BRZN Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 (edited) Reichler and I had the opportunity yesterday to help a friend out with one of his cars. Our friend, Vince, purchased this Judge out of California from the private collection of it's second owner eight years ago. The car was manufactured in California and spent it's time with it's first owner somewhere in Washington state. The car isn't driven much due to what it is, and other than some Waterless Wash wipe downs and applications of Detail Spray over the years, it hasn't been touched other than being waxed once. Carousel Red was a one year only color option in 1969, which was the first of the three years the Judge package was available on Pontiac's GTO. This car is a matching numbers example with it's Pontiac Historical Society (PHS) documented original 400 cubic inch motor, four speed transmission and 355 rear gears. The best Vince can tell it had a frame on restoration in the mid to late 80's due to the date stamps on the insides of the door panels and the dated aftermarket pieces on the motor. It's obvious it was a frame on restoration as the underside looks like that of a well cared for 45 year old car with it's 78,000 miles shown on the odometer! Vince had contacted me towards the end of the winter to polish the car for him, but we'd never set a date. This past weekend at the All GM Nationals in Carlisle, PA he took second place in the stock GTO class for 1968-1972 as well as a Celebrity Pick from GTO Design Developer, Bill Collins. July 1-5 he plans to have the car in Pittsburgh for the GTOAA Annual Convention as long as a few parts arrive to replace some worn ones; rocker panel chrome, door handles, and perhaps a couple others. We set a polishing date for yesterday. I enlisted the help of Charlie Reichler and the two of us spent five hours with Vince and the car. Before we arrived Vince had cleaned the car from the past weekend (with Waterless Wash), clayed it, and polished the roof with his PC using the old Severe Swirl Remover and a green foam pad. Charlie and I worked the paint using our Flex machines with orange microfiber pads attached and the new Paint Correcting Polish. I had Vince tape off all the Judge Stripes and wording with detailing tape and polish out areas we couldn't reach using his PC equipped with the 4" machine backing plate, a 4" microfiber pad and Paint Correcting Polish. This combo worked so well there was no need to get out the Paint Finishing Polish. Here's two shots of the car before we really got started: Can you see the difference in the roof Vince had been working on before I snapped this picture, and the depth of the lights reflection in the roof paint vs. the C-pillar and rear quarter? The paint wasn't bad as it had been well cared for since it's last restoration. Vince believes the car had been painted one time since the frame on restoration in the 80's, but doesn't know for sure. it was a base coat clear coat spray with some pretty hard clear. In the second picture above you should be able to notice some slight hazing around the reflection of the fluorescent lights on the hood. I had already polished where Charlie's reflection shows to figure what our plan of attack was going to be. These shots were after I polished the hood: Better, but not perfect. I had to keep telling myself we were working with paint that could be as old as 30 years. Now the reflection you notice around the lights is what's reflecting off the ceiling not a haze in the paint. Prep work prior to painting wasn't the best and there were some flaws and odd anomalies in places, but it really came out nice. Charlie and I were constantly looking over our work with Brinkman Xenon lights and snapping flash pictures to check our work. Here I'm looking over the driver side door and front fender we were working on with my camera: And here's what the camera captured! Not too shabby! All done polishing: How about those Rally 2 Wheels? Vince restored them himself this past winter. After Paint Sealant, a layer of Brilliant Glaze and a coat of wax: I think he'll do just fine in Pittsburgh.. Edited June 25, 2014 by BRZN Redbeard, Green Machine and Aaron@P2PQD 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reichler Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 Absolute blast working on that car. Really doesn't get much better than polishing out a 69 Carousel Red, 4-speed Judge. It's arguably one of the most iconic muscle cars out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris@Adams Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 Nice work guys.....gotta love that GTO! BRZN 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
69supersport396 Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 Very nice! BRZN 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 Looks better than brand new! Great job on a great car! BRZN 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianT Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 That's one nice example of '60's muscle!! BRZN 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marylander Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 neat! That car and I am the same age. It has aged better. Chris@Adams and BRZN 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Team Adam's Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 GREAT work guys! Color me a bit jealous, what an awesome car to be able to work on!! Chris@Adams and BRZN 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron@P2PQD Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 Awesome work on a wicked car! Looks amazing BRZN 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simplife Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 OP, is that a Ram Air III or IV? Looks like it doesn't have the optional hood tach (I've heard they were inaccurate and unreliable but does add to the "cool" factor. Also, thought that hidden headlights were standard on all '69 Judges but have seen a few others with exposed lights like yours. I think all the early production cars were Carousel Red until midyear at least.. You could have a very early production number. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reichler Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 If my memory serves me correct, it's a Ram Air III. It was rebuilt most likely back in the 80's with a more aggressive cam and has unknown mufflers. Hidden headlights were an option only; fixed headlights were standard. The vast majority of all 69 Judge's were Carousel Red too. BRZN 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRZN Posted June 26, 2014 Author Share Posted June 26, 2014 Vince just confirmed: Ram Air III Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LDM Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 '69 Judge in this color has always been one of my dream cars. BRZN 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randyfox Posted June 28, 2014 Share Posted June 28, 2014 Looks like it was a lot of fun to work on! Great job on that classic Judge you guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Bowtie Posted June 28, 2014 Share Posted June 28, 2014 The car looks great! A friend of mine took his convertable 1970 SS chevelle out to the All GM Nationals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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