"Nothing like driving a true muscle car!"........The story of a 1969 GTO Judge

Author and Photographer: Scott van Tamelen

Owner and West Michigan Pontiac Club member, Greg Jordan, had been looking of a replacement to his 1967 Pontiac GTO since he was forced to sell the car in 2019. It took couple years of looking before the right GTO piqued his interest.

Greg was originally looking of 1968 400 HO car, but every time he would scour the interwebs looking for just the right car this 1969 GTO Judge would keep showing up. Eventually the car’s Liberty Blue paint with its matching blue interior color scheme started to appeal to him.

When he reached out to the seller, he became even more intrigued, he was told the car had recently undergone a “full-on rotisserie restoration”. After some back and forth negotiations Greg agreed to purchase the Judge. He ended up trading his 1997 Comp T/A Trans Am towards the purchase, a decision he regrets today but at the time it seemed like the right thing to do. Once behind the wheel of the Judge the memories of his ‘67 GTO came roaring back; “there’s just nothing like driving a true muscle car” explains Greg.

On the drive home with the car from Florida, he began to question the story he was told about the car being “fully” restored. The body was laser-straight, and the undercarriage was well detailed but the same couldn’t be said for the mechanicals. Before getting to the Florida-Georgia state line the car had already began to overheat. A stop overnight to make the needed repairs became necessary. Since then, Greg has also rebuilt the entire suspension, replaced the alternator, the starter, and had the 400 Ram Air III engine freshened up. He has future plans of replacing the transmission and freshening up the rear differential.

Some people would’ve given up on chasing the gremlins that had plagued this GTO Judge, but Greg puts it this way; “To be honest, I believe I was meant to save the car. It had multiple owners for the last 8 years after the restoration. The car was plagued with problems……so I’m doing my best to make it right. “

Recently, the car was invited to the Troy Traffic Jam where it was on display with other Royal Bobcat Pontiacs in Troy, Michigan. They were also invited to be a Feature Car at the Berger Chevrolet All-GM Show during the Metro Cruise weekend in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Given those accolades, it’s apparent he has done a fine job of “making it right”.

It may not have been the exact car Greg set out to find and he may have traded a car he enjoyed, but having a muscle car that puts a smile on your face every time you drive it? Well, it’s like he says, “there’s just nothing like driving a true muscle car!!”B

Below: Greg's 1967 GTO he bought when in high school