1970 Pontiac GTO Drag Races 1969 Dodge Super Bee: Video
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The Pontiac GTO is undoubtedly one of the most important muscle cars ever made, often credited with providing the spark that resulted in the muscle car era of the ‘60s. However, because of this, the Pontiac GTO is not without its rivals. Now, we’re watching as this 1970 Pontiac GTO Judge takes on a 1969 Dodge Super Bee.
Once again coming to us from the Cars And Zebras YouTube channel, this drag race is preceded by the usual Cars And Zebras shenanigans. You know what that means – plenty of silly jokes and puerile humor, so if all you care about is the racing, go ahead and skip straight to the 4-minute, 35-second mark in the video.
Of course, if you do that, you’ll miss out on all the cool specs and info on what these two cars bring to the table. Let’s start with the 1970 Pontiac GTO Judge, which presents in deep green paint, complete with the fender stripes, Judge decals, and large rear wing. Under the hood, this GTO is packing a 400 cubic-inch Ram Air IV V8 with a 10.5:1 compression ratio. Output from this meaty machine was rated at 370 horsepower at 5,500 rpm and 445 pound-feet of torque at 3,900 rpm straight from the factory. A four-speed manual sends it all rearwards. The cabin space also continues the green-and-black color scheme.
In the other lane, we have a 1969 Dodge Super Bee, which is equipped with the A12 package, adding in things like a heavy-duty radiator, 15-inch black wheels, redline tires, upgraded handling, a fiberglass lift-off hood, and critically, a 440-cubic-inch V8 topped by three Holley two-barrel carbs. Compression ratio came in at 10.5:1. Output from the factory was rated at 390 horsepower at 4,700 rpm and 490 pound-feet of torque at 3,200 rpm. This particular example is equipped with a three-speed automatic transmission.
Of course, it bears mentioning that these two rides compete in the Factory Stock class, which means that some modifications are allowed. Which one will come out on top? Hit play to find out.
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Great race! 2 truly iconic cars of the era! RAM AIR IV, underrated HP#s and one of if not the best Pontiac mill, although the 2x4bbl 421 SD and the 1973-74 SD 455 are great contenders.
Bob K. Mr 6 Pak, is the owner of the red Super Bee. Bob is truly a legend in the MOPAR community, F.A.S.T. racing, and one heck of a nice guy! He has helped me with my 70 V-code Roadrunner 440 6bbl, and is very good with specs for engine components, has his own cam grind design, and is the original owner of that Bee.
The 69½ A12 Roadrunner and Super Bee introduced the 440 3x2bbl package to the world, and the “V-code” 440 6bbl cars followed, basically thru 1971 and that was it. Heavier piston rods, an offset harmonic balancer, heavier duty springs, all had forged steel crankshafts, MOPAR took a good performance engine, the 440 HP, and really turned it up.
The Judge started out as a low cost, no frills concept to compete with the success of the Chrysler A12 cars, but the options for the Judge meant they could easily get to a very high price tag. The A12 Roadrunner and Super Bee really hit the target: MAX performance at minimal cost.
My wife and I represent both the GTO and Roadrunner performance well, as she has a 1965 Royal Bobcat tribute real GTO, 421 Tripower with a manual transmission and a Quick Performance 9″ rear axle setup, and my 70 440 6bbl real V-code Roadrunner. Both have performance mods, and for now, the race results are similar. I beat the GTO in my Roadrunner.
Both these cars must have modified engines to turn 12-flat quarter miles. Correct?
Yes, slight modifications are allowed, depending on the class in F.A.S.T. racing the vehicle is in. These 2 cars are in the class that only allows near factory specs, but obviously they are highly “tuned”. ALL F.A.S.T. race vehicles have to use the EXACT same tire size and composition as they had stock, new from the manufacturer, and MUST appear stock, so no headers.
Both cars back in the day was hot.
If you had a GTO or Judge you got respect. And if you had a big block Mopor you was sure to be watched and admired, you just couldn’t beat those big block Mopors on top end. If you stayed out there they ran you down. Pontiac was a everyone want one from its looks even though it wasn’t the quickest. But they was both nice cars to have because I had the pleasure to have owned both.
At 59 yrs old now, I was fortunate to have a love for “classic” muscle cars when they were basically “cool used cars”. Example, in 1978 at 16 I wanted to bring my very first car, a 70 VW Karman Ghia (kinda slow but fun and very unique) to a local renowned VW high performance shop and get a full performance build. I had a friend who did that w/his VW Beetle, and it would literally lift the front wheels off the ground. My dad suggested getting a used American muscle car (my parents had a basic 69 Roadrunner w/383 and auto they bought brand new) so I started looking. I got a 71 Charger R/T, bone stock in good shape, I was the 3rd owner but the 2nd owner only had it about 7 months, did some bodywork to the front passenger side fender. The 440 HP 4bbl was running really badly, but it looked like all it needed was an ignition system tune up. I got it for $1,700 w/52,000 miles on it, low miles for a 71 in 78! A new set of dual points, ignition condenser, cap, rotor, spark plugs and wires and it ran great. AC auto console. The R/T package had some nice features too along with the base 440 HP.
So much fun racing guys in my high school who had new Trans Ams and Camaros, and just thought they were all that. I’d put 4 friends in the R/T and beat the newer cars w/my AC on! Lol. Funny how much faster, WAY faster my 70 440 6bbl Roadrunner is, but it’s not stock, it’s several hundred pounds lighter, and I switched out the factory 3.54 ring and pinion gears for a 4.10 when I put the 5 speed (5th is .60 OD) in. Opening up the 1,350 CFM 6bbl with a manual transmission and 4.10 gears, along with the cam, headers, and a few other basic mods is quite an experience!