When photographed, this '69...
When photographed, this '69 black convertible Ram Air III Judge was awaiting restoration. Now it's nearly finished.
Though not all the engine...
Though not all the engine details match the letter of some Pontiac points judging rules, this R/A-IV engine and the Judge in which it is mounted are still outstanding
Here is a near-priceless '70...
Here is a near-priceless '70 Starlight Black Ram Air IV Judge recently completed by John Kane Restoration. We were able to steal a few quick shots of it before the rain came.
Under the hood you can see...
Under the hood you can see John and Jackie's attention to detail, right down to the little tags applied on certain parts throughout. For you sticklers, a few items that deviate from GTOAA judging standards include the style of the master cylinder, the Delco eye on the battery should be second from the positive post not fourth, the Ram Air seal was cut down because it put too much pressure on the hood, and the water neck should not be painted when used with the aluminum intake. But let's not forget that this Judge was not restored to compete for points, but rather to please its owner.
Here is the restored interior...
Here is the restored interior in basic Sandalwood.
Restoration Challenges
According to John and Jackie, there are certain situations that will make a restoration more challenging and sometimes take longer than originally planned. Here are a few.
Any Pontiac that has had prior accident damage which required framework is a potential problem if the repair work was done incorrectly. Those that were hit hard enough to move the cowl back can be difficult to diagnose prior to teardown.Rust is always a big issue. The rustier the Pontiac, the more difficult and time consuming the restoration. So look for Pontiacs with the least amount of rust to begin with. Spending substantially more money for a better Pontiac up front may actually save you thousands of dollars and months of bodywork labor in the long run.Pontiacs that require many patch panels can be a challenge because the quality of these panels can vary greatly depending upon the source.Customers who furnish their own parts are trying to be helpful. But more times than not, the parts are the wrong ones or they are completely worn out. This slows the process as new parts have to be ordered and the customer needs to be told why his parts won't work.Along the same lines, customers who supply a parts car are trying to be helpful. But again, many times the parts car is more trouble than it's worth, yielding fewer useable parts than originally hoped for by the owner. Once again, new parts have to be ordered. Then the customer has to be told why the parts car actually cost him more in the grand scheme of things because time was taken to hunt for parts on it that turned out to be unusable.Strangely enough, '69s always take extra time to fit the front bumper. John says it seems like they were all custom fit from the factory, so if the bumper or any of the front sheetmetal is changed, fitting takes much longer.Convertible tops can be difficult and time consuming to properly fit as well-especially if the frame had been rotted and repaired or replaced and the tack strips were damaged and replaced. Parts: Restore, Replace, Or Reuse
Evaluating and determining which parts to restore, replace, or reuse can be a daunting task. Sometimes you'll find that replacing a part is actually cheaper than restoring it. Other times, there is no replacement currently made, so you are forced to keep the original or seek N.O.S. And then there are instances where the replacement is just a functional one that works as well as stock but looks quite different from the original part.
Underhood Plating: '70 Ram Air IV Judge
A few of these platings may have been of a different content from the factory. However, replicating some of those plating types decades later presents some issues with ever-increasing environmental concerns-and some had limited longevity even back then. Those platings listed below are accepted as correct by the GTOAA. Instances where John Kane Restoration differs from the GTOAA-accepted appearance will be noted as well.