69 Ram Air III (non-Judge) Cars
 

These cars are actually rarer than Judges with 1,701 Hardtops (1,249 MT; 452 AT) and 259 Convertibles (175 MT; 84 AT) built total for 1969.

I have even seen one that was a special order Carousel Red paint Ram Air III 4-spd NON JUDGE. Cost more to make that one than to order a Judge. Go figure.

What is everyones opinion on value of a RA III GTO non-Judge compared to standard GTOs and Judges themselves?

I think that they are neat. It would be worth more to me being that I am in the hobby and appreciate the unique. Not as flashy as the Judge option, but still cooler than your standard GTO. Price between the flashy Judge and a Standard GTO. To the right person, however, it might hold even more value due to exclusivity. But you should not trust me...I'm a 68 guy. uhoh...

:D

I agree with Kurt. We have a 69 RAIII HT coming in that is optioned perfectly... Liberty Blue, m21, 3.90 limited slip, hideaways, hood tach, gages, ralleys, console. Same owner has a RA III Convert, white with red interior. Both cars were bought for money between a Judge and a well optioned GTO.

I prefer them myself as I was never much into the wings and stickers options on the Judges. I'd love to have a non-Judge RA anything.

i still have a vedero green 4 speed one. many years ago i traded steved a carousel red one that was a very loaded up 4 speed. sure wish i had kept that one.

I had an unusual '69 column shift auto RAIII. It had bucket seats too. Colors were Verdoro Green with gold interior.

A RAIII hardtop still seems to be a fairly priced car. I've seen people ask in the $60s for convertibles though. Judges seem to be double what a standard GTO costs. Maybe a RAIII GTO is worth 30% more than a standard GTO?

A friend of mine has a 69 hardtop RA III red with red interior, 4-speed and AC that he is restoring. I wonder how many came in that color combo?

Paul, That Liberty Blue car sounds fantastic!

slowgto, I remember your car it was on ebay about 4 years ago I think.

I agree these cars are still undervalued and you get a huge bang for the buck. Good discussion so far. Anyone have more info/stories/cars to share?

I owned a RA4 GTO several yrs ago for a short time, light green metallic, low miles, 4 spd. Then I got a conscience before I cut it up for a race car and traded it off.

Mike

It breaks my heart to talk about this car. I sold it a couple years ago to a member here. Originally Mayfair.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3431/...6dc8e271_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3596/...e64039ac5a.jpg

Here's PHS and a pic on a Matador Red Black Interior RA, M21, 3.90 car I'm putting together as a Judge clone for sale. Before you all berate me for 'cloning out' a unique car, let me just say it was done a couple of years ago and I'm sorry I did it now. I took it apart to have it painted the correct Matador but now I'm just going to put it back together and sell it so I can pay for the paint on my 70 Ram Air IV Judge. It has a SR block and SR M21 but is otherwise complete and has 84,000 original miles.

Both of the PHS docs posted here are after mid year production. Every non Judge RA car I know of has a late build date. Seems odd to me, I had assumed most folks would have just ordered the Judge package after it's introduction, if they wanted RA. Anyone have an early RA 69?

I'm betting that a good number of people just did not like the looks of the Judge graphics.
1969 was still a fairly conservative time for most working adults who could afford a new car. White shirts and ties were the norm.

Maybe. The phs I posted was owned by a librarian.

I did a 70 GTO Judge clone last year.Orbit RA4,4-SP,love the car,but now wish i would have just left it a regular GTO,with a RA4 upgrade.It just seems RA GTO,S are the odd ones,and Judges are the norm.If i had to do it over,Burgandy(match my 69)Red interior,dog dishes,ra4,4-sp.At least it would be different.Maybe next time!

JGlasgo :mmm, dogdishes! I like the unusual burgundy/red idea, I wonder what color the wheels would have been?
Mid-year performance cars are certainly nothing out of the ordinary... they would have been ordered right around this time of year, Springtime!! Who doesn't think of high-performance in the springtime? It's time to get out and bang some gears on the street and the track and what better car to do it in than a Ram Air car?

I am pretty sure the wheels would have been black.Your right about getting the cars out.I would just like to get a smell of some VP gas about now.

I was lucky enough to find a Burgundy/Black Vinyl/Black interior all original RA III gto back in the late 90's. It is loaded with lots of options and a late April built car.

Has anyone ever seen a Crystal Turquoise Ram Air car? I have also been documenting 69 ram air cars for years and have never come across one yet. I have around 50 cars documented with 12 Blue but no Crystal cars.

My point was that I simply haven't come across any early RA cars.

After what I said about not really being crazy about the Judge appearance packages...You reminded me of the one version that I truly love. The '70 OO Judge is one of the most beautiful cars ever built in my opinion.
Beautiful pair of cars you have there!