FOR YOU PONTIAC DUDES, 70 GTO RAM AIR 4 PICS

[StealthBird]

Beautiful car! It's easy to see why the 70 GTO, the 70 Chevelle SS, and the 70 GS are considered styling masterpieces of the Musclecar Era!

At Mecum last Fall, we watched a 70 GS Stage 1 4-speed go across the block that was all original, and all the talk around us was about how beautiful the color was. The car was Diplomat Blue. This was a new color that was shared by GM intermediates in 1970 - Buick (Diplomat Blue), Pontiac (Atoll Blue), Oldsmobile (Twilight Blue), and Chevrolet (Fathom Blue).

Fantastic car, and congrats on the resto! Those RAIV cars continue to climb in value, and it's easy to see why. There were far fewer 1970 RAIV GTO’s made (less than 800) than the other GM Supercars. The LS6 (4,400+), W-30 (3,100), and Stage 1’s (2,465) are more common.

[MultiMopars]

Years ago I have a 1971 GTO Judge CONVERTIBLE but can't remember for the life of me if it was a Ram Air IV or not. I sold it to a Pontiac dealer in the Chicago burbs back in the mid-late 70s. I always wondered where the car is today as it is my understanding that it was 1 of 17 built.

[mockingbird812]

Would not have been a factory installed RAIV. All '71s were 455s from the factory. I have also heard the "1 of 17" for the 71 GTO ragtops. Rare car indeed.

[68 Vert]

Very nice car, I wonder if it was ordered with 4.33 gears?

[njsteve]

The 1 of 17 was for 1971 GTO Judge ragtops. They all came with 455HOs. The Ram Air III and IV 400 engines ended in 1970

[MultiMopars]

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Would not have been a factory installed RAIV. All '71s were 455s from the factory. I have also heard the "1 of 17" for the 71 GTO ragtops. Rare car indeed.

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Your right it was a 455. Not being a Pontiac guy I had always wondered about the 400--455 thing. I always thought of the 455 as a station wagon engine.

Anyway, that is what it was. It was Dark Blue with the wild muticolored side stripes console 4 speed car. If anyone know of where the car is today I would be interested in knowing and may be able to help with ownership chain.

[442w30]

If it was the original color, there's a very good chance it wasn't a real Judge ragtop.

[StealthBird]

And the 71 455 H.O., which came in all 1971 Judges and all 1971-1972 Trans Am's (optional in the 71/72 GTO, and optional in the Formulas) was definitely not a station wagon engine. It was one of the best engines of the 1971-1972 era. Many people confuse the 1971-1972 455 H.O. engines, which had round port heads and an aluminum intake (basically a low compression version of a RAIV 455) with the 1970 455 H.O., which, unfortunately, was just a basic D-port engine 455 with a standard steel intake. In 1970, the 455 H.O. was basically the 400 H.O., with extra cubes. In 1971, the 455 H.O. was a true high performance engine with many unique parts.

[442w30]

The '71-72 HOs were the kings of low compression engines till, perhaps, the Super Duty came about. The only car that may have had an edge was the 1971 LS6 Corvette.

[MultiMopars]

[ QUOTE ]
If it was the original color, there's a very good chance it wasn't a real Judge ragtop.

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Why do you say that?

I bought this car about 1976-77. No one was cloning these cars then. I bought it from a local guy in my small home town who bought it from the original owner. I don't know the name of the color but to me, it was a medium--dark blue color.

As I said I sold it to a Pontiac dealer, who of course tried to grind me on the price. I told him that he certainly knew that it was a special car that they couldn't have made many of and if he wanted it there was no negotiating on the price. I think i sold it for $4700. Top dollar for a car like that at the time. I had no idea of how few were built when I sold it.

My guess is that the Pontiac dealer that bought it may still have it or knew the production numbers on it and it sold to another collecter at some time but it was over 30 years ago. With this in mind and as few as there were made I would think that the car is still around and would not be hard to verify. There cetainly are people that are tracking these cars.