1970 Pontiac GTO Judge Convertible in Irish Green & Engine Sound

Kevin Callahan’s restomodded 1970 Pontiac GTO Judge convertible, finished in a custom shade its builders named St. Patrick’s Day Green, turned heads at Chicago’s World of Wheels show — but the real story is why he built it. Named Irish Eyes, the car doubles as a tribute to his two daughters, built by Hot Rod Auto’s Mark Klopack. Watch to find out what makes this particular Judge more than just another show car.

Some builds start with a spec sheet. This one started with grief, and it shows in every inch of the finished car. When a father decided to honor his two daughters through a restomod, he did not settle for a stock respray — he commissioned a custom shade of green so specific it needed its own name, and gave the finished 1970 Pontiac GTO Judge convertible a name of its own too. What Kevin Callahan ended up with at Chicago’s World of Wheels show was not just a fast car. It was something closer to a memorial that happens to do burnouts.

A Color Invented for This Car Alone

The car’s finish is a custom-mixed color the build team dubbed St. Patrick’s Day Green, created specifically for this project rather than pulled from a factory chip chart. Custom paint is not unusual on a high-end restomod, but naming both the color and the car itself signals a level of personal investment that goes beyond a typical build — this was not about matching a trend, it was about capturing something specific to the owner.

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The Story Behind Irish Eyes

Owner Kevin Callahan named the finished convertible Irish Eyes, and according to comments left on the video, the build doubles as a tribute to his two daughters. Several viewers responded to that detail more than anything mechanical about the car, calling it a beautiful story and noting that the craftsmanship matched the sentiment behind it. It is a reminder that behind every showpiece Judge at events like this, there is usually a reason that has nothing to do with horsepower. Choosing a builder is as much about trust as craftsmanship on a project this personal, since the shop is not just fabricating panels and laying paint — they are translating a family story into sheet metal, which is a very different brief than a typical restoration job.

The Builder Who Brought It to Life

The build came together at Hot Rod Auto in Schiller Park, Illinois, under builder Mark Klopack. Callahan explained he had owned several cars before this one but always felt something was missing — a car actually designed around what he wanted, rather than bought off a lot. After talking to multiple shops, he settled on Klopack’s team to turn that concept into the convertible that eventually rolled into the World of Wheels show on March 7, 2018.

Judge Badge, Real or Restomod?

Not every viewer took the Judge badge at face value. One commenter pointed out that PHS documentation — the Pontiac Historic Services paperwork collectors use to verify factory options — would confirm whether this car was originally built with the Judge package, noting that the 242 body code in the VIN only confirms it started life as a GTO, not necessarily a Judge. It is the kind of detail that separates casual admiration from serious Pontiac scholarship, and it did not slow down the praise for the finished restomod one bit.

What Made the Original GTO Judge Special

The Judge package itself was Pontiac’s answer to the Plymouth Road Runner, launched in 1969 as a stripped-down, loud, and comparatively affordable performance option built around the Ram Air III and, later, Ram Air IV 400-cubic-inch engines. Convertibles wearing the Judge treatment were always rarer than their hardtop counterparts, since most buyers who wanted the drag-strip image opted for the lighter, stiffer coupe body instead — which makes a Judge-badged convertible, restomod or not, an eye-catcher at any show.

A Quirk Every Owner Recognizes

One small detail drew a knowing laugh from at least one viewer: the car’s hood has a quirk when it opens, something a commenter said matched exactly what his own 1969 GTO does. It is a tiny mechanical signature that longtime GTO owners recognize instantly, the kind of shared experience that only comes from actually living with one of these cars rather than just admiring them from a distance.

Standing Out on a Crowded Show Floor

World of Wheels shows like the one in Rosemont have been running for decades, drawing everything from bone-stock survivors to no-expense-spared restomods under one roof. A build like this Judge convertible has to compete for attention against hundreds of other cars on the same show floor, which makes the personal story behind it even more valuable — it is often the difference between a car people glance at and one they stop to ask about.

Why Restomods Like This One Keep Climbing in Value

Restomods like this one have become one of the fastest-growing segments of the collector market, often commanding prices that rival or exceed numbers-matching originals, because buyers are paying for both the nostalgia of the original body and the reliability of modern components hidden underneath. A build with this much documented personal history behind it — the color, the name, the tribute — only adds to that premium when a car like this eventually changes hands.

What Restomod Actually Means Under the Skin

The term restomod covers a wide range of builds, but the common thread is combining a classic body and styling with modern mechanical components underneath — updated suspension geometry, more capable brakes, and often a more contemporary drivetrain than what left the factory in 1970. Whatever specific upgrades hide under Irish Eyes hood, the goal of a build like this one is usually the same: a car that looks period-correct at a glance but drives, stops, and handles like something built decades later.

Why This Build Resonated Beyond the Show Floor

Between the custom paint, the family tribute, and the debate over its factory pedigree, this Judge convertible packed more story into one World of Wheels appearance than most restomods manage in a lifetime of shows. Whatever the PHS paperwork eventually says about its factory origins, Irish Eyes clearly accomplished exactly what it was built to do, and the reaction it drew at Rosemont suggests Callahan’s instinct to build something personal rather than merely correct paid off in exactly the way he hoped.

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