I have a 1970 Formula Firebird that I bought for $1500.00 over 40 years ago , It was well used and didn't run but everything was there and the car was rust free . It took me 5 years to restore and I have 3 other early 70's firebirds and a Trans Am and I never sell my 70' Ram Air Formula 400 and my family agrees it is the keeper of the bunch so my son will get the Formula 400 and my daughter will get the Trans Am they can sell the rest or give them to my grand kids which I hope they do and keep driving them and enjoying them the way an old Pontiac should . I can still tell a Pontiac V8 car by the sound way before I see the car
I had a '72 GP Model J 400-4 bbl. 68k miles. I bought a Ram Air III cam from my local dealer over-the-counter. A friend gave me his cast-iron 4-into-one factory manifolds from his '70 Judge. Put these on with some '69 cast 67 big car D-port heads. That car came alive! B&M shift kit in the Turbo 400 and it would slip the tires going into second. Which I did for about a month and spun #4 rod-bearing. Bought a whole '71 GP 400-350hp for $70, Put those parts on that motor and melling oil pump. Best 400 ever!!
My shop teacher was a young mechanic at a Pontiac dealership in the 60s and 70s. He ordered a 64 tempest gto with manual brakes,manual steering, 4 speed and a 3 deuce 389. He raced it hard and tore it up more than a few times. Traded it for 69 gto ram air iv. He'd modified both cars fairly heavily,but always said he preferred the 64 model. He eventually ditched the Pontiacs and fell in love with corvettes,lol. Last I talked to him he had a 63 split window 327 4sp,and a 69 350 4sp convertible. Hes passed on now,but shared alot of knowledge and good stories inspiring alot of young mechanics and gearheads.
pure stock, from all the GM sport midsize , its not the GTO ,not the GSX not even the chevelle 454 that was the fastest, but the oldsmobile 442 hurst old, 455 auto only with the 3,91 diff. it get very little credit but in the late 60's out of the showroom on stock tire no other GM midsize could touch it
@@jackmehoff4613 HAD A GUY AT AUTOZONE TELL ME PONTIAC NEVER BUILT A 428. I took him around the block in mine. He will NEVER forget the Poncho 428 now. Mine is making 542 at the wheel.
We built an 80 Trans Am with a 69 428 block .040 over, #13 Ram Air III heads, Comp Cam 292 cam, Old style Torquer II intake, 850 Holey, 1.65 Roller rockers, hooker headers TH400 w/3000 stall and just a 3:90 gearset. The first time we ran it at the Las Vegas dragstrip on street tires it ran an 11:89 and 126 mph and they told us we couldn't run it anymore without safety equipment. The car was literally a bone stock body T/A with that engine. It was a very, very fun car to drive.
JessicaTG2008 Nice, I own a 70 firebird formula 400 ram air 3 with #13 gto heads on a original ys code block. console automatic, 12 bolt rear. Blue on blue.
My 1970 GTO Judge Ram Air III 4spd (Atoll blue/ blue interior) ran 13.9’s at 105 mph in the 1/4 with just headers, timing recurve and rejetting the carb. Ram Air III engine was great. I beat my brother’s 72 Trans Am 455ho 4spd (white car with blue custom interior) at the track but he ran 107mph. My judge was a beast from a roll. Couldn’t hook from a dig.
I had a 701/2 TA 400 4 speed Ram Air III , let me tell you something with a good set of headers a proper tune and 10in slicks I ran 13.00s all day long! It was one helluva of a motor with gobs of low end torque! man I miss that car!!
I grew up with a 70 GTO and 72 GTO in the family. Back in the mid to late 70s. Lots of great memories in those cars. Going to high school. Loved the torque these put out. All around great drivers.
The RA III was a pretty good engine. Parts were interchangeable with the 389 up to the 455 which made weekend upgrades and finding parts at the local auto-wreckers super easy. The 455 became a real monster when anyone could find a set of 7K3 heads off a early 70 Pontiac, which bumped the 455 compression ratio up to 9:1, just good enough for the 455 to run of pump gas and give the 455 engine an extra 40 ~ 50 HP. Loved those days when hot rodding was a weekend past time all us teenagers could afford and have fun street racing with 300 ~ 350 HP.
Great episode! The Ram Air III was definitely a fun engine. Just imagine how much power GM could make with one nowadays using modern fuel injection and electronics?
my Ford 427/351w stroker makes near 600 hp..yep modern computer, electronics, heads Too bad it's a day gone by...hate to say it but a Mach E is my next car.
A 1972 Pontiac LeMans with a "350" was the first car I fell in love with! I was four. My parents bought it brand new, I distinctly remember crawling around in the back seat. It was a great car that still exists, it evaded the compactor. Not really fast....it had that GM floaty-boaty feel, just like a Buick. I crashed it when I was 17. No frame damage but a front quarter panel needed to be replaced. And boy, you bet I paid for it! It just started raining.......😧 Man GM used that same body style for sooo many cars!
A guy I used to work with at Argonne National Lab, still has his special ordered 70 T/A 4 speed Ram Air 4. That car has a dealer installed Holley carb with a dealer installed electric fuel pump. The car is white on blue with all of the decals. It still was incredibly fast when I drove it. It also got 8 mpg city....
your video's are spot on facts. the Ram Air V 400 was ''rated'' at 520HP. but that was very under rated. seen much better times with a Ram Air IV 400 than you mentioned. the '73 SD-455 ran low 13's stock, on stock tires.
We lived in Royal Oak ace Wilson Pontiac was 1 mile away .Once while riding on Woodward ave with my dad. I noticed a 1969 GTO or lemans. It it had the Royal Bobcat emblem. It was almost plain except for the Emblems. I never saw another one again.
I’ve got a family friend who has his original special ordered 1970 GTO with the ram air 4 and four speed. It was not a judge package it didn’t have any spoilers just a plain car. It was built for one thing and that was to go fast period.
That's how I would've ordered mine. Just a regular GTO with dark color paint, steel wheels with poverty caps, and a bench seat and no other options at all but the Ram Air IV, 4 speed, and 4.33 rear axle. I I probably would've even ordered the Endura delete with the regular LeMans chrome bumpers to really make it a sleeper and the radio delete because who needs a radio when you've got the 400 Ram Air IV to listen to
Thanks much for the trip down memory lane. As an owner of a '68 RA III 4-spd F'bird, back in the day, who partook of many street races, I never feared Chevys w/ 396/375 (425hp) engines--or 440 magnum/6-packs, 428 CJs for that matter. Hemi's & 427/425hp were however a different matter... My "seat of the pants" sense was that RA IV was easily 25-35 hp more than RA III, but was still a little short on cubes to pull an upset on a well-tuned Hemi or 425 hp/427. THAT upset would have to depend on superior "flying" skill ! BTW, my RA III 'bird had a competition valve job w/all RA IV valve train except rockers, which remained std 1.5, a RA IV oil pump, roller timing chain, WR Muncie w/3.55 12-bolt ltd slip, & Camaro off-road chambered exhaust system. The car went just over 3250 lbs with me driving (that wt was part of the racing success).
which was equivalent of todays 40,000 dollars. remember the pay was a LOT lower back in the day. Too bad they never had a 428 version of the RAM air V!
@@w41duvernay RA V was an over the counter parts program for a very brief time. The V was made for use on 400, 428, 455 and a destroyed 400 yielding 303 to fit the TransAm series rules. The engines that were built and supposedly released were again, an over the counter proposition, never factory installed or special order thru special connections to whoever. I was friends with a Pontiac parts man who by 1979 had gathered everything required to install on a 400 in a 71 Formula. I learned a lot about that program thru him. Airplane Executives liked to fly on the ground and his RA V parts were highly sought after. Despite not having the foils to shroud the valve stems he had it running. The foils were finally (and quite expensively) secured, installed, the car sorted and ran a couple of passes. Not sure about the camshaft but I personally saw it a few months later trailer a Thunderbolt and a Ramcharger altered wheelbase Hemi. And not just by a little. Pushrod problems curtailed any further exhibitions. 428s were the high RPM engine that it was thought could make the most of the RA V components.
I've seen about half a dozen GTO's and a couple of Trans Am's with dealer installed Ram Air V engines. I can't imagine what those unicorns would be worth at an auction today.
Definitely a ridiculous amount. I think there were only a couple hundred Ram Air V's ever made and a bunch of em got blown up in NASCAR. They were originally supposed to build 4 different size RAV's...a 303 cubic inch version for the Trans Am racing series, a 366 cube NASCAR version, a 400 cube street version, and a 428 cube version for drag racing but the plan never fully materialized for whatever reason. Probably because they were extremely pricey to build. I've seen a few RAV cars in magazines and such but never in person
Heres a thought what about doing a video series about Chevys Z option codes, Oldsmobiles W option codes and the codes Pontiac and Buick used. It would be interesting to learn more about them and what I don't know was available
My 1st engine in my 1972 GTO was a 69' RAM AIR III. I cleaned up the castings with lite port work and a 3 angle, ERSON sold a head kit back in the 90's for these heads and I used a CompCam 501 / 501 292D H stick, that and the 3,200 B&M converter in my Race built TCI TH475 , it was instant crazy fun. Even tooling around town the "Chop" from my Hookers was amazing. Even sitting at a light, the headlights would dim up and down with the idle. The fact you can get a new 1/2 ton LS 6.2 4x4 and stab into the low 14's is amazing.
Is it Green? I had one with the RA3. Dude totaled me from behind, I used the lawsuit money, 5000.00 to get a nicely redone 79 formula that lost both front fenders and the hood. The rest was fine. I had the scoop openings cut by the body man and he repainted the whole thing back to Aqua Blue. First, 301 gone, turbo 350 too. I put the low mileage RA3 and Turbo 400 in it. Just a Mount kit, a crossing bar for the 400, shorter shaft. I put 370 gears in the limited slip rear end. I added a Fairbanks shift kit and Hurst Dual Gate slapper shifter. It was a stud, RA3 exhaust to 2 sweet turbos that were quiet. No lope at all. So I’d been beaten so much on the strip I was THE target. Well, not for long. The first night out a friend pulls along with his Stang 2 hatchback, he’d just put a 350 in it and told us how fast it was. I’d never done more than just short jumps. He decided to pull away fast to show us when I decided to tag along. He was ahead 5 links when I dropped into 1 inside the gate, I nailed that dude and at redline I smacked it and I crossed into his lane now 3 links ahead, then, dust! I got to 85 in half a mile. He was sad and went home. We were blown away by this car. I raced every one. 25-0 before there were none left. 1984. I moved to a bigger city and sold it. I vowed to do it again and I am.!
Great vid. Maybe before the RamAir version but i had the chance to buy a '68 Firebird 400 in '77 for $1400, Nice car that skipped like a rock on the streets where i lived. Should have snagged this.
Pontiac 428 was no snoozer either, believe it was a 2 year run of 68/69, was the replacement for the 421, then the 455 replaced it, guy on my block had a 69 Bonneville, w a 428, was beating a lot of Camaros and Chevelles, that car was a tire shredding torque monster
Thanx for a great vid,,mine was a 1970 GTO with ram-air head's,,,,,,that was nearly 28 years ago,,,,,always keep a look out for your well thought out vid's,,,,,,big to all out there,,,
I had a 79 Firebird I swapped a 68 428 into.I swapped the early heads for 6x #4 to lower compression. Used the money from the heads to buy Edelbrock Performer , long tube headers and a Lunati 280 cam..I got scared before it did concerning top end..I swapped in a 160 mph speedo from a 1970..I saw 130+ and still had gas pedal left...I took a Formula hood and made it functional. gutted a 78 Trans Am for its performance parts .Used the T/As fenders combined with the Formula hood it was a fast frankenbird..I miss the howl of that 800 Quadrajet sucking in that cold air 😪
The Firebird 400 engine was supposed to have different engine codes and specs from the GTO 400 engines in 1969, but pretty much every 1969 Firebird 400 I've seen has had GTO engine codes on the engines. The early 69 GTO with manual transmission was suppose to get the 744 camshaft and automatics get the 068 camshaft and later in 1969, the 068 camshaft was specified for manual Ram Air III GTO's. These engines were suppose to get standard height valve springs that were good to 6000 RPM, but those standard height valve springs may not have made production and may have been the 1968 400 HO valve springs. The 1969 Firebird 400 with the Ram Air III engine manual transmission was supposed to get the 068 camshaft with the new 1969 Ram Air valve springs. Oddly, the 1969 Firebird 400 with the Ram Air III and automatic transmission was supposed to get the the 067 camshaft with standard 400 valve springs. First of all, the 1969 Firebird 400's seemed to have all gotten GTO coded engines, even there were published Firebird 400 engine codes and specs. The mystery Ram Air III valve springs were supposed to be standard height, but with the same pressure as the taller early 1968 Ram Air valve springs. The 1968 400 HO valve springs were supposed to have standard performance outer springs with inner springs that had 10 more pounds of pressure than the standard performance inner springs. The early1968 400 Ram Air tall valve springs and the specs for the 1969 Ram Air III valve springs had much higher pressure than the 400 HO valve springs. In the 1970's I ordered from Pontiac, the 1968 400 HO valve springs, the 1969 Ram Air III valve springs and the standard performance springs, all by part number. I compared them in an Isky spring tester and all three had exactly the same pressures. Now these were service replacement valve springs and they may not have been exactly the same as their part numbers in their model years, but those part numbers were on the boxes. I know the 1972 455 HO aluminum intake became the service replacement for the 400 Ram air IV intake. The 1972 455 HO intake is not as deep in volume as the Ram Air IV intake and the 1971 455 HO intake was more like the Ram ir IV intake. Did any Firebird 400 engines get Firebird engine codes instead of GTO engine codes, especially in 1969? I haven't seen any. In 1968 the automatic transmission standard performance GTO 4bbl 400 engine got the 067 manual transmission camshaft, while the standard performance Firebird 400 with automatic transmission got the 066 automatic transmission camshaft.
Always felt like Chrysler and Pontiac built the best high performance engines right from the mid 50s up into the early 70s. The 421 Super Duty, 400 Ram Air IV, and 455 Super Duty are all top 10 engines to come from the muscle car era in my opinion
@@jeremythompson9895 I never owned a Chrysler product but I had a69 ram air three GTO and anL78 396 chevelle I think the goat ran a lot stronger than the chevelle I a also had a 428 69 Grand prix which was a blast to drive I agree Pontiac always made some real strong runners!
My friend robert had a ram air V " tunnel port" installed in his 69 judge.. guys couldn't figure out why it always won races.. the quick way to tell was the export ports....national speed way he had the rear windows covered with red ellimator stickers. God miss those days...
Had a 69 ram air IV car. Hood tach ,auto. Sure wish i had kept her. Also my first car,69 SS chevelle. I enjoyed growing up with muscle cars. Now I'm an old man but still sport an LT4 vette.
First car I raced was one of these. I blew it away with only a slightly modified Chevelle with a 350. Folks must have had low expectations back then. My engine had zero mods on it to boot.
It's a 350 block with a short crankshaft, solid lifters and decent sized heads. With the optional fuel 600 cfm carbs it would have 1200 cfm feeding it. Also high compression and high rear end gears. Not much other then that.
I have a 1978 TA with RA3 heads, on e85 with a single intercooled 7875 turbo. Xe268 cam, and Fuel injection it has 940 hp. On 93 gas, it would go over 1100 hp. I have the 557 block, and it’s lived over 100 hits to 21 lbs of boost. All of this with factory manifolds and a factory style, heavily modified Y pipe.
I had a 69 1/2 Trans Am Ram air 3 with the very rare Turbo 400 option. Big regrets for selling it in 1976, but insurance became prohibitively expensive for a young married guy. My brother had a 1969 Grand Prix with the 428 HO turbo 400 at the same time. “Those were the days, my friend!”…….
My dad had an 81 Pontiac Lemans with a 400 ram air in it from a wrecked GTO that car was stupid fast, we got it up to 120mph before we ran out of straight road, one car I wish he had kept but sold it to get an 86 Z28 t-top car.
Love your videos man! I am such a big fan of these cars and your format is awesome! Please review modern muscle cars, like the Camaro, Mustang and Challenger!
These classic high performance engines might be coming back in demand again, after enthusiasts learn that they can run these high compression blocks on E85 for cheap, and still be streetable and daily driving. Collectors will see the value in restoring old blocks back to stock, and since there's new carburetors on the market that can take E85 without complaint, will make rebuilding an engine much easier than trying to source rebuild kits for discontinued carburetors.
I have 3 GTO blocks from Frank’s Used Pontiac parts. All standard bore, 4 bolt mains, clean and magnafluxed. I’m starting one soon. I need a good solid crank tho.
This was a fine video, but you made a glaring error; The government mandated compression ratio drop for engines to accept 'regular' unleaded fuel was for the 1972 model year; GM decided (and I have read that this actually caught PMD by surprise) that they were going to beat the requirement by a full model year by instituting it for the 1971 model year. This is why Ford's and Mopar's still had compression in excess of 10:1 for 1971 model year engines.
There were differences between the Firebird and GTO engines. On manual transmission cars the early 69 Ram Air GTO’s used the 301-313 cam while on firebirds used the milder 288-302 cam. On automatic cars the GTO used the 288-302 cam but on the Firebird they used the regular 273-289 cam. Also the 400 Ram air Firebird with automatic trans used the 62 heads with lower compression and inferior flow characteristics than the 48 heads used on all GTO’s and manual Firebirds. Additionally GTO’s had true dual exhaust but Firebirds used a single muffler that both head pipes had to flow through. Since power was measured gross in 69-70 exhaust systems didn’t impact rated horsepower but it did impact power at the wheels. This is why GTO’s and Firebird’s with the same engines performed about the same despite the Firebird being a lighter car.
Hi. So back in 1986 in LA I owned a Goat 6.5ltr Limited Edition with a Hurst on the floor black body black bumper black interior but I am unable to find out anything about this fabulous car that I still crave to own today some 30+yrs later. All I have left is a polaroid photo. Anyone out there have any idea about this particular car. cheers
Can you imagine a complete change over to modern engineering to todays edlebrock specs fuel injection, balanced and blue printed heads and valves, new cams
Those skinny assed tires on the back didnt last long! With a little grinding on the heads and a decent cam and headers these motors came alive! Especially in the torque department. The rear shocks would poke holes in the trunk. Had to weld plates back there over and over. Lottsa fun that ole 68 goat.
konner kramer my buddy had a 77 Camaro with a older 327, that thing was fat I had a 72 cutlass my other buddy had a 77 trans am, and the Camaro would walk away from us, but at higher speeds the trans am would take him cause of cui wonder if he had one of those 327s.?
Couldn’t drive these in the city today. Too much traffic and red lights. You’d be at 400 degrees after the 2nd red light. Especially if you broke the balance with a stupid loping cam. Now you got fans, expensive but worth it all! Same with the base Serpentine system. Fun if it will run!
One of the biggest value in muscle cars right now are Ram III\ HO powered cars. One they don't get BB attention, list 396 on a Chevy and the value just went up $20k provided it's original. Not the case 400's and the HO's and Ram III were fairly common.
Low lead fuel was in 1971. Unleaded was in 1975 model years. GM went first in lowering compression in '71. For '72 Ford and Chrysler followed up with the new 'Net" engine HP ratings.
With modern suspension upgrades solid lca adj upper air bag or bags in the coils and dr and nothing else all of these would have a lot lower ets,firebirds have leaf spring so a different approach on that.
My Dad factory ordered a RA III automatic GTO in 1969. It was a pretty sweet family car.
I have a 1970 Formula Firebird that I bought for $1500.00 over 40 years ago , It was well used and didn't run but everything was there and the car was rust free . It took me 5 years to restore and I have 3 other early 70's firebirds and a Trans Am and I never sell my 70' Ram Air Formula 400 and my family agrees it is the keeper of the bunch so my son will get the Formula 400 and my daughter will get the Trans Am they can sell the rest or give them to my grand kids which I hope they do and keep driving them and enjoying them the way an old Pontiac should . I can still tell a Pontiac V8 car by the sound way before I see the car
I had a 1970 GTO. It had the prettiest engine of any car I've owned. The light blue metallic paint and chrome valve covers were just beautiful!
I would wholeheartedly agree with that. The nicest looking stock engine ever made.
Yep look at mine now all the time!
Pontiac 400 Ram Air IV was probably the best sounding muscle car engine ever produced .
Who agrees with me?
The ram air 4 and the Dz 302 when equipped with the chambered exhaust system
I had a '72 GP Model J 400-4 bbl. 68k miles. I bought a Ram Air III cam from my local dealer over-the-counter. A friend gave me his cast-iron 4-into-one factory manifolds from his '70 Judge. Put these on with some '69 cast 67 big car D-port heads. That car came alive! B&M shift kit in the Turbo 400 and it would slip the tires going into second. Which I did for about a month and spun #4 rod-bearing. Bought a whole '71 GP 400-350hp for $70, Put those parts on that motor and melling oil pump. Best 400 ever!!
My shop teacher was a young mechanic at a Pontiac dealership in the 60s and 70s. He ordered a 64 tempest gto with manual brakes,manual steering, 4 speed and a 3 deuce 389. He raced it hard and tore it up more than a few times. Traded it for 69 gto ram air iv. He'd modified both cars fairly heavily,but always said he preferred the 64 model. He eventually ditched the Pontiacs and fell in love with corvettes,lol. Last I talked to him he had a 63 split window 327 4sp,and a 69 350 4sp convertible. Hes passed on now,but shared alot of knowledge and good stories inspiring alot of young mechanics and gearheads.
Have always been a huge Pontiac and really Oldsmobile fan. Really good strong motors.
I had a '70 Grand Prix with Posi Trac and Ram Air 3 400 in the mid to late 70's. Best car I've ever owned.
Nothing like a pontiac engine
pure stock, from all the GM sport midsize , its not the GTO ,not the GSX not even the chevelle 454 that was the fastest, but the oldsmobile 442 hurst old, 455 auto only with the 3,91 diff.
it get very little credit but in the late 60's out of the showroom on stock tire no other GM midsize could touch it
@@ragimundvonwallat8961 I think the 70-72 was my favorite 442
Yes sir!!! Love my 73 sd455.... engine code #490132 with round port heads.
I sure love my 428!
@@jackmehoff4613 HAD A GUY AT AUTOZONE TELL ME PONTIAC NEVER BUILT A 428. I took him around the block in mine. He will NEVER forget the Poncho 428 now. Mine is making 542 at the wheel.
We built an 80 Trans Am with a 69 428 block .040 over, #13 Ram Air III heads, Comp Cam 292 cam, Old style Torquer II intake, 850 Holey, 1.65 Roller rockers, hooker headers TH400 w/3000 stall and just a 3:90 gearset. The first time we ran it at the Las Vegas dragstrip on street tires it ran an 11:89 and 126 mph and they told us we couldn't run it anymore without safety equipment. The car was literally a bone stock body T/A with that engine. It was a very, very fun car to drive.
JessicaTG2008
Nice, I own a 70 firebird formula 400 ram air 3 with #13 gto heads on a original ys code block. console automatic, 12 bolt rear. Blue on blue.
My 1970 GTO Judge Ram Air III 4spd (Atoll blue/ blue interior) ran 13.9’s at 105 mph in the 1/4 with just headers, timing recurve and rejetting the carb. Ram Air III engine was great. I beat my brother’s 72 Trans Am 455ho 4spd (white car with blue custom interior) at the track but he ran 107mph. My judge was a beast from a roll. Couldn’t hook from a dig.
74 SJ GRAND PRIX. 74 T/A IF ONLY I COULD GO BACK IN TIME. MISS MINE..
These videos are educational and very fun, thank you so much
I had a 701/2 TA 400 4 speed Ram Air III , let me tell you something with a good set of headers a proper tune and 10in slicks I ran 13.00s all day long! It was one helluva of a motor with gobs of low end torque! man I miss that car!!
The RA III and RA IV Could get into the 12s but the RA IV made more power than the IIIs
Anybody that owned a 1970 t/a. Firebird or Camaro KNOWS THAT THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS 70 1/2
Yes, please keep these great car videos coming. Appreciate what you are doing and I can't get enough of them. Thanks again.
Jeff
Superb video on the Pontiac engines great video 😁👍
I grew up with a 70 GTO and 72 GTO in the family. Back in the mid to late 70s. Lots of great memories in those cars. Going to high school. Loved the torque these put out. All around great drivers.
The RA III was a pretty good engine. Parts were interchangeable with the 389 up to the 455 which made weekend upgrades and finding parts at the local auto-wreckers super easy. The 455 became a real monster when anyone could find a set of 7K3 heads off a early 70 Pontiac, which bumped the 455 compression ratio up to 9:1, just good enough for the 455 to run of pump gas and give the 455 engine an extra 40 ~ 50 HP. Loved those days when hot rodding was a weekend past time all us teenagers could afford and have fun street racing with 300 ~ 350 HP.
Great episode! The Ram Air III was definitely a fun engine. Just imagine how much power GM could make with one nowadays using modern fuel injection and electronics?
Probably close to 500 hp.
@Craig G You are talking something completely different. It is easy to make power with forced induction on any motor.
Dont forget the roller cam it would have.
my Ford 427/351w stroker makes near 600 hp..yep modern computer, electronics, heads
Too bad it's a day gone by...hate to say it but a Mach E is my next car.
@@andrefecteau Mach- E? Not my next car!😁
A 1972 Pontiac LeMans with a "350" was the first car I fell in love with!
I was four.
My parents bought it brand new, I distinctly remember crawling around in the back seat. It was a great car that still exists, it evaded the compactor.
Not really fast....it had that GM floaty-boaty feel, just like a Buick. I crashed it when I was 17. No frame damage but a front quarter panel needed to be replaced. And boy, you bet I paid for it! It just started raining.......😧
Man GM used that same body style for sooo many cars!
A guy I used to work with at Argonne National Lab, still has his special ordered 70 T/A 4 speed Ram Air 4. That car has a dealer installed Holley carb with a dealer installed electric fuel pump. The car is white on blue with all of the decals. It still was incredibly fast when I drove it. It also got 8 mpg city....
That beautiful sound you speak of, is air rushing through the scoop.
keep the videos coming!! awesome show!!!
your video's are spot on facts. the Ram Air V 400 was ''rated'' at 520HP. but that was very under rated. seen much better times with a Ram Air IV 400 than you mentioned. the '73 SD-455 ran low 13's stock, on stock tires.
I mean the RA IV only made 385 crank and over 500 tourqe which is more than the RA III. the RA IV was also much rarer than the 3s and ran into the 12s
@@musicrevelation2023 Just watched a video of a stock '73 455 SD run 12.93 and 12.89.
We lived in Royal Oak ace Wilson Pontiac was 1 mile away .Once while riding on Woodward ave with my dad. I noticed a 1969 GTO or lemans. It it had the Royal Bobcat emblem. It was almost plain except for the Emblems. I never saw another one again.
I’ve got a family friend who has his original special ordered 1970 GTO with the ram air 4 and four speed. It was not a judge package it didn’t have any spoilers just a plain car. It was built for one thing and that was to go fast period.
That's how I would've ordered mine. Just a regular GTO with dark color paint, steel wheels with poverty caps, and a bench seat and no other options at all but the Ram Air IV, 4 speed, and 4.33 rear axle. I I probably would've even ordered the Endura delete with the regular LeMans chrome bumpers to really make it a sleeper and the radio delete because who needs a radio when you've got the 400 Ram Air IV to listen to
The Pontiac V8 was a real brute. I was so sad to see it go!
As always, a great video and real fund of information. Makes me feel like I'm 18-25 again
This is the stuff that made Pontiac great for sure...
Thanks much for the trip down memory lane. As an owner of a '68 RA III 4-spd F'bird, back in the day, who partook of many street races, I never feared Chevys w/ 396/375 (425hp) engines--or 440 magnum/6-packs, 428 CJs for that matter. Hemi's & 427/425hp were however a different matter...
My "seat of the pants" sense was that RA IV was easily 25-35 hp more than RA III, but was still a little short on cubes to pull an upset on a well-tuned Hemi or 425 hp/427. THAT upset would have to depend on superior "flying" skill !
BTW, my RA III 'bird had a competition valve job w/all RA IV valve train except rockers, which remained std 1.5, a RA IV oil pump, roller timing chain, WR Muncie w/3.55 12-bolt ltd slip, & Camaro off-road chambered exhaust system. The car went just over 3250 lbs with me driving (that wt was part of the racing success).
Love these videos. Wish I could watch one every day!
I did not know there was a Ram Air 5! Good stuff.
Yes sir! Keep 'em coming! Love your channel and all your content!
I just want too cry. When you see what they sold for new.
which was equivalent of todays 40,000 dollars. remember the pay was a LOT lower back in the day. Too bad they never had a 428 version of the RAM air V!
w41duvernay exactly people weren’t buying these cars making $25 an hour, but nice to dream.
@@w41duvernay RA V was an over the counter parts program for a very brief time. The V was made for use on 400, 428, 455 and a destroyed 400 yielding 303 to fit the TransAm series rules. The engines that were built and supposedly released were again, an over the counter proposition, never factory installed or special order thru special connections to whoever. I was friends with a Pontiac parts man who by 1979 had gathered everything required to install on a 400 in a 71 Formula. I learned a lot about that program thru him. Airplane Executives liked to fly on the ground and his RA V parts were highly sought after. Despite not having the foils to shroud the valve stems he had it running. The foils were finally (and quite expensively) secured, installed, the car sorted and ran a couple of passes. Not sure about the camshaft but I personally saw it a few months later trailer a Thunderbolt and a Ramcharger altered wheelbase Hemi. And not just by a little. Pushrod problems curtailed any further exhibitions. 428s were the high RPM engine that it was thought could make the most of the RA V components.
I've seen about half a dozen GTO's and a couple of Trans Am's with dealer installed Ram Air V engines. I can't imagine what those unicorns would be worth at an auction today.
Definitely a ridiculous amount. I think there were only a couple hundred Ram Air V's ever made and a bunch of em got blown up in NASCAR. They were originally supposed to build 4 different size RAV's...a 303 cubic inch version for the Trans Am racing series, a 366 cube NASCAR version, a 400 cube street version, and a 428 cube version for drag racing but the plan never fully materialized for whatever reason. Probably because they were extremely pricey to build. I've seen a few RAV cars in magazines and such but never in person
Heres a thought what about doing a video series about Chevys Z option codes, Oldsmobiles W option codes and the codes Pontiac and Buick used. It would be interesting to learn more about them and what I don't know was available
For Pontiac and others go to Wallace Racing.
My 1st engine in my 1972 GTO was a 69' RAM AIR III.
I cleaned up the castings with lite port work and a 3 angle, ERSON sold a head kit back in the 90's for these heads and I used a CompCam 501 / 501 292D H stick, that and the 3,200 B&M converter in my Race built TCI TH475 , it was instant crazy fun. Even tooling around town the "Chop" from my Hookers was amazing. Even sitting at a light, the headlights would dim up and down with the idle.
The fact you can get a new 1/2 ton LS 6.2 4x4 and stab into the low 14's is amazing.
Thank you sir. Very entertaining and informative. Bravo!! 👏👏👏
I always enjoy your videos, Thanks!
Gotta love the Pontiac's, I have owned my 69 gto for nearly 30 years! Fun cars, has a 70' 455 in it!
Is it Green? I had one with the RA3. Dude totaled me from behind, I used the lawsuit money, 5000.00 to get a nicely redone 79 formula that lost both front fenders and the hood. The rest was fine. I had the scoop openings cut by the body man and he repainted the whole thing back to Aqua Blue. First, 301 gone, turbo 350 too. I put the low mileage RA3 and Turbo 400 in it. Just a Mount kit, a crossing bar for the 400, shorter shaft. I put 370 gears in the limited slip rear end. I added a Fairbanks shift kit and Hurst Dual Gate slapper shifter. It was a stud, RA3 exhaust to 2 sweet turbos that were quiet. No lope at all. So I’d been beaten so much on the strip I was THE target. Well, not for long. The first night out a friend pulls along with his Stang 2 hatchback, he’d just put a 350 in it and told us how fast it was. I’d never done more than just short jumps. He decided to pull away fast to show us when I decided to tag along. He was ahead 5 links when I dropped into 1 inside the gate, I nailed that dude and at redline I smacked it and I crossed into his lane now 3 links ahead, then, dust! I got to 85 in half a mile. He was sad and went home. We were blown away by this car. I raced every one. 25-0 before there were none left. 1984. I moved to a bigger city and sold it. I vowed to do it again and I am.!
I'm a Ford man but those Pontiacs could go total respect
Love my pontiacs, 2 68 firebirds, convertible and hardtop drag race car, and a 69 gto (lemans) all are fast and fun!
Very nice and great showing. A thumbs up you get from me.
Great vid. Maybe before the RamAir version but i had the chance to buy a '68 Firebird 400 in '77 for $1400, Nice car that skipped like a rock on the streets where i lived. Should have snagged this.
Just like Archie and Edith said. Those were the days. When car companies designed cars to look good on the outside and on the inside as well.
Do a video on 69-70 Pontiac grand Prix!
Pontiac 428 was no snoozer either, believe it was a 2 year run of 68/69, was the replacement for the 421, then the 455 replaced it, guy on my block had a 69 Bonneville, w a 428, was beating a lot of Camaros and Chevelles, that car was a tire shredding torque monster
Pontiac GrandPrix73 I used to have a ‘69 Grand Prix with the optional 428, awesome mean looking car. Fast...
428 Pontiac was from 67-69
Pontiac GrandPrix73
The 428 was from 67-69
Pontiac GrandPrix73 the 428 was best of both worlds torque like the 455 and high reves of the 400.
428 HO was a power house 390hp .
RAV! Would be nice to see how many photos you could come up with on that engine. Deserves a vid of its own.
Thanx for a great vid,,mine was a 1970 GTO with ram-air head's,,,,,,that was nearly 28 years ago,,,,,always keep a look out for your well thought out vid's,,,,,,big to all out there,,,
The sound is unmistakable!
I had a 79 Firebird I swapped a 68 428 into.I swapped the early heads for 6x #4 to lower compression. Used the money from the heads to buy Edelbrock Performer , long tube headers and a Lunati 280 cam..I got scared before it did concerning top end..I swapped in a 160 mph speedo from a 1970..I saw 130+ and still had gas pedal left...I took a Formula hood and made it functional. gutted a 78 Trans Am for its performance parts .Used the T/As fenders combined with the Formula hood it was a fast frankenbird..I miss the howl of that 800 Quadrajet sucking in that cold air 😪
Pontiac GTO one of the most sexiest muscle-cars ever built!
Great job with your videos. Keep um coming
The Firebird 400 engine was supposed to have different engine codes and specs from the GTO 400 engines in 1969, but pretty much every 1969 Firebird 400 I've seen has had GTO engine codes on the engines.
The early 69 GTO with manual transmission was suppose to get the 744 camshaft and automatics get the 068 camshaft and later in 1969, the 068 camshaft was specified for manual Ram Air III GTO's. These engines were suppose to get standard height valve springs that were good to 6000 RPM, but those standard height valve springs may not have made production and may have been the 1968 400 HO valve springs.
The 1969 Firebird 400 with the Ram Air III engine manual transmission was supposed to get the 068 camshaft with the new 1969 Ram Air valve springs. Oddly, the 1969 Firebird 400 with the Ram Air III and automatic transmission was supposed to get the the 067 camshaft with standard 400 valve springs.
First of all, the 1969 Firebird 400's seemed to have all gotten GTO coded engines, even there were published Firebird 400 engine codes and specs.
The mystery Ram Air III valve springs were supposed to be standard height, but with the same pressure as the taller early 1968 Ram Air valve springs.
The 1968 400 HO valve springs were supposed to have standard performance outer springs with inner springs that had 10 more pounds of pressure than the standard performance inner springs.
The early1968 400 Ram Air tall valve springs and the specs for the 1969 Ram Air III valve springs had much higher pressure than the 400 HO valve springs.
In the 1970's I ordered from Pontiac, the 1968 400 HO valve springs, the 1969 Ram Air III valve springs and the standard performance springs, all by part number.
I compared them in an Isky spring tester and all three had exactly the same pressures.
Now these were service replacement valve springs and they may not have been exactly the same as their part numbers in their model years, but those part numbers were on the boxes.
I know the 1972 455 HO aluminum intake became the service replacement for the 400 Ram air IV intake. The 1972 455 HO intake is not as deep in volume as the Ram Air IV intake and the 1971 455 HO intake was more like the Ram ir IV intake.
Did any Firebird 400 engines get Firebird engine codes instead of GTO engine codes, especially in 1969?
I haven't seen any.
In 1968 the automatic transmission standard performance GTO 4bbl 400 engine got the 067 manual transmission camshaft, while the standard performance Firebird 400 with automatic transmission got the 066 automatic transmission camshaft.
Bring the pontiacs back immediately!!
NOOO you speak of the Beautiful Sounds of a Ram Air IV however you didn't play the audio clip ;'(
If you want to hear a beautiful sound search UA-cam for "Idling 428" and click the lime green '69 LeMans RAIII heads and exhaust manifolds.
Great video
Pontiac is my favorite Division from GM and Pontiac engines are the best in my book other then Chevy
Always felt like Chrysler and Pontiac built the best high performance engines right from the mid 50s up into the early 70s. The 421 Super Duty, 400 Ram Air IV, and 455 Super Duty are all top 10 engines to come from the muscle car era in my opinion
@@jeremythompson9895 I never owned a Chrysler product but I had a69 ram air three GTO and anL78 396 chevelle I think the goat ran a lot stronger than the chevelle I a also had a 428 69 Grand prix which was a blast to drive I agree Pontiac always made some real strong runners!
GTO Judge is my dream car. I will not live to see it, but it is my dream
My friend robert had a ram air V " tunnel port" installed in his 69 judge.. guys couldn't figure out why it always won races.. the quick way to tell was the export ports....national speed way he had the rear windows covered with red ellimator stickers. God miss those days...
MM, I have a 69 RA III 400HO, and a 1968 Reg 400HO Conv.
Both brute HP in stock form.
Cool!!! Video!!!
Had a 69 ram air IV car. Hood tach ,auto. Sure wish i had kept her. Also my first car,69 SS chevelle. I enjoyed growing up with muscle cars. Now I'm an old man but still sport an LT4 vette.
First car I raced was one of these. I blew it away with only a slightly modified Chevelle with a 350. Folks must have had low expectations back then. My engine had zero mods on it to boot.
Love all Pontiac’s. Ashame they quit producing them !
Please do a Pontiac Grand Prix video
dozer m. YES!!!!!!
that will be great grand prix show some love to the grand prix
I just showed some Grand Prix love. Miss those days.
How about a video on the Chevy 302 used in the first gen Camaros. And what made it so distinct?
The D.Z.302 ? Z-28 motor. the 68 Z-28 is my "holy grail" car...with the R.S. options. Maybe someday.
It's a 350 block with a short crankshaft, solid lifters and decent sized heads. With the optional fuel 600 cfm carbs it would have 1200 cfm feeding it. Also high compression and high rear end gears. Not much other then that.
The True Z28 option package DZ block made the Ford 302 look pretty insignificant
Do one on the 327 motor also as these motors are a BEAST when built over bored and a bigger cam
Great videos
I have a 1978 TA with RA3 heads, on e85 with a single intercooled 7875 turbo. Xe268 cam, and Fuel injection it has 940 hp. On 93 gas, it would go over 1100 hp. I have the 557 block, and it’s lived over 100 hits to 21 lbs of boost. All of this with factory manifolds and a factory style, heavily modified Y pipe.
Nice information!
I had a 69 1/2 Trans Am Ram air 3 with the very rare Turbo 400 option. Big regrets for selling it in 1976, but insurance became prohibitively expensive for a young married guy. My brother had a 1969 Grand Prix with the 428 HO turbo 400 at the same time. “Those were the days, my friend!”…….
love these back in the day power
My dad had an 81 Pontiac Lemans with a 400 ram air in it from a wrecked GTO that car was stupid fast, we got it up to 120mph before we ran out of straight road, one car I wish he had kept but sold it to get an 86 Z28 t-top car.
Lovely engine!😁🛠️👍
Great film! Aright now, who on here installed one of those Ram Air 5 engines just for fun in your old Tempest or LeMans?
Love your videos man! I am such a big fan of these cars and your format is awesome! Please review modern muscle cars, like the Camaro, Mustang and Challenger!
Great video man
These classic high performance engines might be coming back in demand again, after enthusiasts learn that they can run these high compression blocks on E85 for cheap, and still be streetable and daily driving. Collectors will see the value in restoring old blocks back to stock, and since there's new carburetors on the market that can take E85 without complaint, will make rebuilding an engine much easier than trying to source rebuild kits for discontinued carburetors.
I have 3 GTO blocks from Frank’s Used Pontiac parts. All standard bore, 4 bolt mains, clean and magnafluxed. I’m starting one soon. I need a good solid crank tho.
Nice! I agree with all of you! GTO!😁🛠️
Love my 428 with RA III top end!
This was a fine video, but you made a glaring error;
The government mandated compression ratio drop for engines to accept 'regular' unleaded fuel was for the 1972 model year;
GM decided (and I have read that this actually caught PMD by surprise) that they were going to beat the requirement by a full model year by instituting it for the 1971 model year.
This is why Ford's and Mopar's still had compression in excess of 10:1 for 1971 model year engines.
There were differences between the Firebird and GTO engines. On manual transmission cars the early 69 Ram Air GTO’s used the 301-313 cam while on firebirds used the milder 288-302 cam. On automatic cars the GTO used the 288-302 cam but on the Firebird they used the regular 273-289 cam. Also the 400 Ram air Firebird with automatic trans used the 62 heads with lower compression and inferior flow characteristics than the 48 heads used on all GTO’s and manual Firebirds.
Additionally GTO’s had true dual exhaust but Firebirds used a single muffler that both head pipes had to flow through. Since power was measured gross in 69-70 exhaust systems didn’t impact rated horsepower but it did impact power at the wheels. This is why GTO’s and Firebird’s with the same engines performed about the same despite the Firebird being a lighter car.
Pontiac was the only US made car that stayed true to real performance throughout the gas crunch and smog control era.
Hi. So back in 1986 in LA I owned a Goat 6.5ltr Limited Edition with a Hurst on the floor black body black bumper black interior but I am unable to find out anything about this fabulous car that I still crave to own today some 30+yrs later. All I have left is a polaroid photo. Anyone out there have any idea about this particular car. cheers
Can you imagine a complete change over to modern engineering to todays edlebrock specs fuel injection, balanced and blue printed heads and valves, new cams
Those skinny assed tires on the back didnt last long! With a little grinding on the heads and a decent cam and headers these motors came alive! Especially in the torque department. The rear shocks would poke holes in the trunk. Had to weld plates back there over and over. Lottsa fun that ole 68 goat.
Ram air III 400 motors legends 😎
Is a video coming on the Ram Air V engine?
Atsa good joke bud,you know they din makum.But kills me when some say "big block" about the ponchos.
I've got a 1969 Ram air 3 with a WX block still in factory mode
Pontiac's Firebird had the L74 option available starting 68'.
I'm changing my 1968 400 back to Iron stock spread bore intake with a Q-jet carb, this will be a daily driver in my 81 trans am
Pontiac Ram Air Engines were built when Detroit was home of worlds greatest car manufacturer's.
You should make a video on the 1966-1969 small journal 327. The infamous big block killer!!!
konner kramer my buddy had a 77 Camaro with a older 327, that thing was fat I had a 72 cutlass my other buddy had a 77 trans am, and the Camaro would walk away from us, but at higher speeds the trans am would take him cause of cui wonder if he had one of those 327s.?
Couldn’t drive these in the city today. Too much traffic and red lights. You’d be at 400 degrees after the 2nd red light. Especially if you broke the balance with a stupid loping cam. Now you got fans, expensive but worth it all! Same with the base Serpentine system. Fun if it will run!
What block did these use?
One of the biggest value in muscle cars right now are Ram III\ HO powered cars. One they don't get BB attention, list 396 on a Chevy and the value just went up $20k provided it's original. Not the case 400's and the HO's and Ram III were fairly common.
What was the true dyno'd horsepower on the RA-III?
Low lead fuel was in 1971. Unleaded was in 1975 model years. GM went first in lowering compression in '71.
For '72 Ford and Chrysler followed up with the new 'Net" engine HP ratings.
With modern suspension upgrades solid lca adj upper air bag or bags in the coils and dr and nothing else all of these would have a lot lower ets,firebirds have leaf spring so a different approach on that.
You could get the same 400 without Ram Air in a GT-37 , made a great sleeper.
You could option out a GT-37 exactly like a GTO but pay the same insurance rate you would for a regular LeMans