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Old 12-19-2022, 04:07 PM
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Verdoro 68 Verdoro 68 is offline
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Default Adding Ram Air pans

I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel for my Ram Air II build. The general theme is of the build is "parts counter late '68." Kind of like you went to your GM dealer and ordered the good stuff back in the day.

I'm preparing to repaint the underside of the hood and am thinking about adding the '68 ram air setup to complement the heads and intake. What's holding me back is cutting the bracing on the hood for the upper pan. It's not a huge amount of surgery, but it is difficult to reverse. My car also has A/C, so it's an obviously tell that it's not a Ram Air car.

I did cut the hood to add a hood tach so maybe I'm hand-wringing over nothing. Would you all break out the cut off wheel or leave it be?

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Old 12-19-2022, 04:11 PM
Tim john Tim john is offline
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Build it as you see fit, nobody else's opinion has value unless you plan on selling. I drive a clone and could care less what the nay sayers think or say. They sure get their panties in a knot when they find an LS under the hood. I sleep just fine.

Tim john---

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Old 12-20-2022, 11:13 AM
rasilverbird rasilverbird is offline
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Cutting painted metal is always stressful.

I'm planning on adding the cold air air cleaner to my car once I get it running, but I don't plan on adding the hood plate and actuators. I'll just seal the air cleaner to the hood and run open scoops. I like your idea of "parts counter" RAII, and if that's the look you're going for and you don't mind re-painting under the hood, I say go for it.

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Old 12-20-2022, 11:54 AM
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Wouldn't think twice about it. If you want a factory fresh air setup on the car, go for it. Functional factory hoods are a big part of the cool factor on muscle cars.

Do it while the parts are available.

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Old 12-20-2022, 05:19 PM
will slow gto will slow gto is offline
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Originally Posted by Formulajones View Post
Wouldn't think twice about it. If you want a factory fresh air setup on the car, go for it. Functional factory hoods are a big part of the cool factor on muscle cars.

Do it while the parts are available.
+2! The alternative being your 464 RAII motor will be breathing out of a 68 single snorkel air cleaner 😯

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Old 12-20-2022, 11:58 PM
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Yeap to all above. my metal scoop are open. I'm gonna skip the flapped door/cable stuff i've owned in the past.

Foam on Lower pan to carb. Thinking to get the upper plate and hood seal to be done with it. Water Drain tube?

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Old 12-21-2022, 12:53 AM
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What’s the worst someone is gonna think you took your hood off a real RAII car. If it bothers you that much get a reproduction hood they aren’t that expensive . The brace can always be welded back in but I don’’t really see any reason you’d want to.

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Old 12-21-2022, 09:54 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by turbo69bird View Post
What’s the worst someone is gonna think you took your hood off a real RAII car. If it bothers you that much get a reproduction hood they aren’t that expensive . The brace can always be welded back in but I don’’t really see any reason you’d want to.
Agreed, like a round hoodtach hole made to add the Hoodtach. The afterthought is hope it was niceLy done...yes it looks clean.

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Old 12-21-2022, 11:23 AM
gtoguys gtoguys is offline
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I installed my ram air pan on my 68 hood and never cut a brace. Been on there for 15 years now.

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Old 12-21-2022, 12:34 PM
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Alright, twist my arm. The whole set up is a little over $600 so it’s not cheap, but nothing in this build has been.

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Old 12-21-2022, 09:53 PM
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I used a cutoff wheel to cut my hood for ram air 7 or 8 years ago. Wasn't really that hard to do even on the car.
Just remember the old adage, measure twice, cut once.
I laid a big drop cloth across the engine compartment to keep the metal shavings away.
Gosh, no surprise but prices have really jumped. I think I paid about half of that.

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Old 12-23-2022, 01:41 PM
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I believe the 69 assembly manual has drawings that show both the cut lines for 69-70 and for 68.

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Old 12-24-2022, 10:12 AM
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Originally Posted by Verdoro 68 View Post
Alright, twist my arm. The whole set up is a little over $600 so it’s not cheap, but nothing in this build has been.
I don't know why but that doesn't seem too horrible to me. The 68 system is so simplistic and very clean looking when installed, which is why I really like it.

The 69 system is much more complex. I didn't look but I'd hate to think what that system would set you back. $$$$

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Old 12-24-2022, 03:21 PM
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You can install it, and it'll look okay, without cutting any braces but you won't get the factory type seal between the upper pan and the hood I don't think.
And like I said, cutting it is not that hard if you have an angle grinder with a trigger lock so you can manipulate it with both hands without having to hold the trigger down.
The upper pan has a stamped area at the rear designed to hook onto the rear brace on the underside of the hood. That will support it while you center it side to side. Once it's centered just drill a hole for the very front center screw. Before doing that I put masking tape on the hood bracing in the area where I knew I was going to have to cut. Once I hung the pan up from the rear I was able to make all of my cut marks on the masking tape.
Hanging it from the rear allows you to push the pan up against the bottom of the hood so you can make a mark, drop it down, make another mark so forth and so on everywhere you see interference..
Like I said before, measure twice cut once. I posted a thread on it, and it's somewhere in our archives, with photos

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Old 01-13-2023, 11:26 PM
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Got the pans from Ames. The upper and lower pans, vent tube, foam and air cleaner lid was an investment but this is going to look cool on top of that intake

Looks like I need to order a bigger air filter. For some reason the K&N I had with the stock snorkel is 13-1/2" diameter rather than a 14".



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Old 01-13-2023, 11:31 PM
bluejudge bluejudge is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Verdoro 68 View Post
Got the pans from Ames. The upper and lower pans, vent tube, foam and air cleaner lid was an investment but this is going to look cool on top of that intake

Looks like I need to order a bigger air filter. For some reason the K&N I had with the stock snorkel is 13-1/2" diameter rather than a 14".



Looks great!!!

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Old 01-13-2023, 11:35 PM
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That’s gonna look great . Nothing wrong w an an irate looking clone 90 % maybe more of the time no one thinks my RAIV bird is really anyway .

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Old 01-14-2023, 12:04 AM
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That’s gonna look great . Nothing wrong w an an irate looking clone 90 % maybe more of the time no one thinks my RAIV bird is really anyway .
I’d imagine that’s the curse of having a rare car. I even get the “Is it real?” question with my plain GTO. My car has a/c so I’m not trying to fool anyone with the ram air assembly.

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Old 01-14-2023, 12:26 AM
Baron Von Zeppelin Baron Von Zeppelin is offline
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Royal Bobcat mail order upgrade package .
original owner had to have it and its been there ever since.

You basically committed yourself to the responsibility of the Induction Hardware
when you bought those heads and built that engine !
Enjoy the Factors !

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Old 01-14-2023, 01:09 AM
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Well, I do have a Royal Bobcat sticker I got from Wangers on the windshield. That may be what started all this.



I actually had a hokey fiberglass ram air set up on it 20+ years ago. I hastily installed it - and it looked like it. I'm not even sure I had the upper pan installed the right side up! You can see it bulging off the hood in the pic. I didn't know I had to cut the hood back then, so maybe that was part of the problem. The super fat lower foam looks choice too. This setup is a million times better.

The blue Crane plug wires, white Blackjack headers, yellow Accel coil are vintage Super Shops pick ups. Good times on a budget.

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