OPGI Customer Car Spotlight: 1971 Pontiac GTO Judge

1971 Pontiac GTO Judge
Tim Miller, Huntington Beach, California
Engine: Pontiac 455 HO V-8
Interior Color:  Dark Green
Transmission:  Turbo Hydra-Matic
Paint: Tropical Lime Green Metallic

Original Parts Group Inc. (OPGI), Customer Tim Miller of Huntington Beach, California is the proud owner of this super nice 1971 Pontiac GTO Judge. However, Tim is a bit more than a customer, as he is also the founder and owner of the Surf City Garage car care products company, a brand that is stocked and sold right here at OPGI. Surf City Garage is also the only car care products company we know of that restores and maintains its own collection of over 130 vintage muscle cars and the Lime Metallic GTO shown here is just one of Tim’s many immaculate cars.

Tim started collecting domestic muscle cars back in 1970 when he purchased his first car at age 16. That first car was also a Pontiac, a 1967 GTO with a 400 and a 4-Speed transmission. With over 40 years of collecting and restoring cars, you can bet that the way a car looks is important to Tim. In order to keep his many cars looking great, Tim tried every car care product he could find, but wasn’t satisfied with the quality or performance. His solution was working with a chemist to develop his own products and thus the line of made in the USA Surf City Garage Enthusiast Grade® Detailing Products was born.

Today, Surf City Garage products are sold worldwide, in over 30 countries and the “garage” in Huntington Beach, California is a car care products company, a complete restoration shop and a classic car museum housing the 130 vintage muscle cars known collectively as The Surf City Garage American Muscle Car Collection.

Although the Judge version of the GTO was originally intended as a one year promotion in 1969, its popularity kept it alive for three years until 1971. When equipped with the big 455 cubic inch engines, the Judge models are generally considered to be the best Pontiac GTOs made during the classic muscle car era. The “Judge” name of the car came from Sammy Davis Jr.’s “Here Comes The Judge” skit on the very popular Laugh-In comedy television show.

In 1969 a total of 72,287 GTOs were built and 6,883 of them were Judge models. In 1970 the auto insurance companies had become aware of the muscle car phenomenon and started imposing surcharges on every muscle car on the market and that impacted sales negatively. Total GTO numbers slid to 40,149 for 1970 with 3,797 being Judge models. For 1971, GTO sales remained soft and only 10,532 total cars were built. During that last year the number of Judges dropped all the way down to just 374 cars (357 hardtops and 17 convertibles), making the ’71 Judge the rarest version of the car.

Tim Miller’s Judge is one of those ultra-rare 1971 models and he had to scour the country from coast to coast to locate this green Judge up in Anchorage, Alaska. As Tim explains “We would have bought one closer, but they just do not come up for sale often because there are so very few of them left.” Tim said the car was originally ordered new at a dealership in Anchorage and that it arrived at Surf City Garage for restoration in “Very good condition from a body work stand point and very complete with only a few things missing.” Tim said he considers 1971 the best year ever for Pontiac 455 V-8s, noting that “They are awesome engines and a perfect match for the ‘71 Judge.” Looking at his car today, we would have to agree on all points.