The Judge – Pulpaddict

The new year ushered in bigger, more powerful engines, and a slicker, more sophisticated 1970 PONTIAC GTO – MUSCLECAR MAGIC FROM MOTOWN!

1970 PONTIAC GTO – MUSCLECAR MAGIC FROM MOTOWN!

In many ways, 1970 was the storm before the calm. The war in Southeast Asia continued casting a pall over a much-divided country and thinning the ranks of young enthusiasts. Carmakers’ racing budgets were being drastically cut and engineering resources were reassigned to prepare for restrictive emissions and safety legislation. Ponycar sales had been plummeting and would register new lows at the end of the model year.

Pontiac started it the Musclecar Revolution with the GTO in 1964 and it was still an image leader, thanks to a winged Judge and 400 and 455-inch engines. The hottest engine option was the 400-inch Ram Air IV rated at 370 horsepower at 5,500 rpm in the GTO.

We tested two GTOs, a Ram Air 400/366 Judge for the July 1970 issue of Hi-Performance CARS, and a 455/360 for SUPERCARS ’70 ½, both with Hurst-shifted four-speeds and 3.90 rears. Pontiac supplied both GTOs and we suspected that the 455/360 had been “massaged”.

Our best time with the 400/366 Judge was 100 mph in 14.45 seconds and 0 to 60 mph in 6.6 seconds. The 455/360 GTO was a GM Milford Proving Ground vehicle and ran 103 mph in 13.90 seconds. It was quicker to 60 mph, taking just 6.1 seconds. I wanted to buy that one!

1970 PONTIAC GTO – MUSCLECAR MAGIC FROM MOTOWN! A new option was the 455 HO, a 10.75-to-1 compression, long-stroke engine rated by Pontiac at 360 horsepower at 4,600 rpm and 500 pound-feet torque at 3,100 rpm. The camshaft used in the Ram Air 400 and the GTO 455 HO were the same, but the 455 HO had the torque advantage.

For encyclopedic coverage of the 1970 PONTIAC GTO – MUSCLECAR MAGIC FROM MOTOWN! Please visit https://over-drive-magazine.com/2023/03/14/1970-pontiac-mid-size-cars-fact-sheet/

Hagerty’s Greg Ingold guides us through the second generation of the Supercar that started it all in THE GREAT ONE: 1968-1972 PONTIAC GTO.

THE GREAT ONE: 1968-1972 PONTIAC GTO.

Pontiac called it “A Device For Shrinking Time & Distance.” Magazine editors called it a “Supercar”. And in 1964 enthusiasts flocked to Pontiac dealers from coast to coast to see the new GTO, an option that breathed life into a Tempest. Pontiac, not Ford, Chevy or Plymouth, essentially created an option that ignited the Supercar Revolution and an almost cult-like, youth-market movement. The GTO’s extensive performance and comfort and convenience “menu” was the envy of the industry. It was the Supercar for all seasons and reasons and started a performance revolution in Motown.

The musclecar genre actually predates Pontiac’s launch of the 1964 GTO by many years. There were a number of earlier cars built on midsize platforms that had engines originating in larger, more powerful cars. Oldsmobile built midsize 88 models with big OHV V8 engines in 1949 that could be had with three-speed-stick or automatic transmissions. And, they were successfully raced. But the GTO, an option offered on Tempest models in 1964 had an almost endless option list that covered performance as well as appearance upgrades. It was the total package, from 389-inch V8 to four-speed and limited-slip rear with road and track gearing. The second-generation model – THE GREAT ONE: 1968-1972 PONTIAC GTO – upped the game with bigger, more powerful 400-455 cubic inch Ram Air engines and higher visibility with models like The Judge.

It’s no stretch to call Pontiac’s GTO the single most important car of the musclecar era. Yes, there are varying opinions as to when and how the American musclecar really kicked off. But the fact remains that the standard formula of taking a mid-size car and stuffing a large engine under the hood started with the GTO. Launched in 1964, it first came as an option on the Tempest Le Mans, increasing the engine size to 389 cubic inches for a stout 325-horsepower in base form, and 348 with Tri-Power (three two-barrel carbs).

The GTO’s performance and sales success put everyone on notice, including Pontiac’s siblings within General Motors, and forced other brands to play catch up. But while the likes of Chevrolet and MOPAR focused on putting down huge raw power numbers, Pontiac struck a balance of offering excellent power with killer looks and more creature comforts than more entry-level manufacturers like Chevrolet, Dodge, and Ford.

THE GREAT ONE: 1968-1972 PONTIAC GTO. 1967 would be another watershed year with the old 389 being swapped out for Pontiac’s all-new 400 cubic inch engine. At least in the eyes of Poncho enthusiasts everywhere, the Pontiac 400 ranks among one of the all-time great engines and would be the basis for Pontiac’s famed “Ram Air” option. And with the introduction of an updated engine, it was time for Pontiac to update the GTO as a platform. While it had big shoes to fill, the second generation 1968-1972 GTO was more than up to the task. Those were arguably the model’s best years but, being a musclecar with a wide range of available powertrains, performance options, convenience features and colors, the market for the second-gen Goat is a nuanced one, and values can range from barely above entry-level to well over half a million dollars.

GM completely refreshed the A-Body platform on which the GTO rides for 1968. It was a welcome change, leaving behind the boxiness of the 1964-1967 models in favor of the softer, curvier “Coke bottle” style popularized in the later part of the 1960s. Pontiac’s styling department also went to town on the GTO setting it far apart from the competition. The biggest innovation to the GTO’s look was the introduction of the revolutionary “Endura Bumper”, a GTO exclusive. In short, the bumper shook up the industry by eliminating the traditional chrome front bumper and instead replaced it with a painted, impact-resistant piece made of a rubberized material, which could be molded to any shape and withstand minor impacts with minimal damage.