[68pongto]

I started working on the Ram Air II about a year ago, it is car #6 on the list here. Progress has bee a little slow, but I am also working on the Ram Air I convertible too. I removed the RA II coupe body and have all the bodywork done on it. I also did several sets of doors and decklids for the cars. I am currently working on the two frames and related suspension parts. I have picked out a few of the highlight pictures.

[68pongto]

More pictures

[68pongto]

More pictures

[68pongto]

last of the pictures for now.

[PurelyGTO68]

Originally Posted by 68pongto

last of the pictures for now.

Attachment 545953Attachment 545954Attachment 545955Attachment 545956

Nice project! I remember those days. It has taken me 3 1/2 years to get to this point. Looks like you are doing a great job. Great to see these things preserved for future enthusiasts.
Looking forward to more posts with progress.

[Mcronk]

Still working on making this car more correct. Today installed original booster that was rebuilt and replated along with metering valve bracket. Also replaced early 70's master cylinder with correct 68 version. Installed back up light switch on correct shifter and new back up light extension harness. Still need to decide what to do for a carb.

Before and after pics on booster and master cylinder.

[Greg Reid]

Fantastic work!

[muscle_collector]

I see its still riding on the same wheels it had on it when I owned it for 20 years lol

[68pongto]

Originally Posted by muscle_collector

I see its still riding on the same wheels it had on it when I owned it for 20 years lol

Old rollers never go away, they always seem to resurface!

[brians]

Had one of the best conversations I’ve ever had yesterday.
Tracked down by pure accident thru Facebook, the original owner of my RA2 GTO.

I’ll summarizing and keep it short


Early 68, he ordered a Hemi Charger as a birthday present to himself as it was supposed to be the best out there. It came in in May 68, but when he went to take possession, the manager refused his 66 Tempest trade in as it had been modified. The gave him a short time to sell it but did not happen. So third week of May, he walked into a little Pontiac dealership in Alliance Ohio to talk to them about what Pontiac had to offer and would they take the trade in. The dealership owner sat him down and showed him literature about this new top HP package that just came available. Prior to that, he never heard of it. He sat down and checked off options on a GTO.

About 5 weeks later, he is driving down the road and sees a car transport with a single green 68 GTO. He turns around and follows it to the dealership. He grabs the dealership owner and says we are going for a ride. By third gear, the dealership owner said that is enough and tells him to go back and so they can prep it and install the RA system.

He took it back and drove it himself into the service center (it was just 2 bays). He stood there while they installed the system. One side note, he stated the 2nd set of scoops were in the trunk. They were open and already painted Verdoro Green. I asked if he was sure they were open and he said yes, he stood there when they opened the trunk, cut the hood and installed them.

And I also found out about the original engine. The RA2 engine broke a valve a few months later and it destroyed everything. They replaced the entire engine under warranty.

[1oldgoat]

Originally Posted by brians

Had one of the best conversations I’ve ever had yesterday.
Tracked down by pure accident thru Facebook, the original owner of my RA2 GTO.

I’ll summarizing and keep it short


Early 68, he ordered a Hemi Charger as a birthday present to himself as it was supposed to be the best out there. It came in in May 68, but when he went to take possession, the manager refused his 66 Tempest trade in as it had been modified. The gave him a short time to sell it but did not happen. So third week of May, he walked into a little Pontiac dealership in Alliance Ohio to talk to them about what Pontiac had to offer and would they take the trade in. The dealership owner sat him down and showed him literature about this new top HP package that just came available. Prior to that, he never heard of it. He sat down and checked off options on a GTO.

About 5 weeks later, he is driving down the road and sees a car transport with a single green 68 GTO. He turns around and follows it to the dealership. He grabs the dealership owner and says we are going for a ride. By third gear, the dealership owner said that is enough and tells him to go back and so they can prep it and install the RA system.

He took it back and drove it himself into the service center (it was just 2 bays). He stood there while they installed the system. One side note, he stated the 2nd set of scoops were in the trunk. They were open and already painted Verdoro Green. I asked if he was sure they were open and he said yes, he stood there when they opened the trunk, cut the hood and installed them.

And I also found out about the original engine. The RA2 engine broke a valve a few months later and it destroyed everything. They replaced the entire engine under warranty.

Very cool story! Thanks for sharing. I'm not 100% convinced that there was a second set of scoops in the trunk. However, I have learned to never say never or always with Pontiacs.

[brians]

Originally Posted by 1oldgoat

Very cool story! Thanks for sharing. I'm not 100% convinced that there was a second set of scoops in the trunk. However, I have learned to never say never or always with Pontiacs.

That is why I asked him if he was sure. My car had two sets with it when I got it - a closed set and a set that sure looked perfect open. Openings are very straight and clean. The car only had 22K miles on it when I got it. The open scoops were in the hood and the system was in the trunk. The pans could have passed for nos.

Now I found out why. After they installed the SR engine he removed the system and installed dual quads on the car. There is much more to the story but he fell on some hard times and the car got repo'd late 1970. The pans were in the trunk at the time and must have always stayed there.

[1oldgoat]

Originally Posted by brians

That is why I asked him if he was sure. My car had two sets with it when I got it - a closed set and a set that sure looked perfect open. Openings are very straight and clean. The car only had 22K miles on it when I got it. The open scoops were in the hood and the system was in the trunk. The pans could have passed for nos.

Now I found out why. After they installed the SR engine he removed the system and installed dual quads on the car. There is much more to the story but he fell on some hard times and the car got repo'd late 1970. The pans were in the trunk at the time and must have always stayed there.

That is so cool! If they were factory open scoops, they likely would have had their own part number. I never thought to look. I have a September 68 dated parts manual, I will check for a 68 open scoop part number.

Sounds like a great car!

[nmoreilly]

Originally Posted by brians

Had one of the best conversations I’ve ever had yesterday.
Tracked down by pure accident thru Facebook, the original owner of my RA2 GTO.

I’ll summarizing and keep it short


Early 68, he ordered a Hemi Charger as a birthday present to himself as it was supposed to be the best out there. It came in in May 68, but when he went to take possession, the manager refused his 66 Tempest trade in as it had been modified. The gave him a short time to sell it but did not happen. So third week of May, he walked into a little Pontiac dealership in Alliance Ohio to talk to them about what Pontiac had to offer and would they take the trade in. The dealership owner sat him down and showed him literature about this new top HP package that just came available. Prior to that, he never heard of it. He sat down and checked off options on a GTO.

About 5 weeks later, he is driving down the road and sees a car transport with a single green 68 GTO. He turns around and follows it to the dealership. He grabs the dealership owner and says we are going for a ride. By third gear, the dealership owner said that is enough and tells him to go back and so they can prep it and install the RA system.

He took it back and drove it himself into the service center (it was just 2 bays). He stood there while they installed the system. One side note, he stated the 2nd set of scoops were in the trunk. They were open and already painted Verdoro Green. I asked if he was sure they were open and he said yes, he stood there when they opened the trunk, cut the hood and installed them.

And I also found out about the original engine. The RA2 engine broke a valve a few months later and it destroyed everything. They replaced the entire engine under warranty.

Great story !! was it the blue car (Alpine Blue I think) that was on FB over last couple of days ?

[brians]

Originally Posted by nmoreilly

Great story !! was it the blue car (Alpine Blue I think) that was on FB over last couple of days ?

Yep - as soon as he said he ordered one from Orwig motors, I knew there could only be one so I sent him a message asking more about his car and when he listed the options he ordered I was convinced so asked for his number.

Great guy to talk to and he had some really good stories of that time and filled in a bunch of mysteries of the car. I told him that I plan on calling every month or so just to hear more and if he thought of any great stories, call me.

Sometimes the history of these cars are even better then the cars themselves.

[nmoreilly]

Originally Posted by brians

Had one of the best conversations I’ve ever had yesterday.
Tracked down by pure accident thru Facebook, the original owner of my RA2 GTO.

I’ll summarizing and keep it short


Early 68, he ordered a Hemi Charger as a birthday present to himself as it was supposed to be the best out there. It came in in May 68, but when he went to take possession, the manager refused his 66 Tempest trade in as it had been modified. The gave him a short time to sell it but did not happen. So third week of May, he walked into a little Pontiac dealership in Alliance Ohio to talk to them about what Pontiac had to offer and would they take the trade in. The dealership owner sat him down and showed him literature about this new top HP package that just came available. Prior to that, he never heard of it. He sat down and checked off options on a GTO.

About 5 weeks later, he is driving down the road and sees a car transport with a single green 68 GTO. He turns around and follows it to the dealership. He grabs the dealership owner and says we are going for a ride. By third gear, the dealership owner said that is enough and tells him to go back and so they can prep it and install the RA system.

He took it back and drove it himself into the service center (it was just 2 bays). He stood there while they installed the system. One side note, he stated the 2nd set of scoops were in the trunk. They were open and already painted Verdoro Green. I asked if he was sure they were open and he said yes, he stood there when they opened the trunk, cut the hood and installed them.

And I also found out about the original engine. The RA2 engine broke a valve a few months later and it destroyed everything. They replaced the entire engine under warranty.

Originally Posted by brians

Yep - as soon as he said he ordered one from Orwig motors, I knew there could only be one so I sent him a message asking more about his car and when he listed the options he ordered I was convinced so asked for his number.

Great guy to talk to and he had some really good stories of that time and filled in a bunch of mysteries of the car. I told him that I plan on calling every month or so just to hear more and if he thought of any great stories, call me.

Sometimes the history of these cars are even better then the cars themselves.

Tremendous

[johnta1]

Cool Story!

Wouldn't know the zone and dealer number of Orwig Motors?
(and street address?)

[J GLASGO]

Was it Paul Smith Pontiac then?

[brians]

Originally Posted by J GLASGO

Was it Paul Smith Pontiac then?

No, Orwig motors.
He said it was real small with just enough room for 2 cars in the showroom. It was the owner, his wife and a couple salesman.

[Mcronk]

With only 199 GTO RA II 4 speed cars and 4.33 gears, I think only a very few have their born with drivetrains. These were really factory race cars and the 4.33 gears surely led to many engines being replaced. My car does not have born with engine or 4 speed. However i have managed to gather up a correct WY block with appropriate date code. The M21 also has appropriate date code as do the factory RA II exhaust manifolds. The rear axle is original to the car. Missing correct carb and distributor. The distributor i have is correct for 68 4 speed but not RA II. I have a complete 68 engine to rob parts from such as factory bolts, timing cover, and other odds and ends that were the same on all 68 V8's.