[ZR 900]

Is there any was to easily tell if the car I just bought is a ram air car? It is a 1970. It suspect it has the ram air hood (underneath the hood there are two kitty corner holes that are open to the scoops). It has a clutch pedal. Has Formula 400 badges. This car is rough but good enough to save. Currently equipped with a 400+hp '76 400 T/A motor hooked to a shift kitted 400 auto. I only wanted the motor but started to look hard at the car and began to wonder what it is. Thanks for any help.

[giles]

At this point your only way to detemrine if it is a RAIII car is to find a build sheet or send off for the PHS Invoice. The only items that were distinct on the RA cars were:

Engine (WS on manual YZ on auto)
Air cleaner
Hood (scoops opened with cleaner boots and rings)

All of the formula hoods were the same basic part and had the scoop openings where the air cleaner would mate. The good part about this is that any 70-75 formula hood can be opened and have the boots added to make it functional.
The odds are against finding a build sheet in a Norwood car. It it is a Van Nuys car there is a very good chance of finding a copy above the gas tank.
Good Luck with your search!

[2manyT/A'S]

ANY 1970 Formula 400 (especially a factory stick) that has a solid (not rusted) body should be saved.
Even the base engine 350 hp 400's are a blast to drive.(non A/C stick cars came with 3:55 12 bolts)

70-73 Formula's are extremely undervalued on the market right now,just like 70-73 T/A's USED to be!

1970 Ram Air III's Formula 400's are starting to catch on & they didn't make a ton of those.
Guess what's going to be NEXT?

MY 2 Cents!

[ZR 900]

Pretty rusty. Tail light panel bad and frame is rusted through just ahead of the rear axle. Is there a replacement piece for the frame available? Lots of amateur repair done over the years. The dumbest thing is the '76 engine has a high rise manifold and the dumba** took a sawzall and cut a square hole in the hood!

[dgb100]

Who can figure car values? I watched B-J auction a couple nights ago and a 70 (I think) Chevelle SS LS5 went for more (like $20K more!) than an identical LS6! I was baffled, the announcers were baffled. Even the auctioneer seemed thrown off.

70 GTO Judge RAIII went for over $60,000. Looks like the Pontiac's are starting to catch up.

Originally Posted by 2manyT/A'S

ANY 1970 Formula 400 (especially a factory stick) that has a solid (not rusted) body should be saved.
Even the base engine 350 hp 400's are a blast to drive.(non A/C stick cars came with 3:55 12 bolts)

70-73 Formula's are extremely undervalued on the market right now,just like 70-73 T/A's USED to be!

1970 Ram Air III's Formula 400's are starting to catch on & they didn't make a ton of those.
Guess what's going to be NEXT?

MY 2 Cents!

[2manyT/A'S]

Sounds to me like it's probably NOT a good candidate to restore,due to rust issues.
Frame rails & rear panels can be had from parts car but they are quite labour intensive to replace.

If it was/is a REAL RAM AIR car & the original engine was still there,it might be a feasable option.

[Thumpin455_GTO]

Originally Posted by ZR 900

Pretty rusty. Tail light panel bad and frame is rusted through just ahead of the rear axle. Is there a replacement piece for the frame available? Lots of amateur repair done over the years. The dumbest thing is the '76 engine has a high rise manifold and the dumba** took a sawzall and cut a square hole in the hood!

Sounds like it would make a nice project if you can part with it cheap. Dont mind if its not a Formula and dont mind the rust. Been wanting to build something with a narrow rear, sounds like that would be a great candidate. What part of Minnisnowta are you in? Hey hasnt the weather been great the last few weeks? Short winters are nice..! PM me if you want to unload it