[PurelyGTO68]

Originally Posted by Baron Von Zeppelin

Latest Updates to the Registry Listing.

.......
18. Convertible - 4spd
VooDoo Green - Black Buckets - Black Top
Located in Arizona
Owned by PurelyGTO68 since 1988
Documented BHC on PY

.....

Glad to be on the list. The RAII Bird Roll Call thread is some great reading....(this one isn't too bad either... )

I will tell what I know about the history of our car. Perhaps I'll get lucky and someone on here will recognize the car from it's earlier life before we bought the car.

My brother purchased this car as a project in 1988 in Tucson Arizona. At the time I owned a '70 RAIII and my uncle had a '73 LeMans Sport Coupe 400 manual trans. My brother wanted in on the action, so he found this car and felt he could fix it up. The person we bought the car from had it for a little bit over a year and purchased it as a project with the same intentions. The person who owned it prior to that had it for 11 years and raced the car at the local tracks (according to the person we purchased the car from...)

At the time we found the car it had been repainted a color similar to Mayfair Maize. The GTO quarter fender decals were installed as well as Ram Air decals on the hood. At the time, we didn't know that 1968 models didn't come with hood decals.....we were mostly familiar with 1969 and 1970 models so as far as we knew, all GTOs were Ram Air. Pretty much every GTO that we'd ever seen had Ram Air decals so we didn't think anything of it when the '68 had them as well.

The car was sitting in a field. The convertible top was ripped and torn and the interior was completely shot. The original engine was gone and replaced with a 1967 RA or HO engine from a Firebird. All the other RA stuff was there....intake, carb, air cleaner pan, hood baffle, open scoops, M21 trans and 4.33 4 pinion posi rear end etc. So, we plunked down $800 and trailered the car home. My uncle and I removed the body from the frame and we completely restored the chassis and rebuilt the entire drive train, brakes, fuel lines etc. We then put the body back on the frame and prepared the car for new floor pans. Around that time, my brother had an occupation change so work stopped on the car until more funds were available.

Weeks turned to Months and Months turned to Years. By this time the 3 of us had married and started families. My uncle and I moved away from Tucson, so my brother simply kept the car in storage until he was ready to resume the project. Around 2004, my he met a fellow at a local car show that had a restoration business and they came to an agreement to have him finish the car. This shop proceeded to disassemble the car and empty my brother's wallet. To be fair, it's likely that my brother sorta gave up on the car as well.

Meanwhile, my passion for classic American cars lives on. I've completed a few projects of my own. My most recent project was a frame off restoration of my father-in-law's '1961 Bel Air Bubble Top. It's a one owner car and my wife and kids assisted with the restoration. We had a wonderful time building that car and giving it back to our dad to enjoy once again.

We attended a car show in Tucson a couple of months ago where the '61 won Best of Show. Our dad was very proud. As luck would have it, my brother stopped by and we got to talking. By this time I had assumed that he sold the car and didn't have it any more but to my surprise he said that he would be interested in having me finish his car for him. Of course I said "You still have that car!".....and "hell yeah, let's go get it!".

The following day we went to the address of the shop to discover the owner had lost his lease and the cars had been moved somewhere else. We had no idea where. My brother remembers talking to the guy about 18 months earlier and he said he was relocating soon but he wasn't sure where. This baffles me because I can't understand how anyone could leave there car with a shop so long and not know details about the repair/restoration progress or check up on the car on a regular basis. Over the next several days it became fairly obvious that my brother had given up on the car and was ready to forget about it and move on.

I was less likely to accept that fate. My wife was even more animated than I and we tracked down some leads and found the car. The body and chassis was across the street and the off parts (doors, fenders, bumpers, hood etc) were at another location about 5 miles away. Apparently the owner of the shop was in an accident and ended up in the hospital for 8 or 9 months. When he defaulted on his lease, the landlord used a forklift and moved all the cars and parts out into the street. A good Samaritan neighbor took pity on him and moved the cars into his yard while all the smaller parts went to another shop nearby.

With my brother's permission, my wife and I made arrangements to recover the vehicle and whatever parts we could. All the parts were left out in the elements. The new floors weren't primed so they had a nice coat of surface runs. The chassis was in pretty bad shape as well. It was a fairly sad scene. Luckily I had a fairly good memory of what parts to look for and was able to spot and collect most everything. It was a bit of a scavenger hunt. The air cleaner pan was found in the front seat of a 67 Mustang. The hood and doors were buried behind other hoods against a fence. The bumpers were in the back of an old truck. It was quite a scene.

I loaded everything up in my trailer and brought it back home. My brother saw the parts and said he was done with the car and asked if I would be interested in buying it. We agreed on a price and then he would only accept half of that amount. He said he would like me to have the car since my wife and I did all the legwork to track it down. He can see that my wife and I have a passion for these sorts of things and he just doesn't share the same level of interest that we have in cars. I guess that's okay, not everyone is a car person.

So here we are. I am nearly finished with my '55 Bel Air so I hope to start this project around Dec/Jan ish. I've been taking inventory and doing lots of research. I don't think it's likely that I'll find a WY block so I'll probably use a RAIV block that is available. I have the RAII heads along with the intake and carb so that stuff is in hand already. I have a short list of items remaining and then I'll start planning the project. The remaining items are common '68 parts so they should be obtainable. The local salvage yard has two '68 convertibles for parts so that will be helpful.

I have a new one piece floor already. I'll probably put that in around November or so. That will allow me to put the body on a rotisserie so I can get it ready for paint. The rockers, quarters, front fenders, doors, cowl, trunk etc is totally rust free so that is going to be pretty nice. The last car I restored was a total rust bucket so it will be nice to have OE sheet metal for a change.

Here are some pics of how the car looked when we found it and when I got it back home. I have the car insured through Hagerty but I think I should up the value. What do you guys think a reasonable value would be on a '68 convertible RAII project car? Is $15-20k out of the question as it sits now? This includes the 4 bolt block and RAII heads, carb, related parts etc....

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

Man that is one wild back story on your car.
Its lucky to even still be a car anymore.

Thanks for hunting us down and sharing your RamAirII Convertible here.

Your insured amount seems plenty within reason to me.

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

The prep / repair order that 1oldgoat mentioned previously.

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

Picture of the driver side exhaust heat shroud as found on the Aegena Blue Ram2 GTO.



Pictures of same shroud after a face-lift.

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

Picture of Base 68 GTO WT/YS Breather/Lid




Picture of 68 Ram2 Black/Gold Vert Breather/Lid

[68pongto]

Originally Posted by PurelyGTO68

I don't think it's likely that I'll find a WY block so I'll probably use a RAIV block that is available. I have the RAII heads along with the intake and carb so that stuff is in hand already.

There is someone selling a RA II block right now on the forum



http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...9&highlight=wy

[PurelyGTO68]

Originally Posted by 68pongto

There is someone selling a RA II block right now on the forum



http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...9&highlight=wy

Thanks for the link. I did see that ad and called on it but the poster isn't sure he is ready to sell. Must be having second thoughts I guess. The casting date on his block is 5he same as the car build date so I suppose if I am going to spend that much for a WY block, then I should get one with the appropriate date code.

I will keep looking though....

[Gtowolf]

Originally Posted by PurelyGTO68

Glad to be on the list. The RAII Bird Roll Call thread is some great reading....(this one isn't too bad either... )

I will tell what I know about the history of our car. Perhaps I'll get lucky and someone on here will recognize the car from it's earlier life before we bought the car.

My brother purchased this car as a project in 1988 in Tucson Arizona. At the time I owned a '70 RAIII and my uncle had a '73 LeMans Sport Coupe 400 manual trans. My brother wanted in on the action, so he found this car and felt he could fix it up. The person we bought the car from had it for a little bit over a year and purchased it as a project with the same intentions. The person who owned it prior to that had it for 11 years and raced the car at the local tracks (according to the person we purchased the car from...)

At the time we found the car it had been repainted a color similar to Mayfair Maize. The GTO quarter fender decals were installed as well as Ram Air decals on the hood. At the time, we didn't know that 1968 models didn't come with hood decals.....we were mostly familiar with 1969 and 1970 models so as far as we knew, all GTOs were Ram Air. Pretty much every GTO that we'd ever seen had Ram Air decals so we didn't think anything of it when the '68 had them as well.

The car was sitting in a field. The convertible top was ripped and torn and the interior was completely shot. The original engine was gone and replaced with a 1967 RA or HO engine from a Firebird. All the other RA stuff was there....intake, carb, air cleaner pan, hood baffle, open scoops, M21 trans and 4.33 4 pinion posi rear end etc. So, we plunked down $800 and trailered the car home. My uncle and I removed the body from the frame and we completely restored the chassis and rebuilt the entire drive train, brakes, fuel lines etc. We then put the body back on the frame and prepared the car for new floor pans. Around that time, my brother had an occupation change so work stopped on the car until more funds were available.

Weeks turned to Months and Months turned to Years. By this time the 3 of us had married and started families. My uncle and I moved away from Tucson, so my brother simply kept the car in storage until he was ready to resume the project. Around 2004, my he met a fellow at a local car show that had a restoration business and they came to an agreement to have him finish the car. This shop proceeded to disassemble the car and empty my brother's wallet. To be fair, it's likely that my brother sorta gave up on the car as well.

Meanwhile, my passion for classic American cars lives on. I've completed a few projects of my own. My most recent project was a frame off restoration of my father-in-law's '1961 Bel Air Bubble Top. It's a one owner car and my wife and kids assisted with the restoration. We had a wonderful time building that car and giving it back to our dad to enjoy once again.

We attended a car show in Tucson a couple of months ago where the '61 won Best of Show. Our dad was very proud. As luck would have it, my brother stopped by and we got to talking. By this time I had assumed that he sold the car and didn't have it any more but to my surprise he said that he would be interested in having me finish his car for him. Of course I said "You still have that car!".....and "hell yeah, let's go get it!".

The following day we went to the address of the shop to discover the owner had lost his lease and the cars had been moved somewhere else. We had no idea where. My brother remembers talking to the guy about 18 months earlier and he said he was relocating soon but he wasn't sure where. This baffles me because I can't understand how anyone could leave there car with a shop so long and not know details about the repair/restoration progress or check up on the car on a regular basis. Over the next several days it became fairly obvious that my brother had given up on the car and was ready to forget about it and move on.

I was less likely to accept that fate. My wife was even more animated than I and we tracked down some leads and found the car. The body and chassis was across the street and the off parts (doors, fenders, bumpers, hood etc) were at another location about 5 miles away. Apparently the owner of the shop was in an accident and ended up in the hospital for 8 or 9 months. When he defaulted on his lease, the landlord used a forklift and moved all the cars and parts out into the street. A good Samaritan neighbor took pity on him and moved the cars into his yard while all the smaller parts went to another shop nearby.

With my brother's permission, my wife and I made arrangements to recover the vehicle and whatever parts we could. All the parts were left out in the elements. The new floors weren't primed so they had a nice coat of surface runs. The chassis was in pretty bad shape as well. It was a fairly sad scene. Luckily I had a fairly good memory of what parts to look for and was able to spot and collect most everything. It was a bit of a scavenger hunt. The air cleaner pan was found in the front seat of a 67 Mustang. The hood and doors were buried behind other hoods against a fence. The bumpers were in the back of an old truck. It was quite a scene.

I loaded everything up in my trailer and brought it back home. My brother saw the parts and said he was done with the car and asked if I would be interested in buying it. We agreed on a price and then he would only accept half of that amount. He said he would like me to have the car since my wife and I did all the legwork to track it down. He can see that my wife and I have a passion for these sorts of things and he just doesn't share the same level of interest that we have in cars. I guess that's okay, not everyone is a car person.

So here we are. I am nearly finished with my '55 Bel Air so I hope to start this project around Dec/Jan ish. I've been taking inventory and doing lots of research. I don't think it's likely that I'll find a WY block so I'll probably use a RAIV block that is available. I have the RAII heads along with the intake and carb so that stuff is in hand already. I have a short list of items remaining and then I'll start planning the project. The remaining items are common '68 parts so they should be obtainable. The local salvage yard has two '68 convertibles for parts so that will be helpful.

I have a new one piece floor already. I'll probably put that in around November or so. That will allow me to put the body on a rotisserie so I can get it ready for paint. The rockers, quarters, front fenders, doors, cowl, trunk etc is totally rust free so that is going to be pretty nice. The last car I restored was a total rust bucket so it will be nice to have OE sheet metal for a change.

Here are some pics of how the car looked when we found it and when I got it back home. I have the car insured through Hagerty but I think I should up the value. What do you guys think a reasonable value would be on a '68 convertible RAII project car? Is $15-20k out of the question as it sits now? This includes the 4 bolt block and RAII heads, carb, related parts etc....

Haggerty for 60,000 on my GTO it was 65,000 the year before I have to renew next month I think I will leave it at 60,000..is that a fair amount for a number 2 car ??

[PurelyGTO68]

Originally Posted by Gtowolf

Haggerty for 60,000 on my GTO it was 65,000 the year before I have to renew next month I think I will leave it at 60,000..is that a fair amount for a number 2 car ??

I have always placed insurance amounts at replacement costs plus a little extra. I suppose that also works for classic cars provided suitable examples are available for sale at any given time. As far as I know, there aren't very many (if any) RAII GTOs on the market so replacement value is a bit of a guessing game. A public or private auction would likely set the market value but even that could be heavily dependent on how many potential buyers are informed that a car is available. Does anyone know what the last RAII sold for at auction and what was the winning bid?

Hagerty told me that a condition 4 convertible was $55k. I decided $20 k would be a reasonable amount at this time so that is what we agreed to use...for now.