The car was ordered by an employee (Armando) of Yoder Pontiac in McAllen TX. Armando started working at Yoder when he was 17 and retired from the same dealership. He received the car at the dealership on June 17th, 1970. I have the original Yoder warranty statement and a few other original docs that show he owned the car well into the 80s...maybe longer. Armando passed away at 80 years old in 2011. The owners son claims the car was his pride and joy and was the talk of the neighborhood where they lived in south Texas. Price tag in 1970 was $4969.
The car is very nice and appears to have been subjected to a high end restoration in the early 2000s. The car looks great but has some minute chips on the nose that can be seen if you look hard enough. I bought the car from a high end speculator that lives in the SF, CA area who owned the car since 2016. Its believed that he had the green/yellow Judge stripes applied. He put 43 miles on the car between August 2016 and December 2019.
According to the Judge Registry
http://www.judgeregistry.com/index.html 72 XP code Judges were built in 1970...and if this car is truly an original WT7 car it could be one of a handful of that option produced. I'm working with the family now to determine if there are any photos or additional documents from back in the day to verify the WT7 option. I am in no hurry to rip this car apart looking for a build sheet so, for now, I will move ahead with the stripe package as if the car is a true WT7 car.
The car still shows well but has the usual burnt exhaust manifolds and head ports.
Here are some of the yummy details on the car...
- PHS documented Ram Air IV Judge built in Arlington the first week of June 1970.
- Polar White
- Options include M40 Hydro Trans CODE PD, PS, PDB, Formula wheel, white letter tires, 390 posi, hood tach, radio, rally gauges, tinted glass all around and handing pkg springs & shocks. The car has a black wing as well but unconfirmed if its a true WT7 car.
Car currently has 67K miles and wearing incorrect side mirrors, incorrect GREEN Judge stripes and aftermarket 15" Rally IIs. The car has also received a period correct AM/FM and tilt wheel column. All else seems correct including date coded side and rear glass. Windshield is a newer LOF piece
The engine? in speaking with Armando's son he states that the engine blew in 72 or 73 and was replaced at the dealer. The car now has a WT (1970 manual GTO block) but retains the 614 Ram Air IV heads, round port exhaust manifolds, aluminum intake with crossover, 7040270 carb, 111201 distributor and other correct pieces under the hood. It sounds as if the cam may be a bit more extreme than the original 041 unit.
Changes to the car will take place this spring when I will install yellow/red/black stripes and decals, chin spoiler, chrome side mirrors and JT code rallys with wide oval repro tires.
thanks for all the well wishes on the car and stay tuned for updates
Carl