1970 Pontiac GTO Judge Ram Air IV Convertible 4-Speed Muscle Car Of The Week Video Episode #93

1970 Pontiac GTO Judge Ram Air IV Convertible 4-Speed Muscle Car Of The Week Video Episode #93
This week, we check out a full-house 1970 Pontiac GTO Judge Convertible that sports the 370 HP Ram Air IV 400 V8 and a 4-speed Muncie transmission. It's a fantastic example of a car that was ordered with all the "goodies", and it is believed to be one of 6 ever made. The Brothers Collection is home to some spectacular Pontiacs, this one is near the top of the list!
#musclecar #musclecaroftheweek
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[@jeremythompson9122]

I'm a Mopar guy and not the biggest fan of convertibles but how could anyone give this a thumbs down? This is a holy grail car right here. Droptop Judges are incredibly rare...especially with the Ram Air IV

[@AlejandroP1980s]

Also 1969 Shelby convertible blue with white interior or a 1970 torino convertible

[@KBAZ100]

This is my favorite car of ALL TIME! I have dreams about it.

[@kennybranshaw7526]

Wow! So Pontiac had this and the Trans Am on the road at the same time!!

[@jeremythompson9895]

Mopar guy here but I love the sound of a 400 Ram Air IV man. Maybe the best sounding idle out of any muscle car. Also loved the sound of the Chevy 302 in the first gen Z28 with the chambered exhaust

[@bobsilver3983]

I had a 70 Ram Air 3 Judge in the 90's...now I have a 68 Lemans H/O....if the 2 raced 1/4 mile, my Lemans would take it....but not the Ram Air 4. One of the quickest GTO's ever was the 68 GTO Ram Air 2...probably the quickest. As all GTO's 64-72 are great, the 1968 is my fav, followed by 69, then 70, then 65, then 67, then 66, then 71, then 72, then 64. I have had around 30 Musclecars, and the one that seemed to be the most powerful was my 1968 Solar red 4 speed GTO....if my memory serves me well, that car was just a beast. I also had a 1970 GTO with a 4 speed and 433 gears, that was fun in town...but thats all it was fun in....my 68 Lemans and my 68 GTO seemed to be the quickest. I had a buddy with a 68 Ram Air 2 Firebird, verdoro Green 4 speed...he put headers on it, and a electronic distributor with lots ot timing...and that thing impressed me so much I still talk about it to this day. Another car my buddy had was a 71 Olds 442, auto, colum shift...leave it in drive from a dead stop, mash it...and omg...holy shit, that thing laid posi for so long we would just laugh...the marks stayed all summer, and everyone knew who laid em.

[@schkeeperglenn]

The car has the incorrect tach for the Ram air 4 option . It should have a 5400 rpm redline . Base engine had 5000 rpm redline and HO and Ram air 3 engines had 5100 rpm redlines. Also Im pretty sure the number on Judge convertibles is 17 not 18. Beautiful car though and thanks for you series ,I really enjoy it.

[@BlacKnightRising]

no matter what the decade/era the 1970 GTO is a stunner and NO OTHER machine comes close to its beautiful lines and curves..NOT A ONE!

[@pepperwatson7784]

I had a 69 GTO judge with the 455 and the Muncie rock crusher for speed and it did actually put me in front of a judge in Tennessee. I was going through a tunnel and the old guy in front of me was just pushing through the tunnel and so I Did a good burn out behind him couple of times when we came out of the tunnel he pulled over to the right I passed him then he turned his blue lights on Ouchi that was a nasty ticket

[@briancabral9]

Another Gem Kevin. I knew a guy back in the day with a 1970 Judge but he had the HO 455 you mentioned that was available. It had a little more torque than the Ram Air 4 but the Ram Air 4-400 could take it easily.

[@paulmills6203]

The 455 required timing, lots of it. and at times smaller secondary Q-Jet metering rods. SUNOCO 100 + Octane, and a free flowing exhaust made that Big Block Wake UP .

[@dannyroggemann5821]

Lol

[@dannyroggemann5821]

The 455 was widely available...but the ram air 4 was extremely rare.

[@bigredc222]

I dated a girl a couple times in 1977 who's father had a 70 GTO rag top he never drove in the garage, I wonder about what happened to that car as much or more than I wonder what happened to that girl. Great video Thanks

[@briancabral9]

Bad ass Judge.....Kevin if you ever come across an Avanti do you think you could do a video of it. The Avanti was a fast car with its supercharged 283. They could do 160mph off the showroom floor. They set speed records at Bonniville.

[@jeremythompson9895]

I'm pretty sure they did a video on a Studebaker Avanti on MCOTW. Pretty cool car that not many people know alot about

[@peterhogan9537]

I love the ad for the 70 GTO, this is the way it;s going to be baby.

[@brucevincent9876]

I remember a few years back a wonderfully restored 70 judge convertible won best of show at the GTOAA show in Saratoga N.Y. beautiful car! HPP reported the owner turned down a 7 figure offer

[@jeremythompson9895]

No shit really? I live in Mechanicville NY, about 20 minutes from Saratoga

[@ominus2338]

Yes, at the GTOAA National Convention held in Saratoga Springs, at the City Center in 2008. That was a great week!

[@chrisscovitch7237]

the 4:10, 4:11, 4:30 ratio in the rear was the best for the quarter mile. myself I liked the 4:30 ratio for racing or crusing on the street

[@barcrrt850]

Pontiac stamped a lead clip to the throttle cable preventing wide open throttle. This slowed the car down, insuring Chevys would be quicker. Remove the clip and BOOM!

[@mikechecka292]

Beautiful lines. This and the '71 are my ultimate car. Keep your McLarens and Ferraris,give me this and I'm gone....

[@Firehawk-205]

Paladium Silver!!! My 70 was Paladium Silver and had rare Driver Controlled Exhaust Option! Convertible was "24267", made in Baltimore Plant!

[@jeremythompson9895]

This car is just awesome but I'll always favor the 64 GTO with the 389 tri power setup. The original "muscle car". Although the first real American high performance car was the 55 Chrysler 300 but was way too expensive for the average working man and more of a "luxury hot rod". Then there was the super stock lightweight 413 and 426 mopars,406 and 427 Ford galaxies and fairlanes, 409 and 427 Chevy Impala, bel airs, and biscaynes, and 421 Pontiac Catalina's but they were very limited production and not really meant to drive on the street. Essentially factory built race cars

[@jimmyers2543]

C'mon GM bring back the Pontiac lets do a retro JUDGE

[@barclaybenjamin6322]

Great idea!

[@davecalvo1939]

This car is priceless in my book, I would pay just to drive it for a day

[@jeremythompson9122]

It is practically priceless. Judge droptops are one of the rarest muscle cars in existence...especially a Ram Air IV Judge convertible

[@saladfork8]

Excuse me while I drool.

[@gibsondrummer]

Most beautiful GTO aside from the 65

[@willthetrill4849]

The actual horsepower rating of the Ram air 4 is 430 horsepower. The advertised rating is one of the reasons the option didn't sell very well

[@barclaybenjamin6322]

Absolutely true. The difference between the RAM AIR III and the RAM AIR IV were huge. Just imagine what a 455 RAM AIR IV would have done!

[@rosenb37]

Will Butter Totally disagree. Most top engines from the period were underrated on paper, not just the RAIV. The reason why the RAIV didn't sell well is because there was a limited market for a radical performance vehicle, no different than any other competitive make/engine. Enthusiasts knew how powerful these cars were regardless how much horsepower was claimed on paper. When it comes to a RAIV Judge convertible, it's no different than any top brand with the top engine, as they all tend to be double-digit rare. Horsepower ratings have nothing to do with it.

[@rosenb37]

***** That's really not true at all.

[@rosenb37]

You said, "The judge was the most expensive muscle car you could buy, a lot of cars were $2000 cheaper," and that's simply not true.

[@johnlau5066]

Barclay, the 71 455HO had the RAIV aluminum intake and RAIV round port heads (unlike the D-port 70 455HO). It was stated by Pontiac experts that the 71 455HO was the fastest GTO ever, but because of the reduced compression and horsepower ratings, very few believed that. It was a helluva setup.

[@larryb6715]

As always, great job telling us about that Ram Air IV Kevin. Interesting to hear that the cam was designed on the computer.

[@frankgn87]

what a car.. Nice job guys!

[@hulphaidsstikieds8047]

This guy sounds like Nick Offerman 100%!!!!

[@MidiPunk]

It's funny you say only 18 were made, I've got bids on forty of them.

[@quincee3376]

Tribute cars.

[@brucebryan3710]

What a beauty....

[@annmariekolb7256]

Had one 1970 I loved that car i know all about this car

[@BubbaSmurft]

Thank goodness, I thought y'all forgot aboot us.

[@joequillun7790]

1 of 6? How cool is that. One of Pontiacs coolest drive trains. (You forgot to mention, 70 was the only year you could get a 12 bolt, in a Pontiac.) Not a fan of convertibles, or the stupid baloney slicer they put on the rear deck, but I wouldn't kick this car outta bed. :)

[@darylsmioth1904]

Love that hood tach!

[@bobleden8946]

I'm jealous its awesome!👍

[@scottbivins4051]

The Pontiacs you feature sure seem to get great burnouts.

[@BubbaSmurft]

Sorry to burst your bubble but if you say "Here comes da Judge" to virtually ANYone on the street, if they've heard it, will tell y'all it came from Laugh-In. Great car though.

[@BubbaSmurft]

...and racoons sit on alligators. What's that got to do with anything?

[@bradwilliams4921]

Great video on a very cool car.

[@midnightsun2483]

I’m more of a ford corvette guy with optional Hemi

[@jeremythompson9895]

What?

[@quincee3376]

Huh? Ford doesn't make the Corvette. Chevy does.

[@gibsondrummer]

When i hit the lottery im gonna buy this car and a matching 69 firebird ram air 400

[@69GTOby1]

The Judge RA IV is probably so rare because it was advertised with 370 hp. Why would customers upgrade an engine package for 4 more hp, as the RA III made an advertised 366 hp? Buyers typically didn't know the RA IV actually produced well over 400 gross hp. Further, the standard engine was advertised at 350 hp, which is 16 hp less than the RA IV, as advertised, on paper. If it were me back in 1970, as an uninformed buyer and being the cheapskate I am, I would buy the standard 350 hp engine knowing I could easily upgrade it to produce 370 hp like the RA IV. Of course, people didn't realize just how powerful and how special that RA IV engine was!

[@jeremythompson9895]

I believe the Ram Air IV was rated at 370hp, but at a lower RPM than the 366hp RA3. So the really savvy buyers knew what box to check on the options sheet

[@jeremythompson9895]

Some people say the RA IV actually cranks out between 425-450 horsepower at 6000rpm. I wouldn't doubt it either because I never heard another small block V8 from that era produce such a nasty sound.....man I miss the days of solid lifters and free flowing exhaust systems. The 1970 Chevy LT1 350 ci/360 hp and the 71 Ford BOSS 351 are right up there as well

[@jeremythompson9895]

Oh yeah..... The 400 Ram Air IV was criminally underrated. EASILY make 425+ horsepower, maybe 450

[@flya787]

Mine 455 ho

[@dannyroggemann5821]

The problem with convertibles is less support... Especially for big powerful engines.... Especially after hole shots...

[@AlejandroP1980s]

Which better 455 or 400

[@dannyroggemann5821]

455....

[@jimmybanta4520]

Poncho power !

[@bobsilver3983]

I'm drooling on my keyboard

[@thewiseowl3672]

Love the vehicle...except...for the decals. Those side stripes, and The Judge just detract from the beauty of the car.

[@jamesjoslin7586]

Agreed

[@flya787]

The 455 ho with 390 horsepower and number 64 heads is better

[@BuzzLOLOL]

The RamAir IV engine was way under rated in HP : kzbin.info/www/bejne/j5WceXRto7yVga8

[@azhurelpigeon]

I think it's ugly. The '69 Judge was way better!

[@bobsilver3983]

+azhurelwarrior I like the 68, 69 GTO body style much better also...but 70's are not ugly, just not as good looking as prior models.

[@bobsilver3983]

It is NOT ugly....but I personally think the 1968 GTO/Lemans was the best looking out of all the 64-72's

[@azhurelpigeon]

Bob Silver I don’t still think it’s ugly, but relative to its predecessors, it’s a big drop in aggressive style