Rain and the Ram Air Scoops
Short answer: The 1967–68 open-scoop Ram Air was a fair-weather system — there was no rain protection, so you simply didn’t run it (open) in the rain. Complaints about this led Pontiac to design the 1969 driver-controlled system that closed the scoops off to under-hood air when needed, and the 1970+ Trans Am “shaker” with a backward-facing flapper.
History: it grew from a GTO over-the-counter Ram Air pan (1965), to a factory Ram Air GTO (1966, ~200 made — very rare), to the 1967 GTO (single Q-jet). When the Firebird arrived, its scooped 400 hood added a separate under-hood pan to seal and direct the “rammed” air — true factory hot rods available to the public.
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Content last modified: June 13, 2026 at 10:06 am
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