mouth!
My '71 Pontiac Lemans Sport had almost the exact interior! It was the same body after all. I had an AM radio stock and someone put an 8-track player in the glove compartment for some reason.
Love these cars! At 53, they were obviously before my time; however, my father-in-law has a very nice collection of them including one like this that is a Ram Air 4. Love visiting him and seeing how his restoration of them over the last several years since his retirement.
My only knock on this particular car is that it would sound much better with a chambered muffler like Flowmasters instead of what it currently has. Would have more of that classic muscle car sound.
I think we take modern handling, and steering, and braking for granted! It was scary watching you take turns in this thing!
Finally, another Pontiac!!!
i was 15 when this car came out so i waited so i bought a 2006 GTO orange and a .364 ls2 and this is just great for me
The most recent pop culture trim car I know of was the Call of Duty editions of the Jeep Wrangler from around 10 years ago.
I forgot about that one!!
My friend had a 1968 Firebird 400 stock. It did a speedometer
Indicated 111 in a marked quarter mile. Laugh if you want but a 304 AMC Gremlin slightly modded was pretty bad ass too.
Now this is a real car. 😍
As a child of the 70s, I can still smell the gas fumes when sitting in traffic. And I love it! 😂❤
lol. In Mexico you can still smell gasoline fumes. Not fun at all.
Dazed & Confused - Pickford's car... Aerosmith's Sweet Emotion playing in the background... Good times.
I grew up with an 82 Bonneville, it was so massive and just sounded so good, obviously not like this GTO, but still had that GM feel of the era to it, God I miss cars like these!
Love the review of a classic muscle car. Hope there are more in the future! I grew up with my parents owning a 68 Lemans 350. Was by no means a GTO, but i always thought it was a cool car and this video brings back memories of my childhood. Plus I can smell the GM interior through my phone as well lol
The 69 Judge is my favorite car ever.
i have a 70' olds 442 with a 455 rocket and a th350 that was put in sometime in the late 70's with a wicked shift kit, the 2-3 shift will lay a 100 yard patch of rubber on the highway if you are getting on it
My new favorite channel. Just subscribed. Thank you.
Welcome! And thanks for watching
Reminds me of my 400 Firebird with a hot cam and 650 4-bbl Holley and Hi_perf Shift kit and custom suspension and headers....14 inch wide tires...fast and could corner too!
The adam of all muscle cars.
I bought a '70 GTO new in 1970. 400 ci and 4 speed Great car!
Yeah man!! Caught me off gaurd in the best way with this one. I can't pinpoint the very beginning of my car obsession. It's always been there really. But oddly enough, it was definitely part Bruno Sacco Benz & muscle like these Goats amongst a few other gems ✌️🤘
My uncle had a brand new one in ‘70 - same interior, Lawn Boy green exterior, 400 Tri-power, U-stick auto. I sure would like to see that again. I remember him doing massive burnouts in front of the house.
Man, I miss old cars!!!
6.555L NA V8...yes! 😊
But I personally prefer the earlier GTOs. The 66 is 🤌🥰 But this one is also beautiful and awesome!
9:06 that chirp into 2nd was nice!
Hi I'm from Brazil ✌🏻 what a great car Man I loved it
Learned how to drive on my aunts 1970 GTO. In 1970.
There is nothing like having a big V8-automatic and leaving 30 feet of rubber between 1st and 2nd gear, and getting a nice chirp on the 2-3 while doing the "gangsta lean". 🤩
New cars are faster, but they don't make me smile like those old muscle cars.
The GTO and other late sixties GM cars had variable ratio steering. This accounts for more wheel steering movement to about 30 degrees off-center, to where the ratio increases, and car responds more positively to driver input. You have to get used to it, as the steering feels a bit sluggish, until you lean into a corner, and the car does respond! The '69 GTO could use a stabilizer bar upgrade that the 70's got from the factory. I believe the front is 1 1/8 inches, and also came with a rear stabilizer. There isn't a need for a tach with the turbo-400, since it will shift at about 5500 RPM at full throttle. The automatic is fun to drive, and every bit as fast as a 4 speed, if not faster! My second car was a '69 GTO in carousel red (same as this video) with white pearl interior, base 350hp engine with experimental heads (more than 350hp) and the turbo 400.
That's a sweet sounding goat. My thanks to the owner for not putting blowmasters on it!
@14:26 looks like a 64 / 65 Lincoln Continental. Also nice to see out and about.
This court has been called into session to pass judgment on a special new car from Pontiac. All rise for the Judge! - You definitely need to see the Pontiac commercial for the Judge with Paul Revere and the Raiders!
Any of the 68-70 performance package GM A bodies seem pretty awesome. Would be great to see you do a 442 or GS as well and see how it compares! I'm a big Olds and Pontiac fan and am sad they are both long gone!
This man is living the dream! 🤣
I love it! But boy, do I want to polish that paint.
Buy it and satisfy that itch!
What a cool car
My dad had one with the 400. He kept blowing it up so he put a 396 in and solved the problem.
Can’t turn them Pontiacs up like a SBC
Had a Goat--the hood tach looked neat, but every time you slammed the hood, you jarred it until it lost accuracy. Also, if you push that console shifter over to the passenger seat, you can manually shift like the old Hurst dual gates--same as Z28's once they lost their staple shifter
The GTO was the co star car of Two Lane Blacktop driven by Warren Oats.
Gotta love that 3rd gear scratch!
There is something oddly satisfying about getting a scratch in second gear while driving by a farmer's market in a 69' GTO. 'Merica!!!
The car is tuned very well!
AGREED!
Git get the 4 speed version of this car!!! As a 80s kid, i loved the thin steering wheel of older cars, when i first started driving newer cars, i absolutely hated bulky steering wheel
"here come the Judge" did not originate on Laugh-In. Pigmeat Markham did the "heyeah (here) come da judge" schtick, which made a mockery of formal courtroom etiquette, which became his signature routine back in the 50's at the Apollo theater.
"Here Comes the Judge" is a song bythe same soul and comedy singer Pigmeat Markham, first released as a single in July 1968 on the Chess label (maybe the first true rap song). Markham's most famous routine was "discovered" by the general public only after Sammy Davis Jr. had performed it as a guest on the March 25, 1968 episode of Laugh-In. The phenomenal ripple effect of Davis's version of "the judge" led to Markham's opportunity to perform his signature Judge character himself as a Laugh-In regular during the 1968-69 television season.