Just trying to catch up on this thread. Very interesting!
1. The RAIV option included the 611 Ram Air Inlet (I have several non-TA RAIV invoices). I have seen 1 example of a RAIV with 611, and it was generally acknowledged that the dealer “double-dipped” the customer for an option that was already included in the RAIV option.
2. The 400HO WAS the Ram Air III in 1969, but for the Firebird only. The 400HO in the 1969 GTO was called the "Ram Air" engine, and they used "400 R/A" on their invoices.
For a clearer explanation, if we go back to 1968, the 400HO engine in the 68 GTO consisted of a better cam, better exhaust manifolds, etc., but the scoops were CLOSED. Next up on the pecking order was the Ram Air option (known later as Ram Air I), and then the Ram Air II engine. Both GTO Ram Air engines (I & II) had open scoops, the 400HO did not. In 1969, the GTO combined the 400HO engine with Ram Air, and they called it Ram Air 400. But the Firebird kept the 400HO designation, and allowed the customer to order Ram Air separately. The Firebird 400HO, and the Firebird 400HO/611, were the same engine, just different hoods.
As for the 69 Bird hoods, when a car came down the assembly line with the 400HO/611 checked (or a RAIV), a different hood (not just a change in scoops) was used. The Firebird Ram Air hoods did not have the holes punched in the sides of their scoops for the 400 emblems, and there was a section of underhood bracing cut away for the upper pan. As we know, the 611 option (with 400HO) used a different lower pan than the RAIV. All this was work was special to the Firebird, and the GTO Ram Air cars did not have to go through so many gyrations. Of course, then came the installation of the upper/lower pans, flapper, foam, pull cable, etc (like the GTO), but the 69 Firebirds also used special carb studs (to hold the pan down), and a flame arrestor screen over the carb. Lots of extra work for $61.
Over the years, people referred to the 1969 GTO Ram Air engine as the Ram Air III, and likewise, the Firebird 400HO as the Ram Air III, whether the Firebird had actual Ram Air or not.
To my knowledge, the term "RAIII" was never used by Pontiac.
