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(all pictures & Info are Copyright 2006 Jeff Steeno Conetop.com)

First, all Judges are GTOs and have the typical GTO package (endura bumper, thick front stabilizer bar, aluminum dash bezel, dual exhaust with chrome extensions, 1970 special rear valance, standard motor in 1969 1970 is 400ci , heavy-duty suspension).  The 1969-70 Judges have as standard; a 400ci ram air III engine, special stripes an interior glove box emblem, and a rear spoiler. A complete list of items added to the GTO for the Judge option in 1969 & 1970  includes :

Appearance

“The Judge” stripe package. Side Stripes, front fender and trunk "The Judge" sticker

1970 Blacked out grille

Rear spoiler and the added strength trunk spring

1970 front spoiler on most, 1969 no front spoiler

1969 carousel red only available on the judge, Judge available in many colors late year

4-speeds had aluminum Hurst T handle

Rally II 14x6 rims without trim rings

Judge emblem on glove box door except early 69's

 

Performance

Standard Engine is RA III, RA IV as an option 

    With the Ram air engine you got:

        Ram air system with driver operated flaps

        Chrome valve covers

        Deleted 400 emblem from the rocker panel (no CID emblem on the Judges)

        Variable pitch 5 blade fan

        10 bolt  posi BOP(Buick, Olds, Pont)

 

Handling

G70-14 Fiberglass tires

Handling package

*not part of The Judge, but available and often ordered separately: hood tach or dash tach, wheelwell trim, power steering, disk brakes

Many of the production figures, engine codes, and option codes can easily be found elsewhere on the net. I have attempted to write about and include details useful to a person restring a Judge or trying to find or verify parts for one.

Drive trains

Muncie 4 speeds

Muncie 4 speeds were used. The 1969 GTO shifter had average duty linkage which was upgraded for 1970. If the transmission is original from 1969 and on you can tell from the last letter on the case if it is an M20 (wide ratio code =A), M21 (Close ratio code =B), or the infamous M-22 (Close ratio heavy duty code =C). For example  a stamp "POS13B": P=Pontiac, O= 1970, S= Nov, 13-13th day of Nov, B=M-21 close ratio. The months are Jan through Dec =(A,B,C,D,E,H,K,M,P,R,S,T). The last part of the VIN was stamped on the transmission as well. The main case shape is the same on the muncies although it was upgraded every few years. The input shaft and cluster gear were unique to the M20 M21, M22. The 1st , 2^nd, and 3^rd gears themselves were the same for the M20 & M21. Inputs on M-20 & M-21 have 10 tooth spline. The angle of the teeth on the gears is different (straighter) for the Rock crusher M22 and all the forward gears are unique to the M22s even the small reverse idler gear. The input shaft on the M20 has 2 grooves cut in it, the close ratio M21 has one ring cut in it, and the M22 has no grooves. The main case on all the 69s has casting # 3925660 and had a fill plug and drain plug. The 1970 4 speed Muncie main case casting was mostly #3925661 and had the fill and drain plugs. The 68 Muncie did not have the drain plug and the 71 Muncie had the fine spline input and large output shaft. The side cover casting for 1969 is #3950306 and the1970 side cover casting is #3952648. the 1790 side case had the one of two TCS switches. The rare M-22 had the large output shaft starting in 1970 one year before the M-20 and M-21 got the bigger output shaft. The shifter Body is the same from 1969 to 1970.  The Shifter mounting plate, linkage, shifter rod is different from 1969 to 1970. The tailhousing for most 1969 & 1970 GTOs is casting #3846429 with the speedometer output on the drivers side.

A special discussion of the manual transmission reverse lockout is in order. The safety idea was to prevent the possibility of pulling the keys out of the car when it was moving forward and to lock the steering in position and put the car in reverse when shutting it off and removing the keys. This feature was often removed because it was difficult to push the shifter in reverse when the linkage and steering column lost their lubrication. On the 4 speed then you needed the car in reverse to get the key out. And you needed the clutch in to get the starter to go. To accomplish this there was linkage form the reverse arm on the transmission which pivoted a lever on the 3-4 shifter arm bolt. This arm then rotated a shaft ultimately connected via linkage and levers to the steering column and rotated it. There is a switch on the column for reverse lights in the 4 speed. There was a switch (1 2 3 4 5) on the pedal bracket activated when the clutch was pushed in to allow the starter go (purple wires). 

The original Hurst competition/plus 4 speed shifter changed yearly. Muncie changed from 3/8 NC studs for the shifter levers in 68 to 3/8 bolts in 1969 and thereafter. The Shifter to rear-housing adapter plate was cast aluminum in 1969 and stamped steel piece used in 1970. The chrome shifter lever was changed from 1969 to 1970. The shifter linkage was 5/16 rod in '69 and 3/8 in 1970. Both years mostly used Muncie tailshaft housings with the speedometer on the left. Bell housing and trans mount remained the same from 1969to 1970.

Turbo 400-all of my Pontiacs through the years were 4 speeds by choice therefore I won't write about the turbo 400s here.

Back Axles
Nobody talks about this because it is very messy, get a coffee now. The Judges and nearly all 1969-70 GTOs came with 10-bolt Back axles. The 1970 Judges came with 10-bolt safe-t-track (aka as posi or limited slip) rear ends. The Judges and some GTOs had the boxed lower control arms and rear sway bar to improve handling. I have heard rumors a few 400CI GTOs with 12-bolt axles but never saw a 1969 or 70 judge with a factory 12 bolt. This 12 bolt axle in a 400ci would have been the “high performance back axle” option 368, maybe? This is independent of option 362 “special order axle". Please note all 1970 455HO GTOs had the 12-bolt back axles. The casting # for the 1970 10-bolt axle housings is 9799202. The regular “safe-t-track” and “HD safe-t-track” back axles can have 2 or 4 pinion (spider) gears. These 10 bolt axles are the 8.2” B O P axle housings and cone type carriers. The BOP carriers differ: carrier #1 is for gears 2.76 & down and are rare, carrier #2 is for 2.94 to 3.23 gears, carrier #3 is for gears 3.31 & up to 4.33. while the BOP 10 bolt limited slip differentials were all the cone type carriers in GTOs, Chevy 10 bolts and the 12 bolts used the spring/plates carrier and are altogether different. To add another layer of confusion as of July 1969 the ring gear to carrier bolt size increases and changed handedness. More specifically, pre July 1969 the ring gear bolted on with 3/8 NF RH bolts, and after that they used 7/16 NF LH bolts for ring to carrier. Thus there are potentially 12 different 8.2 BOP posi cone carriers: pre July 69(3/8") vs. post July 69(7/16"); carrier series #1, 2, & 3; and 2 or 4 pinion gear carriers. I need a series #3 (4-pinion) 8.2 BOP carrier with the 7/16 holes and cone type. The 2 and 4 spider carriers are different. You can not convert a 2 pinion carrier into a 4 pinion carrier. Either carrier fits into the 9799202 housing. You can convert a series #2 carrier to a #3 carrier with a ring gear spacer but you can not convert a series #3 carrier to a #2. On the Build sheet, the 10 bolt Safe-t-track axles (option 361) come in two varieties, the regular “safe-t-track” and “safe-t-track HD” and a variety of “standard” ratios. Option Code 362 or 368 was for an available ratio other than the “standard” one. You look up the “standard” recommended ratio on the “Power Train Graph” as the factory recommendation depends on engine and transmission option choices (which are made first). Since few have the graph here is the 1969 GTO;

3 Speed 400CI RA or non-RA (standard is 3.55 except with air standard is 3.23)

4 speed M-20 400CI RA III or non-RA (standard is 3.55 except with air standard is 3.23)

4 speed M-21 400CI RA III or non-RA (standard is 3.90) ?M-22

4 speed M-21 400CI RA IV(M-21 only 4 speed avail) (standard is 3.90) n/a with air (4.33 option available)

400 turbo 400CI 2bbl (standard is 2.93 except with air standard is 2.78)

400 turbo 400CI 4bbl RA III or non-RA (standard is 3.55 except with air standard is 3.23)

I do not have a copy but I would think the 1970 GTO is the same as above adding the 455 data.

Look at the order sheet for option 361 safe-t-track or safe-t-track HD. I wonder if the HD on the order sheet refers to the special metallic brake pads and not the # of pinion spider gears. Email me if you have this figured out. All I have seen on GTOs 3.31 and numerically higher (Series #3) have been the 4 spider carriers. Many judges with 4 speeds came with the extra support bar between the proximal ends of the upper and boxed lower control-arms.

Rims

For the 69-70 GTO the Rally II 14x6 is standard and on almost all, a few had hubcaps. The  Rally II rims are date coded and have ID letters stamped in. Stamped ID numbers for 1969 Rally II disk brakes cars is JA and 1970 the letters are JL. The year is a small stamp with a “MI” and a number under it (8=1968, 9=1969,0=1970) The month is stamped 1 through 12 and the day of the month 1 through 31 with the air valve between the month and day. The center caps were chrome rings with black inserts until late in the 1970 production year when they were changed to red. None of the 69-70 GTOs came with common 14 x 7 rally II’s. The 14x7 rally II rims were from the period Firebirds.

Block

All 1970 400CI GTOs used the 9799914 raw block castings. Many of these blocks were drilled out for 4 bolt mains but only special blocks got the 4 bolt center caps. I have seen the 4 bolt caps on all the RA III and RA IV cars and a few of the 4 speed cars.. The 70 A-body RA III cars have the 9799914 block with 4 bolt mains and codes (WS 4 speed and YZ AT Turbo 400) on the front of the block. The 70 RA IV A-body cars have the 979991(5) block with 4 bolt mains and codes (WW 4 speed and XP AT Turbo 400) on the front of the block. What 979991(5) means is the 979991 are cast, the 4 is ground off and a 5 is hand stamped in place. Although the same casting is used, there are some minor machining differences between the 9799914 and 979991(5), none are visible to the eye. The date code and casting number are on the back of the engine. The distributor hole is standard. The motor mount bosses are 5 on each side. 

For 1969, all 400CI Pontiacs used the raw block casting 9790071. The 1969 RA IV engine has the last 4 digits ground off and stamped 979(2506). All the 1969 RA IV blocks had the 4 Bolt mains but most of the 69 RA III engines did not have 4-bolts. The Service replacement blocks for either year usually had the entire cast # ground off and the correct part # stamped in. the date codes were later than production dates and the front of the blocks had SR stamped in. 

As an aside, I have seen some blocks 71 400, RA IV & RA 5 usually from racers (ie Elkhart Lake WI) without any numbers stamped on the front at all. The 455 HO's were first available in 1970 GTOs. The1970 455 HO had D port heads, 4 bolt mains, cast iron intake, factory cast headers, nodular crankshaft, 60 PSI oil pump, for 1971 the 455 HO had the aluminum intake, round port heads, cast iron headers, 4 bolt mains, nodular crankshaft, 60 PSI oil pump.

Crankshaft

The crankshaft for the RA IV is made of Arma Steel and the words “arma steel “ are cast into the crank. The cast part number on the cranks are ground off and restamped # 9794054 for the RA IV. The RA III crank is nodular iron and have a “N” cast into them. The harmonic balancers are different between RA3 and RA4 but do not have any way to identify them. The standard period Pontiac V8 connecting rods are used and the RA IV engines came with forged pistons #9794056, the RA 3 used standard cast pistons.

Valve train

The RA III and RA IV valve trains have nothing exactly the same except the rocker ball. Between 1969 and 1970 the parts stayed the same. The camshafts are different between RA III and RA IV. The RA III lifters, valve guides, and pushrods are standard Pontiac pieces. The lifters are different for the RA IV, a deeper wider cup in top of the valve with limited hydraulic travel. The pushrods for the RA IV are wider & thus stronger. The 1969 & 1970 RA 4 guide plates are different as well to accommodate the larger diameter pushrod and can be identified by the lack of a hole in them. The RA IV rocker studs are also different, Both RA 3 and RA 4 have 7/16 NC into the head but the RA IV has a 7/16 NF stud for the rocker. The RA III has the standard Pontiac HP screw in studs. The rocker arm is 1.65:1 for the RA IV and 1.5:1 for the RA III. The half ball is the same for both. For holding the rocker arm down the RA III the nut has 3/8 NF nut that tightens to onto a shoulder (standard system). The system for holding the rocker arm down RA IV is much more complex and the original system has some seldom seen parts. On top of the rocker and ball screws a long 7/16 nut and a very short 7/16 nut to lock it. Then on top of that is a oil drip channel with 4 holes, two pieces per head. These are capped with a thin sheet metal type nut. Valves and springs are Different between the RA III and the RA IV but the same for the 1969 and 1970.

Oil pumps

The RA III and IV pumps were different than the standard Pontiac pumps. All the 1969-70 Pontiac pumps all shared casting # 9787520. The RA IV pump cover was thickest at 0.2”, the RA III cover was 0.15”, the rest were thin (?x455HO). The pressure valve for RA IV was 60 PSI. The pump gears all appear the same height and involute design. The claim is the RA IV is High output. The pick ups have a short and long variation and all have a ¾” O.D.

Cylinder Heads

The RA IV has round port heads and the RA III has D port Heads. Both are great Pontiac heads but they are quite different. On the RA IV the exhaust ports are all 4 round as opposed to the standard vintage Pontiac where the end two ports are ovoid and the center two are D shaped. The casting numbers are on the outside of the head. RA IV for 1969 casting # 722 and RA IV for 1970 is casting # 614. The date code on the RA IV heads was on the head under the valve cover but gets drilled off during manufacture. The RA III are # 12 castings on the GTOs and are date coded. You find the 1970 RA IV heads in two varieties. The ones with 614 cast on the end port only are the original heads from the cars. The ones that state 614 and other ports have 2XC are service replacement heads made from 1971 to 1976. The majority of 1969 heads are cast with the 722 on the end port and no date code. There are however a few 722 heads with the later 2xc cast on the other ports indicating a 1971-77 production date. Although not exactly original, the SR heads are some better (more bracket mounts, better metal, the slightly better intake ports).

Exhaust Manifolds

The Ram Air exhaust manifolds are nearly cast iron headers. The 1969 RA III cast iron headers are right #9797072, and left #9791637 with 5 bolts each to the heads. The 1969 RA IV cast iron headers are right #9797975, and the left #9794035 with 5 bolts each to the heads. The 1970 RA III cast iron headers are right #9799720, and left #478140 with 3 bolts each to the heads. The 1970 RA IV cast iron headers are right #9799721, and the left #478141 with 3 bolts each to the heads. All the cars originally had heat riser shrouding on the left side. The two piece 1969-70 RA IV shrouding (1 2 3 4 5) is different than the 1 piece RA III cover. The RA IV have the 3 piece separate shrouding around the heat riser under the intake. Since the RA cast exhaust manifold’s output flanges hang lower they use different exhaust pipes than non-RA

Intake Manifold

The RA III intake is all cast iron with an integral exhaust crossover. The intake for the RA IV is cast aluminum. For 1969 the intake casting numbers are 9796614 and for 1970 the casting # is 9799084. The date code is on the bottom of the manifold and on the bottom of the crossover. For the RA IV there is a separate exhaust crossover and heater shroud around it. The intake crossover shroud for the RA IV has a heat riser tube that goes to the hole in the RA IA IV Carb plate on the passenger side. The RA III and RA IV both have a heat riser shroud on the driver side with a tube to the Carb plate.

Carburetors

The RA III and IV both use the Rochester QuadraJet.

The common non-CA emissions carb # for the RA III or IV automatic transmission is 7029270 for 1969 and 7040270 for 1970. The carb # for the RA III or IV manual transmission is 7029273 for 1969 and 7040273 for 1970.

The rare CA emissions carb # for the RA III or IV automatic transmission is 7029570 for 1969 and 7040570 for 1970. The carb # for the RA III or IV manual transmission is 7029573 for 1969 and 7040573 for 1970.

Although the RA III and IV carbs had the same #stamped, the settings and baseplate were different for each engine. The baseplate for the RA IV has a small hole in both primary butterflies. The fuel pumps are different for 1969 and 1970 as is the gas line tube.

Body

Ram Air system

First, from the outside, the 1968 to 1970 hoods all look the same. However the inner sub frame differs for each year. Compared to non-Ram Air GTOs the 1969 and 1970 ram air hoods are different as well (they have parts cut out of the sub frame to accommodate the ram air parts). In other words there are 5 different GTO hoods (different on the sub-frame) that  look the same from the outside. The hood plate, seals, scoops, and flappers are the same for 1969 & 1970. The 68 RA scoops were just open, are aluminum or pewter, and did not have mounting screw bosses facing the back. No cable or flaps for 68. The 69 and 70 RA hood scoops were fiberglass and had mounting bosses at the back for flapper housing attachment. They often cracked as the upper base plate worked loose and the flappers and housing pulled on them. There are different carb pans for the Ram air III (3) vs. the ram air IV (4). The RA III has 1 heat riser hole on the drivers side and the RA IV has two holes for the two heat risers on the RA IV. The carb pans are also different from 1969 to 1970. There are therefore 4 different carb pans for 1969-70. The  lower pull cables on some early1969 cars did not have the plastic outside coating. The inside pull bracket was the same for 1969-70. The cable hole in the firewall is drilled through the firewall in a special location. The RA IV heat riser shroud system consisted of two separate sources. For the left head/exhaust manifold an inner and outer shroud, and for the crossover there was a top and bottom piece and a metal adapter. The hose on the crossover had a 90 elbow, the hose to the left side (head/exhaust) did not have any elbows.

Trunk Springs

I have read from multiple sources that the springs for judges are thicker or there are two springs instead of one. I do not think the above is entirely correct. All the LeMans and GTOs and Judges I have seen have all had two trunk springs with matching diameters (although the springs for the judges are indeed thicker.) The 69 GTO springs are all made of 0.290 diameter spring steel. I need the exact diameter for the 1969 “thicker” diameter judge trunk spring. The 1970 Judges I have had had  0.340” springs where as the 1970 GTO, LeMans, or Tempest springs are all 0.310” diameter.

Emblems

There was an emblem on the Judges' glove box on all of them except the earliest 1969 models as there was a problem initially with the supply. There was a stripe on the each side and a "The Judge" emblem on both front fenders and the 1970 trunk or 1969 spoiler. The hardtop vs the convertible 1969 rear Judge spoiler was slightly different and are not interchangible but the 1970 rear spoiler fit both the hardtop and the convertible. The 1970 Judges did not have GTO emblems on them.

Trim and chrome

The 1969 and 1970 Judges had standard the Ram Air 3 or optional RA4 in them and with the ram air engines the CID emblem on the rocker panels was deleted, ie there was none. The wheelwell trim on the 1969 GTO cars was standard thus all the Judges in 1969 would of had the wheelwell trim but in 1970 the wheelwell trim was an option and was ordered separately on a Judge. The 1970 grille was painted all black on the 1970 Judges and the 1970 Judges had a front spoiler. The 1969 Judge did not have a front spoiler. Both years Judges had the 6 x 14 dechromed Rally II wheels, JA for 1969 and JL for 1970. The dash had the standard turned aluminum inserts as the GTO had. All the original 1970 rear bumpers had straight edges and did not have the little notches for the vertical luxury bumper add-ons. All SR rear bumpers I have seen have the incorrect notches in them. the chrome 1970 exhaust tips were part of the GTO package and all the 1970 Judges had them. The front valance trim?? 1969 vs 1970 GTO valance is different and for either year the GTO valance was different than the GTO.

Radiator support

Radiator supports for the Judges were the same as the standard issue GTOs but since all the Judges had RA they had the rubber baffles around the framehorns. The GTO radiator supports had small metal tabs spotwelded into the top edge the hold the endura bumper in where the Le Mans, Tempest did not. The 1969 and 1970 radiator supports differed on the bottom front edge where the vertical center brace attaches. On the 1969 GTO there was one center hole and the1970 had two holes about 2" or so apart, the Service Replacement (SR) 1969-70 core supports just had all three holes in them to use for either year.

Tachometers and gauges

Tachometers were an option on the Judges. For the 1970's, often there is either a gauge-tach cluster in the dash or a hood tach with the indash gauges. Many of the 1969 Judges had the hood tachs and the gauge cluster. The 120 MPH speedometer is original in the1969 GTO and 1969 Judges and both went to 140 MPH in 1970.

Conclusion of SD Stuff