Pontiac Power

Spotter's Guide
1969 GTO

Following the two-year restyle cycle, 1969 was an off year and the GTO got only minor changes to distinguish it from the 1968 models. As before, it was available as a hardtop coupe and a convertible. In terms of styling, the GTO retained the Endura front bumper and no optional chrome bumper was available. The Pontiac triangular crest, previously on the top of the nose section of the Endura bumper, was deleted. The grille pattern was changed to an egg- crate design, and the GTO grille emblem was now located on the lower half of the grille. The hidden headlamp option continued to be available. Although the same hood was used, Ram Air decals were placed on the scoops of Ram Air III equipped cars and Ram Air IV decals were placed on the scoops of cars with the Ram Air IV engine option. The front fender GTO 6.5 liter crest was replaced by a GTO emblem that used white letters mounted on a bar that matched the car's exterior color. On the rear quarter panels, the familiar GTO emblem was replaced by a side marker light that matched the shape of the GTO 6.5 Liter emblem. The red lens had white GTO lettering on it. The GTOs did not have side vent windows, in what seems to have been an industry wide departure from side vent windows. The optional Power-Flow ventilation system was used to circulate interior air. A GTO emblem was used on the rear deck lid. The GTOs used a different rear bumper that sloped inward at the bottom. A dark gray mat was used in the trunk, and the Space Saver spare tire was once again optional.
The interior followed the same basic pattern as that of the 1968 GTO, but the instrument panel was covered with more padding and the door panels and seats got a different design. Two Rally clusters were once again available: RPO 484 got the Rally clock in the right-hand pod and RPO 444 came with an 8000 rpm tachometer. The standard GTO Deluxe steering wheel had three spokes, which were color keyed to the interior. The optional Custom Sports steering wheel also had three spokes, but only the center hub was color keyed to the interior. The tilt wheel was optional. The Hurst shifter was once again used with all manual transmissions, but the Hurst Dual Gate shifter for the automatic was replaced with the Rally Sport shifter if the console was ordered. An optional walnut shift knob was available with the Hurst shifters and used a Pontiac emblem rather than a shift pattern. Early production GTOs got a GTO nameplate above the heater controls if they did not have air conditioning; if they did have air conditioning, the emblem was displaced by a vent. The GTO crest was used on each door panel.
The standard GTO engine was the 400 ci V-8 rated at 350 hp, with the 400 ci 265 hp V-8 a no-cost option. The 265 hp V-8 came only with the Turbo Hydra- matic automatic. The Ram Air III engine, rated at 366 hp, was optional. It used D-port cylinder heads and free-flowing exhaust manifolds, and it included a factory Ram Air system. Unlike the hood scoops on previous systems, the ones on this system were functional and the driver was able to open and close them by means of a dash-mounted cable. The Ram Air IV engine, rated at 370 hp, was the ultimate performance engine. It used different heads with round exhaust ports, 1.65:1 rockers, a more radical camshaft and an aluminum intake manifold with a Rochester Quadra- jet carburetor and was available only with 3.9:1 or 4.33:1 axle gears. Air conditioning was not available with the Ram Air IV. All GTOs came with 14 x 6 in. wheels and a hubcap. Optional were the Deluxe wheel covers, which had six cooling slots; the Custom wheel covers, which had five spokes; and the wire wheel covers, which were unchanged. The Rally I styled steel wheels were no longer available; only the Rally II wheels were offered, and these were unchanged. Standard tires were G78 x 14 Red Lines, with whitewalls a no-cost option. Optional tires included fiberglass-belted G78 x 14s and fiberglass-belted G70 x14s in either Red Lines or whitewalls. The Judge option was new for 1969, and it was available on both body styles.
The total production for the GTO was down slightly from 1968, with 72,287 built for 1969.

Questions? Comments?
webmaster@pontiacpower.net