08
Jan
Pontiac officially dubbed it ram air ii. It later became known colloquially as the ram air iii but pontiac never used that name.
We drive a car very special to us.
Pontiac ram air iv. Pontiac s ram air iv engine was the fourth evolution of an engine that had helped to create the muscle car as we know it. Premiering in the 1967 pontiac gto firebird the 400 cubic inch ra i produced 360 horsepower using a large camshaft a bespoke intake and cast iron exhaust headers along with unique cylinder heads. The pontiac v8 engine evolved into one of the finest performance powerplants ever inserted into a production car.
Special engineering for the heads pistons cam crank and the ram air induction system combined to produce a beast in the beauty. The 400 cu in ram air iv was the culmination of years of performance v8 development at pontiac. What sets this engine apart in the history books is the factory installed high performance ram air systems.
When someone talks about a pontiac ram air numbers ii through iv they re talking about a series of limited edition 400 cubic inch muscle car engines built from 1967 through 1970. We drive a car very special to us. A 1970 pontiac gto ram air iv.
However it s not just the car that is special it s the owner none other than longtime f. 1969 pontiac firebird ram air iv power and performance. In 1969 pontiac introduced the trans am a race bred version of the firebird that used the race on sunday sell on monday approach by competing in the trans american racing series.
However circumstances related to pontiac s involvement in the series lead to the most powerful version the ram air iv being one of the rarest. Pontiac s ram air nomenclature can be confusing for the uninitiated but what set the ram air iv apart were its round port heads. This design versus pontiac s typical d port heads was introduced.
Pontiac officially dubbed it ram air ii. This is where the confusion comes in. The round port exhaust subsequent round port ram air exhaust manifolds and the 041 camshaft became the trademark pieces of the ram air iv motor that was produced for the 1969 and 70 model years.
Ram air iv stuck. Pontiac stylists also decided that for 1969 all ram air equipped gto s and firebird s would use hood callouts stickers affixed to the hood scoops announcing to the world that you had a ram air equipped car. The decision to use hood callouts in 1969 also.
It later became known colloquially as the ram air iii but pontiac never used that name. The ram air 400 iii had used a similar block to the ram air iv in that it was drilled for 4 bolt main bearing caps but used a cast crank and cast rods and 2 bolt main bearing caps in 1969. In 1970 the casting number 9799914 ram air 400 iii 4 bolt main.
As mentioned two engines were used back in the day a 70 400 ram air v and another engine built with a ram air v top end on a service replacement 400 ram air iv short block. The top end used here.