[Region Warrior]

Read somewhere years ago the 69 style causes the rear to lift some rather then make down force.

[MikeNoun]

The spoiler on the 69 Judge and 69 Trans Am did provide downforce, and Car Life magazine actually tested the effect of the Judge spoiler way back in 1969. Their results were approximately what Pontiac had stated, that it provided about 75-100 lbs of downforce. Unfortunately, as the rear end went down, the front end went up (!), so it hurt aerodynamics and performance. The Pontiac engineers designed a front spoiler for the 69 Trans Am to prevent that front end lift, so the T/A's front and rear spoilers (coupled with the air extractors) kept the Trans Am planted to the road.

If you look at the front ends on any of these old cars, you can see how the airflow would go under the front valence, then under the chassis. The faster you go, the more air is pushed under the car, and then the whole car begins to rise as speeds increase because of the air trapped underneath. Adding a rear wing pushes the rear of the car down, but without a front spoiler, all that did was trap MORE air under the car, and the vehicle had to use horsepower to overcome that resistance.

In testing, the 69 Z/28 front spoiler added 1-2 mph trap speed just in the 1/4 mile alone, and 3-5 mph at speeds over 120 mph. The 69 Z/28 was actually the best of the "GM" bunch back then, but of course Ford and Chrysler, who were battling on the NASCAR tracks, brought out cars that were VERY serious about aerodynamics and downforce.