[My442]

The factory built the chassis upside down.

When the assembly was finished, a line worker with a spray gun dusted the components with a thin coat of black paint.

Just enough to keep it from rusting at the dealers....

[brians]

Originally Posted by 68RamII

In the first set of pictures it shows a heat shield over the driver side exhaust manifold. This is the first RA II that I have seen that has this heat shield. Has anyone else ever seen an RA II with that heat shield???

John:
Good question. In theory, yes the RAII should have had one as delivered.
The std. air cleaner should have been on the car and taken off by the dealer.

Being this was a “fair” weather RA system, you had to put the regular air cleaner back on
during winter months and the heat shroud was part of that system. Personally I have never seen one, but it probably was one of the first things tossed. From a restoration standpoint, I’d consider it just as correct to not have it as having it. I have also never seen a RA car being shown with the std. air cleaner and closed scoops in the trunk.

The 69 parts hood lists a 9794227 part number for the outer ex. shroud for the 68 GTO RAII. It calls for the same inner as the 69 RAIV. Some of the pictures I have of supposed original cars do show studded head bolts on the LH side location.

Now the odd question is what did the 9794227 shroud look like? That is a different number then the 69 RAIV.


gto66yellow – where did that ex. Shroud come from? Was it on the car when you got it? From your picture it looks like a cut-up version of the RAI heat shroud.


Brian

[gto66yellow]

That is the original. I bought a repo Ram Air III and it is stamp the same but the original is smaller, I was able to clean up the original and save it. It was painted black from the factory. The inner sheild looks to be the same as a Ram Air IV. John if you want I can make you one from the repo I have or I will take my money back for it if you go this route.

[The Boss]

Any chance you could make two? PM or email me your address I can send one out!

[68pongto]

Maybe you could post some more detailed pictures of the heat shield. Front side, back side. Since the RA II piece is so rare. Scott

[Diego]

Originally Posted by Verdoro 68

I'm presuming Verdoro sprung from verdant which means:

1. (of countryside) Green with grass or other rich vegetation.
2. Of the bright green color of lush grass.

In Spanish, green is "Verde." "Verdant" comes from the same root, presumably Latin.

[68RamII]

Hey Rick,

Thank you for posting these pictures. If guys like Brian haven't seen one of these heat shields then it must be really rare!!!

I would appreciate you being able to make the other one so I can install it on my car. I will give you a call.

It would be great to see a few more detailed pictures of the heat shield off of the engine.

Thanks...

[The Boss]

That's a real gift to find an original out there!

Thanks Rick!

[Judge273]

Anyone got the production number breakdowns on the sleeper roundports?

GTO Man vs Auto?
FB Man vs Auto?

[The Boss]

GTO

RA II, Manual 199
RA II, Auto 47

These numbers include the convertibles.

[Judge273]

I've seen two GTO vert RAIIs. Which is about as many HT I've seen. A green one and the OP's car,

Boss, How many HT have you seen or know about? I don't think the vert breakdown is 50/50.

[The Boss]

3 verts that I know of, John's, one in NY & one in Chicago - that one an auto.

Hard tops? Around 15, only 3 auto's though.

[Judge273]

Probably the lowest survival rate of any roundport? Any pix of John's vert?

[muscle_collector]

Originally Posted by Judge273

Probably the lowest survival rate of any roundport? Any pix of John's vert?

there are probably several still out there sitting in someones field or garage and they dont have a clue what it is.
with the engine missing, there isnt any stand out tell tale signs of what it is. with 4:33 gears in the gto, it didnt take much to lose the engine. if the dealer or original owner didnt put the ram air scoops in them, they would look just like a regular gto.

[Judge273]

That what keeps the hunt on for those sleepers in the sheds...Just like the OP and brians FB story. Ebay is good for some Pontiac treasure hunting still.

[mcduck]

Found figures on some website which gave RAII engine production, which was slightly higher than number of cars built but still under 400 total. not sure how accurate that info is but either way they are scarcer than RAIII, RAIV or 455SDs.

I am slowly acquiring all the mechanical bits... I would **love** to find an original RAII car minus drivetrain at this point.

[Judge273]

400 built from March of 68 til when? It maybe more scarce since it came late in year, and only in GTO or FB. Out of nowhere for many who didn't see it coming...

I think by that time the Judge and TA for 69 were advertised. Both could be had with the RA IV...

[gto66yellow]

More pictures of the heat shield

[The Boss]

Originally Posted by Judge273

400 built from March of 68 til when? It maybe more scarce since it came late in year, and only in GTO or FB. Out of nowhere for many who didn't see it coming...

I think by that time the Judge and TA for 69 were advertised. Both could be had with the RA IV...

Earliest build date I've seen so far is my Pontiac built 05C with an invoice date of 05/28. My 05A Baltimore built RA I has an invoice date of 05/08.

[Judge273]

March 68 is when Pontiac offered it or made it available? Seems to be the written word...