[GTOnly70]

I think it's kinda funny when people slap Judge decals and stripes on a GTO and then get pissed off if someone asks if it's the real thing...

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by 4dblnkldude

I am also still amused by these people, quite a few people have mentioned my rear end. Yes its a 10 bolt, and they say oh man those are weak blah, blah. One time I heartd it too much, at a cruise night a fellow was looking at my car and muttered to his buddy" who the heck builds a car like this and puts a 10 bolt in it" So I said because it came that way!!

Me too.

I've been racing my car with the same 10 bolt for 31 years. Every 27 years or so I have to freshen it up...

[GTO JOHN]

I should drive mine more often. Another year almost gone.

[ramairthreegto]

Originally Posted by GTOnly70

I think it's kinda funny when people slap Judge decals and stripes on a GTO and then get pissed off if someone asks if it's the real thing...

The "is it a big block 400", and "are you sure it's posi, it can't be, it's only got the 10 bolt rear end" questions are kind of annoying, but kind of innocent and ignorant. They don't get me PO'd.

If I pulled in to a car show in an enclosed trailer, and back out a minty, super detailed Judge, and was going to enter it as one, I can see why people would ask to make sure its real. That would not make me PO'd.

What gets me PO'd is when people that know something is wrong, like the size tires you have on, the color you did your spoiler or hood scoops, etc. that know it is wrong snidely ask "Are you sure the 69 did not have body colored hood scoops?" or "You do know you have the 68 hood pan and not the real 69 or 70 that should go with the scoop flaps?", etc. just to be a prick.

And, when you pull up in driver quality work and paint, completely undetailed, driving in the rain, beating on the car at the drag strip, kids eating in it, spilling drinks in it, and climbing around in it in soccer cleats getting grass and mud everywhere, etc.,
and its pretty obvious that it is not a numbers matching rare car- the same type of person, who knows you would not do that to a rare car, asks if it is the real thing just to be a prick.

If I saw a guy treating a 69 Daytona like I do my GTO, I would assume it was a clone. I acutally like seeing what appear to be really rare cars doing what the cars were meant to do- but think the vast majority of people would not do it with a real version.

It's like I want to see Daytonas, Hemi Cudas, Superbirds, RAIV GTOs, Judges, 69 Z28s, LS6 Chevelles, etc. out there driving around a lot, burning rubber, hitting the drag strip, etc. but think the real ones are too rare and valuable to be abused like that. In my mind, clones are kind of like the stunt doubles of muscle cars.

[goatman65]

I get a lot of smirks,confused or disappointed looks when I tell some no-it-all musclecar expert that my 65 GTO has a 400,not a 389.Some even tell me it's ashame it doesn't have the original engine cause it'd be worth more.These guys watch too much 'My Classic Car' and B-J auctions.

[The Boss]

You know your exhaust tips are wrong....

[DougB]

I had a guy (late 40s-early 50s) pull up next to me at a stop light and said "Nice goat, is it a 1968?" to which I replied "No, it's a 1966". The guy came back to say "Are you sure? I could swear it's a 68".

Yes, I did have a guy ask me if I had a 389 or a 400 under the hood. He got real smug when I told it was a 400 but his smile faded when I told him the 389 was in the garage waiting to be rebuilt.

I don't understand the car show thing. I would rather be driving mine. Yes, we eat in it and take places like the drive in every now and then.

[Rack776]

Originally Posted by ramairthreegto

in honor of the guys you run into that don't even have a vintage car but like to ask questions about why it's not as good as the latest one they saw on the cover of a magazine.

Right on Brother! I thought I would escape those loosers by staying away from the cruze nights...and car shows....and anything else I used to like to go to.....I still get guff from guys pumping gas while I'm out
driving the car with my wife having a good time.

Its like this for me & my 75 T/A-
"No actually the paint is not bad...It's old battle scars from it being street raced back in the 80s...I dont want to loose that part of the cars originality & value with a restoration, No I dont want to be just like smokey & the bandit I like, Blue & White just fine...No Not ALL T/As were black & gold.....Really.....and they dont all have
Hood Birds & T-Tops either.....No its not a "Super Duty" 455.......Please Go Away ya Overhaulin' Lovin' Looser"


I feel your pain! You have a Nice Goat, you dont see many Red Judges

[ramairthreegto]

Originally Posted by The Boss

You know your exhaust tips are wrong....

Man, I went out of my way to find those second gen TA tips and weld them on.

Just like with doing my spoiler, hood scoops, and hood tach flat black.
And drilling for the hood pins.

I know you are messing with me,
But someday I might go to a show and make one of those posters.

“This is a day two GTO. Yes it is a real GTO. It did not leave the factory with a hood tach, RAIII engine, spoiler, manual transmission, or as a Judge. It was rescued from a junk yard, got a new quarter panel, new floor pans, and has dings scratches, and dents. It has non show room tips, rear wheels, etc. just like teenagers did to them in the 70s and 80s. Including the aftermarket 8 track player. This is the kind of car I would hop in as a kid when someone’s father or older brother was giving us a ride, it was exactly what I wanted when I got my license. It is supposed to be a time capsule of that era when it was lived in and used. Feel free to hop in and spill a little Boone’s Farm or Genesee Cream Ale when I hit a bump. I’ll be back in an hour, you and Mary Sue are free to use the ashtrays and backseat but leave the window cracked so it’s not all steamed up and reeking of musk and weed when I get back. If you would like to see a GTO the way it could have left the showroom, check out the beautiful, lovingly restored but soulless green 70 day one GTO to the left. “


This thread was revisited by me today after being out and getting gas and being told- “That car should be in the hands of someone that gives a crap about it, Not someone with two dogs riding in it,”

[Chief of the 60's]

Wait until the headlamp police come running to tell you that you have the wrong T-3's

[grandam1979]

Wow you know you just responded 10 years later??

[Half-Inch Stud]

Its a 326 bored out.

The onlookers i deal with usually have some knowledge; typically off by 1 year happens.

389 or 400? well thats my opener to say 455 bored out to 470, overdrive trans, Dana60 posi, low 12 s on real cheap pump gaz

[ramairthreegto]

Originally Posted by grandam1979

Wow you know you just responded 10 years later??

It’s not my fault I only had the usual run of the mill, minor snide and insulting consults every so often for for the past ten years before I got what I thought was a major prick comment to post about.

[242177P]

Originally Posted by Chief of the 60's

Wait until the headlamp police come running to tell you that you have the wrong T-3's

Someone had their feelings hurt.

A healthy dose of reality never killed anybody. But if it hurts your feelings, perhaps knitting is your forté.

[242177P]

Originally Posted by ramairthreegto

“That car should be in the hands of someone that gives a crap about it, Not someone with two dogs riding in it,”

So, it should be sitting in some garage, never to be driven again? Right...

[ramairthreegto]

Some don’t get it,
Just want to be mean, whatever.

I got one of the 5.7 Challengers the day they were arriving.
Getting gas the cliched White Sox, Velcro new balance sneaker wearing, bald, pudgy guy in a brand new Corvette said, in front of my kids,
“Bet you wish you could have afforded this, and that your car was as fast.”
What the Hell. I was ecstatic I had a classic looking car with all the modern benefits, that I could buckle three kids into the back of, Plus have a duffel bag of guns and drugs and two dead hookers sized trunk. They liked riding in it.
I told him to let me know when how long it would take him to do a quarter mile with his wife and three kids in his Corvette and I would be happy to compare times.


My 69 GTO would have stayed dead in a junkyard since the 1990s if not rescued. The guy that restored it showed it until the restoration was showing its age and sold it to me for funds to rescue and restore a numbers matching rarer version. I drive it like I stole it, expose a lot of people to it, and have spent money on decals, parts, tires, rims, reproduction scoops, pans, cable, etc.

My 70 was all original, restored, owned, enjoyed, then was dying in an heated, uncooled garage not being driven, I got it. Got it running and working good mechanically, and am keeping it nice.

My 71 Javelin had sat since 1988. Well, 300 miles on it since 1988. It was going to be scrapped. I have it running and again have pumped money into the economy with rims, tires, tank, Tran rebuild, carb kit, pertronix, tank, fuel lines, exhaust, etc. OK, so my paint job didn’t cure right and looked like crap after. Year or two. But it still exists.

My 74 RR was a stalled project with no engine, no interior, no windshield, wipers, horn, headlights, exhaust, etc. I again pumped money into the economy and I have it running with a little better driveway paint job and saved it from being parted out.

They are not worth what a 69 marching numbers RAIV 4 speed, 70 cool color matching numbers Judge, 71 401 mint zero miles AMX, or 440 pistol grip manual fully restored RR are. They are not museum pieces or investments.

If the only classic cars out there were the rare, super expensive, perfect examples nobody would ever be driving them, riding in them, or being exposed to them.

[Greg Reid]

You guys must live where there are a lot of a-holes. I have been driving older cars all my adult life and I have never, ever had anyone make me angry with a comment about my cars or tried to make me feel that they knew more about my car than I did. I've had some 'dumb' questions occasionally like, looking at my '68 GTO- 'Is that a Road Runner?' but I just answer them and it never goes beyond something like, 'Wow, it's nice'.
I can see it happening, but it's never happened to me.

[TAKerry]

Originally Posted by Greg Reid

You guys must live where there are a lot of a-holes. I have been driving older cars all my adult life and I have never, ever had anyone make me angry with a comment about my cars or tried to make me feel that they knew more about my car than I did. I've had some 'dumb' questions occasionally like, looking at my '68 GTO- 'Is that a Road Runner?' but I just answer them and it never goes beyond something like, 'Wow, it's nice'.
I can see it happening, but it's never happened to me.

Im with you on this one. Never had a person say anything about my car that I was offended by or even cared about if it was negative. I have had some what I thought were silly questions or comments but most were simply because someone was misinformed. No problem, at least they were interested enough to comment.
RAIIIGTO, sounds like a bit of an inferiority complex, just about every one of your posts apologizes or explains that your cars are not 'real', or worth as much as their counterparts. I would love to have any one of them just like they are and offer no apologies. To me all old cars are cool in their own right.

[76TA462]

Have had my 76 TA forever. Tons of work, no way original, but a true Pontiac. Good looking and running car after lots of ongoing blood, sweat, tears, and cash, and it will always be in progress. Get 99% good comments. Scene set. At a cruise last summer a guy checks out my car, gets under it and all over it, and finds one of several flaws (most only I know ha ha) and focuses on that instead of appreciating the effort. Says, yeah that is always a Pontiac problem, too bad??? Weird. I see him at the end of the night, leaving in his rough and limping TA. At least he is a Pontiac guy and knows them well enough to shlit on them. LMAO. That said, I hope he gets it to snuff. I appreciate any person’s efforts to keep these and any car on the road no matter what condition.

[ramairthreegto]

Well, we are talking about incidents over the span of ten, 15, 20, years or more when we mention them.

The ten percent of awesome comments, stories, and 80% of general dumbassery comments fall into the background and the ten percent of mean, snide stuff stand out.

People are also into the hobby for a multitude of reasons.

The area I am in has a ton of golf and retirees. Many of which came from big northern cities. With a Concours d’Elegance flavor among those interested in cars.

Nine out of ten of them are not the guy that for home from ‘Nam, bought a sweet Firebird, got married, went to a sedan, and built their business and family, etc.

The aggravation comes from putting the time, effort, and money into keeping something from having been parted out or scrapped or rotting away into nothing,
While some aged former fortunate son draft dodger with a string of ruined companies and screwed over people behind them is a dick about them.