ram air what??
 

is there a definitive glossary of years, block codes, transmissions and head codes that covers 1967-1970 pontiac ram air options for GTO and firebird?
i have not found anything all encompassing for the "glory years, of ram air."
i do not want to argue the 62s were ram air 3s,
but fir starters:
1967 ram air "0", cold air induction available on gto and firebird? same 670 heads, different block codes?
1968 ram air "1" avaialable gtos and firebirds, cold air package and differnet heads, 31s? no 16 dports were ram air?
16s with an open air option were HO, ram air option but not ram air 3?
later 1968 ram air II, 96 heads, cold air package, different block codes for a body and f body
1969 ram air III, 48 d ports on both transmissions? cold air package, different block codes for a body and f body
1969 ram air iv, 722 round ports cold air package, not required but available, different block codes for a body and f body
1970 ram air III d ports? cold air package, different block codes for a body and f body
1970 ram air IV 614 round ports cold air package, not required, but available? different block codes for a body and f body

To me, Ram Air was more of a hood-air cleaner option, except the RA II heads were cast R 96 A.

I mean 421 HO & 428 HO with Long Branch, and 70 455 HO are strong. Making D-Ports highly ranked.

Marketing

you are mixing things a smidge by using non-PMD terminology.

To answer your query succinctly, it is generally accepted that Pete McCarthy's book entitled 'Pontiac Musclecar Performance 1955-1979' is the "Pontiac bible";
This book lists all the block codes, head castings, and camshafts - cross referenced to the factory horsepower values (which was typically the indicator of the engine type).
Pete's book does cover differences for heads like the 667's which were assembled differently for non-RA vs RA engines.
Pete's book does have some omissions, and I have been given by another enthusiast, pages which address some oversights...

Ames sells this book - HERE is a direct link to their page for it.

Also, Rocky Rotella updated his "How to rebuild Pontiac V-8s" book, and added an appendix which covers much of the 1967-1979 Pontiac engine codes ect.
This book is Cartech book SA200 and is ISBN 978-1-61325-563-6

But to the "Ram Air" designations;
(I am touching on this because your post assets "Ram Air 0", and block codes differing where they do not.)

Pontiac Motor Division terminology:
1965 (no 'Ram Air' engine offered; an over the counter 'ram air' air cleaner set up was offered)
1966 Ram Air (late model year; tri-power engine; engine code 'XS')
1967 Ram Air
1968 Ram Air (D-port)
1968 Ram Air (round-port)
1969 Ram Air (D-port)
1969 Ram Air IV (round-port)
1970 Ram Air
1970 Ram Air IV (round-port)
1970 Ram Air V (round port; non-production; different design heads and cam)

The "Ram Air I", "Ram Air II", and "Ram Air III" are designations that enthusiasts used after the fact.

ok so that does clear it up. does that mean that no factory cars had ram air III or ram air iv stickers on the hoods, from the factory?
pontiac must have counted 3 other versions to get to 4?

RA II Bulletin




:)

As far as I know, only Ram Air IV A body cars got the hood decals saying it was a RA IV. RA 3 cars got a decal saying "Ram Air"

Oh my, this could be a long thread...

Gary in post 7 is correct.

The ram air and RA4 name was given by the factory, not us enthusiasts.

That is an absolutely fair point.

As far as I can recall, the option wasn't called anything other than 'Ram Air' or RPO L67 anywhere for public consumption - only for some insider bulletins.
Even MPC's refer to them as 'Ram Air', and use engine stamped codes to identify which version.

As such, any previous unfulfilled orders for 1968 'Ram Air (I)' cars were fulfilled as 'Ram Air (II)' cars - as the RPO was updated (or maybe you want to say it was replaced?).

I might be a bit off here, so I am open to correction;
Weather or not the 'Ram Air II' or 'Ram Air Two' (bulletin 68-13) were used for the average customer or not, the 'Ram Air I' and Ram Air III' were not.

For those who don't know the "IV" came about because of the intended (air cleaner) intake configuration (four sources of incoming air);
The I, II, III, & IV just work as an easy way to summarize the progression, but if you look at this from another angle, there were in essence three different configurations:

1st) D-port heads; cast iron intake; 744 cam w/67cc heads
2nd) Round port heads; cast iron intake; 041 cam w/67cc heads
3rd) Round port heads; aluminum intake; 041 cam w/67cc heads

Up to the beginning of the 1969 model year, all these engines used the same RPO L67.

Over time, that "67cc" (a nominal number I am using) became rolled into "72cc";
That "72cc" number came about to summarize many of the 67-70 high compression heads - but posts on this very forum have shown that the non-RA large valve heads tended to be often around 78cc, while the smaller combustion chamber heads were around 67cc.

667(RA) / 997 = 67cc
31 = 67cc
48 = 67cc
12 = 67cc
(R)96(A) = 67cc
722 = 67cc
614 = 67cc

(please bear with me for another moment)
With that being said, the 67cc heads appeared to be a pre-requisite part of any Ram Air engine;
I say that in ever facet of life, there are exceptions to every rule - in this example that exception are the few 1969 automatic backed L74 cars which had the larger chambered 62 heads.

As I see it, the 1969-RAIII was in essence a re-boot of the D-port RAI for the 1969 model year.
Prior to 1969 RPO L74 was used for the 400HO;
IIRC early in the 1969 model year RPO L74 was being referred to as the 400HO - if I have this (somewhat confusing) information straight, the "400HO" was dropped when the 'ram air' induction became a part of the standard equipment with the L74 engine option.

The 1969-L74 engine started out with the 67cc (#48) heads, and a 744 cam (downgraded to 068 when backed by an automatic), but later in the year, all these engines received the 068 cam;
If I have it straight, by the time the 744 cam was removed from L74 engines, PMD was using the title of 'Ram Air' with this engine option.

Engine options were in essence carried forward from the late 1969 model year verbiage into the 1970 model year.

sorry - again I'm trying to be helpful here:

If my info is straight, four bolt mains should be addressed.

I believe that early 1967 L67 engines had two bolt mains, but four bolt mains were phased in when a new block casting was made which accommodated four bolt mains.
All 1968 L67 blocks had four bolt mains.
All RAIV blocks had four bolt mains.

I have understood that most RAIII engines also had four bolt mains, but not all did.
I seem to recall reading contradicting information, but my understanding at this point is that for 1969, it's something of a crap-shoot if your L74 has four bolt mains.
While for 1970, unless it was an automatic backed L74, you are almost guaranteed four bolt mains.
1969/1970 L74/auto = YZ
1969/1970 L74/mt = WS

Bonus info: almost all 1970 model year blocks were drilled and tapped for four bolt mains;
Aside from RAIV & RAIII blocks, some s/t 400 blocks (code WT) recieved for bolt caps.

Also just for the record only the the 68 1/2 and up round exh port heads had forged pistons.

No D port head ever did.

so in summary, it takes 4 bolt mains, 67 cc heads, forged pistons, and fresh air intake system?
ram air 4 is ram air 4 due to the number of fresh air entries into the induction system? a fresh air system on 67 and 68 firebirds and gtos, did not have 4 points of entry?
but not every ram air 4 headed car had a fresh air system?

for the record i have never had a real ram air thats why im asking, im prob doing a tribute with my 68 however.

I am guessing that you meant to say that no D-port RA engine used forged pistons.
This is a short block assembly difference.
Although you are technically correct, I believe you are mistaken to a point.

Like you, I have understood that before the 1968.5 L67 (RAII) all short blocks used a cast piston;
For 1969 & 1970 L67 short blocks continued to use forged pistons.
IIRC the only other factory installed PMD short blocks to use forged (TRW) slugs were the 73-74 SD455.

Where you are technically incorrect, is that some 1970 L74 engines were assembled using the same short block as the L67/RAIV engines.

It takes as much, or as little as you wish.
There's a reason PMD didn't require four bolt mains or forged slugs for the D-port engines.
The key component is the intake setup - if you have a nice GTO, I doubt anyone is going to fault you for adding a RA setup to the car.
I would suggest the key parts are intake setup and exhaust manifolds.
Second to that would be camshaft selection - I would expect that many owners of D-port RA cars are probably not running factory grind camshafts.

To further answer you, the 1968 & earlier ram air system was essentially an air cleaner that sealed to the hood with no controls, but on some applications block offs could be installed along with regular air cleaners for inclement weather use (the RA induction and cast open hood scoops were included in the truck, to be installed after delivery - regular closed hood scoops were installed on the assembly line, along with a regular air cleaner assemblies).

The 1969 GTO & Firebird, as well as the 1970 GTO RAIV system had a driver operated cable to control where the inlet air was coming from.

I believe that the 1969 RAIV setup ended up being used on all 1969 RAIII cars, but I could be mistaken.

The magazine 'High Performance Pontiac' (RIP) had a neat article on the still born 1970 LS1, and offered a feasible explanation as to why the RAIV engine saw such a lengthy delay on the Firebird - only to be the same engine that the GTO used... which carried RPO L67.

HERE is a short online article showing many of air induction setups.

HERE is another article, if any of these posts were a bit too confusing.
As is often the case, this second article is mistaken, as the 'Ram AIr' engine option was a distinct thing as early as 1966 - where as the article suggests it wasn't until 1968.
If this Haggerty article was correct, there would have been no need for PMD to differentiate the revised RPO L67 as 'Ram Air II' or 'Ram Air Two' for insider bulletins.

I have taken apart two original 1970 what we call RAIII motors and they had non forged pistons.

I am sure there have been the odd ball stuff like when we have seen 4 bolt mains in a service replacement block for a warranty on a 2 bbl motor because that’s all that was in inventory at that time to send to a dealer.

So it would follow that if an under warranty 69 or 70 RAIII motor was in need of a service replacement block that it could have got a block for a RA4 motor with its forged pistons.

Keep in mind the only way Pontiac provided blocks where with just pistons and rings , no short block assembly’s could be had.

no.

my mentioning of L74 engines (WS or YZ) being built from L67 short blocks has been mentioned on this very site as being a documented fact.

The L74 short block (and all lesser 400's for 1970) used a 9799914 casting, while the L67 used a 9799915;
The 915 is actually a modified 914 block - iirc it has been asserted here that the "5" indicated forged pistons in the short block assembly.

To state this another way, there are documented L74 engine assemblies which had utilized 915 shortblocks.

Thata a trick question!
There was no ra1.
O here we go!

What about 400 SD blocks vs ra4 in 70.
And 4 bolt ra3s? My guess under cover ops!;)

OG to the car 69 WS RAIII block, drilled for 4 bolt but came w/ 2 bolt caps.

This should be that some WS coded engines used the 9799915 BLOCK but still had cast pistons. These blocks were also ground off '4' and stamped '5' in its place. (also had the 068 cam in it)
These also seem to have been in the Judge and not TA?


:)

GTO-Based & F-Body based Ram Air answers are fair game, yet "Marketing comes to my mind.

390HP 428 HO 4-bolt Caps, Long Branch, RA-III heads, 068 cam, same iron Intake, Stout TH400 ( or equal 4-speed) and mandatory Posi ( even Judges has open Diff)

Mucky; Figure that any PMD with a factory Class 3 Tow Package probably has an HO engine + Posi (cooling fan, Radiator) that exceeds most Ram Air cars

huh... I thought I read quite the opposite.

Not for the RA III engines. Why they used the 979991'5' block for some RA III is unknown as far as I know.
They also seemed to be from Hxx9 to Jxx9 cast blcoks. Possibly they had an excess of 915 blacks and used them for the WS/YZ engines. I have one of those blocks that came out of my 70 Judge. It had all the parts of a normal WS engine, cast pistons and 068 cam.

I would say the 'recipe' for the engine makeup is based on the WS/YZ codes and not on the 9799914/15 block.

BTW, if bought over the counter, the RA III would still have the cast pistons.

:)

The name Ram Air III gets used often in describing 69-70 Judges and Trans Ams with D port engine.Did Pontiac officially ever use this name in sales brochures or marketing material to designate this particular engine or was just adopted by the general public.If we compare a a standard 1970 GTO 350 HP 400 WT code engine to the so called Ram Air III engine the only real differences are the Ram Air exhaust manifolds and the functional air breather.Both engines use the same number 12 cylinder heads and intake manifold.Also both engines use the O68 camshaft.

Sorry, you are mistaken.

WT(L78) to WS(L74) differ by:
Camshaft: WS 068 / WT 067
Carburetor: WS 7040273('573-CA) / WT 7040263('563-CA)
Exhaust manifolds: WS 'ram air' castings / WT 'standard' castings
blocks: WS* 4-bolt mains / WT* 2-bolt mains (* = this was how it was supposed to be)

Actually as I have read and understood it, PMD did a service to people who ordered the standard 400-4bbl in the A & F bodies;
I believe I read it described as "this years hot ticket" or something to that effect;
PMD said to have intentionally put the "hot" (D-port) Ram Air heads on these engines.

As a point of comparison, for 1969 the L78 did NOT share heads with the L74.

Not mistaken on the exhaust manifolds.I mentioned that one of the differences was the Ram Air exhaust manifold's.Looking at Pete McCarthy’s book he list the 1970 GTO engine(WT) with manual transmission getting the 068 camshaft.He shows the automatic equipped GTO getting the 067 camshaft.

Ok,looking at both of Pete McCarthy’s books.Pontiac Musclecar Performance Book shows 067 camshaft for standard GTO engine manual transmission.Pontiac Racers High Performance Book shows 068 camshaft for manual transmission GTO.We have a discrepancy between both sources.

after mid 1969 (model year) there were AFAIK no manual vs auto camshafts;
the 068 was always an HO cam, the 067 was the bread and butter performance cam.

WT = 067
WS = 068

you made me look;
I’m not seeing any suggestion that the WT had anything other than the 067.
I believe you are mistaken.

It happens to us all though ;)

No mistaken just reading what is in black and white in this particular Pete McCarthy’s book.Says 068 for manual GTO.Flag note #8 notes 067 for automatic GTO.

As mentioned earlier both of the Pete McCarthy’s books show to different cams for GTO with manual transmission.

There are actually 3 different camshafts for the 1970 M/T and A/T GTO engines.
067 for 350 hp. STD.
068 for 366 hp. RAIII.
041 for 370 hp. RAIV.

FWIW

Here’s the info from the 1970 sales brochure.
In terms of a 400 GTO there where only 3 Cam choices

The 744 Cam was deleted as a 400 package option by mid 1969.

Just circling back to this, because I am earnestly trying to help, and to clear up any confusion.

It appears as though your images are all from Pete's 'Racer's handbook';
This book was printed in 1981 - I have a copy of that one too, but rarely reference to it because I don't bracket race.

This book you are citing obviously has errors.

I shared images from the 1970 Pontiac service manual and Pete McCarthy's "bible" - both show the 068 was the L74 cam only.

If it matters, my book "Musclecar Performance 1955-1979" has a print date of 1989, and is the third printing of the fifth edition.

Also, we need to understand that authors make errors.
Just because you can find a print source, doesn't mean that it's fact.
Even model year (pre-production) literature can have errors.

For the 1970 model year:
L78 = 067
L74 = 068

period.

Sure there can be errors in any printed publication or advertisement whether Pete’s or PMD.
1969 it shows 400 manual WT-068 cam
400 automatic YS-067 cam


So 1970 PMD dropped the 068 from the 400 WT engine.Thats interesting.

1969 Looks like the both the standard WT engine and WS Ram Air engine used the 068 cam.After the 744 was dropped mid year on the WS.