Photo: fasthemi05 on e-bay
The summer of 1969 - the period a lot of people mistakenly refer to as "the summer of love" (that was in '67, apparently) and also the moment a certain A. E. Woodman bought this orange Pontiac GTO "The Judge" from a dealership.
Back then it was brand new, all chromy and shiny, and ready to put those 366 horses to work. The choice couldn't have been an easy one for Mr. Woodman considering the options available to him at the time. There was the Mercury Cougar, the Plymouth Roadrunner, not to mention the classic muscle cars that are still alive today: Dodge Charger, Chevrolet Camaro, and, of course, the Ford Mustang.
But there was something about the GTO that appealed to Mr. Woodman. Or maybe he just liked calling himself "the Judge," because that's the version of the muscle car he went for. A $332 option package at the time (about $2,500 in today's money), it was probably worth it for all the puns it led the way to. Just see the license plate in the pictures for one brief example.
Sadly, the car's first owner did not get to enjoy it too long as he passed away just three years and around 20,000 miles later. His son added roughly 11,000 extra miles during the late '80s, but that's all you'll find on its clock. During this time, the car's been well kept, and the engine started periodically, even if it wasn't actually driven.
The current owner says the GTO's mechanical bits are in perfect condition, at least considering its age. The engine runs smoothly, and the car is perfectly drivable. The only real issues can be found inside where the mats are toast, the driver's seat is completely torn, and the console lid is dry rotten. But you can't expect to buy a 52-year-old car like this for $37,500 (current e-bay price after 22 bids) and not invest a little more yourself.
In the end, though, whoever gets it will be the proud owner of a piece of American car history and will hopefully restore it and drive it around for as long as possible. Because no matter how cool or sexy new models are, you'll always turn more heads with a well-preserved icon such as this.
But there was something about the GTO that appealed to Mr. Woodman. Or maybe he just liked calling himself "the Judge," because that's the version of the muscle car he went for. A $332 option package at the time (about $2,500 in today's money), it was probably worth it for all the puns it led the way to. Just see the license plate in the pictures for one brief example.
Sadly, the car's first owner did not get to enjoy it too long as he passed away just three years and around 20,000 miles later. His son added roughly 11,000 extra miles during the late '80s, but that's all you'll find on its clock. During this time, the car's been well kept, and the engine started periodically, even if it wasn't actually driven.
The current owner says the GTO's mechanical bits are in perfect condition, at least considering its age. The engine runs smoothly, and the car is perfectly drivable. The only real issues can be found inside where the mats are toast, the driver's seat is completely torn, and the console lid is dry rotten. But you can't expect to buy a 52-year-old car like this for $37,500 (current e-bay price after 22 bids) and not invest a little more yourself.
In the end, though, whoever gets it will be the proud owner of a piece of American car history and will hopefully restore it and drive it around for as long as possible. Because no matter how cool or sexy new models are, you'll always turn more heads with a well-preserved icon such as this.
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