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1970 Pontiac GTO

1970 Pontiac GTO

In the 1970 Pontiac GTO, the rear engine was redesigned and the body received new creases. The base engine was dropped. A 455 cubic-inch engine was introduced. The 400 cubic-inch engine produced between 350 and 370 horsepower. The 455 cubic-inch V8 produced between 360 and 500 horsepower.

A rare option on the 1970 Pontiac GTO was the Vacuum Operated Exhaust (VOE) option. The VOE option was an attempt to simplify the old hot rod trick of opening up the exhaust system for more power, but it also substantially increased exhaust noise.

With the VOE option, the driver could pull on a knob under the dash and engine vacuum was routed to a diaphragm on each muffler. The diaphragm opened an internal baffle and gave the exhaust an express route through the muffler. The device reduced backpressure (and thus increased power), but it also significantly increased the noise level caused by the exhaust.

The 1970 Pontiac GTO remained available as an option on GTOs. The 1970 Pontiac GTO came standard with the Ram Air III, while the Ram Air IV was optional. Though the 455 CID was available as an option on the standard GTO throughout the entire model year, the 455 was not offered on The Judge until late in the year. “Orbit Orange” became the new standard color for the ‘70 Judge, but any GTO color was available on The Judge. Striping was relocated to the upper wheelwell brows.

The 1969 Pontiac GTO’s exterior dimensions are 5154 mm length, 1948 mm width, 1329 mm height, 2845 mm wheelbase, 1549 mm front track, and 1524 mm rear track.

1970 Pontiac Le Mans

The Le Mans (or Tempest) is the base model upon which the Pontiac GTO is built. The main differences are engine/transmission, suspension, and body styling appearance (different bumper/grillwork.) The nice part about the Le Mans is that you get most of the looks without the premium price associated with the GTOs.

For the 1970 Pontiac Le Mans, Pontiac reshuffled its intermediate lineup a bit with the LeMans nameplate downgraded to the mid-line sub-series previously known as the Tempest Custom and included two and four-door pillared sedans, while the previous top-shelf LeMans series was renamed the LeMans Sport in the same three body styles including a 4-door hardtop sedan, 2-door hardtop coupe and convertible.

The 1970 Pontiac Le Mans has bigger engines - which had previously reserved for GTOs - were made available on lesser Tempest/LeMans models including a 400 CID V8 rated at 265 hp with a two-barrel carburetor or a 330 hp option with a four-barrel carburetor and dual exhausts.

1970 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am

The 1970 Pontiac Firebird represented a new high for Pontiac styling. The front bumper and grille were molded out of Endura rubber and were painted the same color as the car to give it a bumperless appearance. The sides sported rounded full wheel cut outs without any extra trim.

The 1970 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am is powered by 345-horsepower Ram Air 400-cid V-8 engine, furnished low-14-second elapsed times at the dragstrip. That apparently satisfied most buyers, because just 88 of the 3,196 Pontiac Trans Ams built that year got the optional Ram Air IV. That one added bigger ports, better heads, swirl-polished valves, and an aluminum intake manifold for 370 horsepower, 25 more than in ‘69.

There were two Ram Air 400 engines for the 1970 Pontiac Firebird: the Ram Air III (335 hp, 366 hp (273 kW) in GTO) and the Ram Air IV (345 hp, 370 hp (280 kW) in GTO) which were carried over from 1969. Either engine could be mated to either a 4-speed manual or 3-speed automatic transmission.

The Ram Air III was available with a pair of manual transmissions, either the M20 wide-ratio or the M21 Close-ratio. The Ram Air IV featured specific cylinder heads, camshaft and a power peak of 5500 rpm vs 5000 rpm. Only the M20 wide ratio transmission could be teamed up with the RA IV if you wanted to shift yourself.

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