Hello All,
I just replaced the 67 I had in high school with a 68 and have been looking at 1st Gen resources. I found the car on craig's list. The car had a 400 hood, 455 and 4speed. The seller is a Mopar man and didn't know if it was an original 400 or not; which didn't really matter to me because all I was looking for a driver with a manual.

When I went to look at the car it had the correct 400 badging, bumper, grill and hood. The interior is deluxe black with the split front bench seat (I had never seen this before with a manual.) The first thing I noticed was the hood scoops were open. When I popped the hood it had the ram air pan! Interesting I thought someone transplanted a hood. The engine had a cheap aftermarket chrome air cleaner on it. The seller says “there is part of the original air cleaner in the trunk.” Turns out it is the ram air carb base! Closer inspection of the 455 revealed it had long branch exhaust manifolds.

The body was in the condition the seller described on the phone so I paid him our agreed price and started the 300 mile drive home. Car ran beautifully, never missed a beat and everything worked on it except the heater and the stereo. I had a couple hours to think about my purchase and I decided someone threw a bunch of rare parts at a base Firebird. It did have a bench seat and 4 wheel drum brakes after all.

That was two weeks ago, today I got my PHS documentation…. Ram Air I. My wife couldn’t figure out why my jaw hit the floor. This blind squirrel just got his nut.

Plans for the car have definitely changed and I’m going to need all the help I can get. I’ll be posting up in the parts wanted section.

Thanks in advance,
Al

Welcome and congratulations on finding that car.

Wow, congratulations Al, what a Bonus to an already nice deal (anytime you buy a Firebird it's nice) But to be able to find one with a pedigree... That is a Sweet deal!

Keep us posted & post pix if and when you can!

I'm sure many will tell you to do this or do that or only go 100% original... but always keep in mind it's your car, build it your way and or how you would have ordered it... most of all enjoy it!

Brett! - 67 Drop Top 455!

Welcome, and congratulations! Great story. You must 've been really happy...!

How many 68 R-A I's are out there? Anybody know?

Two things are missing though; how much did you pay for it (maybe you don't want to tell but it won't hurt to ask) and where are the pics?!

Third question. Where in WI are you?

Welcome to the site, congratulations and...


I HATE YOU!!! (jk)

I can relate a bit. After spending 12 years restomoding my original '67 400, I found out a couple of weeks ago it was one of 1200 built for California with the smog parts.

"build it your way and or how you would have ordered it"

With maybe the exception of the bench seat and drum brakes it is exactly how I would have ordered it had I not been 1 yr old at the time! I love old cars and am a big fan of history so it would be nice to be able to restore it back to original and let other people see the car as it came from the factory. The bench seat has grown on me by the way. Of course the hardest part will be finding the correct WI code engine. The second hardest thing will be coming up with the money to pay for it. Hopefully I can get it up in the air this weekend to decode the trans and rear end. The way it drove on the highway I'm guessing they are original. Even if I do restore it 100% the car will be driven at least 6 months out of the year. I'll just have to put off finding a car for track days.

"You must've been really happy"

Even though I froze my hands to the steering wheel, I think I was happier on the drive back than when I got the PHS docs. With the exception of being alot faster it drove and even smelled like my '67. The ram air is the icing on what is already a sweet cake.

"how much did you pay for it"

I didn't want to come off sounding like a jerk so I didn't post the price. The seller gave me his bottom price before we drove down to look at the car and that's all the cash I took with me and quite frankly it is about all I could afford to spend. So I don't think there would be a problem with saying what I paid. $5500.

"Where in WI are you"

I live in Menomonie. The one on the west side.

Now for some pics....

Congrats! nice find.....my car is from up there , was sold in Madison....

Sometimes I hate me too.

Car came from Madison as well.

congratulations, you hit the jackpot ! great looking (rare bird).

and a bench seat to boot.that is the kicker.bench seat cars are hard to find

Now if I can find the upholstery for it.

$5500,- wow, that's a great price! That is so cool, to make such a find, congratulations again. You must have deserved it.

Looks like a nice car!

Keep us posted on the resto!

Very nice find. Is that the original color combo?

Just got back from a nice drive in the '67 (with the top down)

Never thought I could do that in Nov in MN. It's 69 degrees and sunny here!

Exterior
E - Aegena Blue

Interior
Custom Option
Strato-bench Seat with Center Armrest
269 - Black

Due to the differences in computer screens and color swatches I've had a hard time determining how dark Aegena blue is. Depending on the lighting the car looks like it is dark blue to a low gloss black.

I can't believe there were too many car models out there where the bench seat was an extra cost option!

It is absolutely gorgeous out, I'm taking the car out right now. These are the days it makes living in the Midwest worthwhile. I was stationed in California when I was in the Army and the Autum is the season I missed the most.

Thanks for all the kind words, I think the wife is starting to understand.

Nice find! Love the bench seat. Thanks for sharing. Good luck with the restore.

I have the bench too and they are rare.

But I've NEVER seen a bench seat with a floor shift. Do you have the PHS docs for it? If not, get those asap!! If you have a RA 1 with a bench and manual trans from the factory, then it's a very rare car indeed. And for $5500.00?

I also hate you.

Mark, 1 of 1200? How did you find out this info? I still have most of the original Smog parts (Pump, brackets, hoses etc) that came with my 67 California car. I'd like to hear more sometime if you get a chance? You can PM me if you want?

"I can relate a bit. After spending 12 years restomoding my original '67 400, I found out a couple of weeks ago it was one of 1200 built for California with the smog parts."

See, you can learn all kinds things about your car even years later. So keep tracking down more info and love the pix. RA 1's are harder and harder to find!

Brett!

I sent away for the PHS docs the day after I got the car. I wanted to make sure I had a base car before I started moding it. I found out it was a RAI when I got the docs back. According to the PHS it is as it left the factory with the exception of the paint and missing engine.

Here's a an underhood pic with the carb pan that was in the trunk.

Very nice, just one more rare one to keep the dream alive!

YOU SUCK!

RA1 with m/t floor shift and bench seat...if thats the way it was built, it may be 1 of 1.

OK, the hate just keeps piling on...

Congrats on the great find. Take your time and enjoy it.

Welcome aboard.

Al,

The PHS docs state the car left the factory with a bench seat and manual trans?

...and rally guages to boot! Nice find you rat bastard (just kidding) Welcome aboard

Looks pretty well all there...

Here are the codes from the PHS documentation.
Exterior
E - Aegena Blue

Interior
269 - Black Custom Option Strato-bench Seat with Center Armrest

347 Ram Air
358 4 Speed Man. -Close Ratio-

The interior and paint codes match the trim tag. It looks like the only color options for the bench seat were black or parchment.

According to the docs it should have a hood tach as well. I know, I know woe is me right.

I'll trade you a nice hood tach for the car...

I don't think that would make the Ford Freestyle stylish enough.

Although I think you deserved this great find, I have two questions..

1) who was the idiot that sold it for $5500,-?!

2) how come nobody here spotted it on Craigslist?!

Just wondering.. Even for a normal, well running 400 4 speed that is a good price!

I'm reliefed it found a good owner...


But I hate you too!

What a great find! Where did the PHS report say the car was originally sold. Was it always a northern car? Anyway, we are not that far from you so maybe we'll met on the road some day.

You've just hit upon one of the reasons I was reluctant to post what I paid for the car in the first place. I didn't want anyone to think the guy was an idiot, he just wasn't knowledgeable in Pontiacs, (he stated his interest was in Mopars.) The other reasons are; I didn’t want anyone to think I was taking advantage of someone and I didn’t want to come across as bragging. I’ve owned a 67 and a 72 in the past and I fancy myself pretty knowledgeable in the world of cars but I don’t know of any means to verify if a car is a true 400 let alone a Ram Air car without documentation. There were clues there but how many cloned Firebird 400s and Ram Airs are out there now? (I am not knocking clones, its the closest way I would ever be able to come to owning a 69 TA.) I’ve used PHS in the past so I was familiar with that process, he unfortunately was not. I feel a twinge of guilt but that is tempered by the fact that I will be spending a ship load of money restoring this car and not just in the engine bay. So it comes down to the fact that we both thought it was a fair deal given the condition of the car, lack of correct engine and questions about its pedigree.

As for your second question; I think it was only listed in the Madison WI area Craig’s list and not for very long.

If it hasn’t been mentioned here before, Craig’s Pal allows you to search multiple lists.

In the Charge To section of the billing history it say zone 11 dealer 143. The Ship To zone and dealer are blank???

I am trying to back track through the previous owners now to get some history on the car... Does anyone know if its possible to get a title history through the Wisconsin DMV?

Great find. Thanks for sharing it with us!

Zone 11 is Wisconsin. I have no records of dealer 143.

Nice car..Nice find..Keep in mind that after you spend "a ship load" of money restoring that car that it will only bring you X for the car.........X being less then a high quaility restoration will cost you, even if you did the total restoration yourself in todays market that car Correctley restored will not bring you more then 35-40K and that would be pushing hard to find the right buyer at that price range......If it had all correct #'s matching as it had FROM the factory, it would only bring in the 50K range (again professional restoration)....So if you tally up what a 1967 RA engine will cost you then the cost of rebuilding it there alone you have a good 18-20K then rebuild and paint then platting then the cost of parts tehn the price of the car then, then , then, then you will see that the total cost to do that car the correct way (as it should be done) will cost more then the value it will bring..Also as a high end Mopar collector, we do know the value of high end Pontiacs...Can you post a copy of the PHS?...It would be nice to see it.

Thanks for the info Vikki. I talked to PHS this morning and dealer 143 was/is? Dagnon Motors in Stevens Point, WI.

What’s the old adage “come up with a budget for time and money, then triple it?”

Would I like to take this car back to its original state? You bet. Is it realistic for me? Probably not. Would I have fun trying? Definitely. I’ve been struggling with what to do with this car since I found out what it is. My father and several others have suggested that I flip it. I would consider that but I would hate to see it go to a collector’s private stash or someone else doing a Foose on it. Other than cars that get passed down through families how often does an average Joe get a chance to own a rare car nowadays? In my hands this car will be as correct as I can make it, it will never be a 100% correct museum piece.

Fortunately several of my friends are in the automotive industry so I’ll get a lot of help on the body restoration. The RA hopefully will come in time, who knows I’ve been lucky so far.

I’ll want to blank out the serial number of the VIN but I don’t mind posting the PHS.

Dagnon Motors Inc
325 E Blackhawk Ave
Prairie Du Chien, WI 53821
(608) 326-6491

Enjoy your car. Having 100% correct parts may increase its value from a collector's viewpoint, but not from a driving/enjoyment perspective. I have a 100% matching car and sometimes wish I did not so that I would not be so hesitant to make changes.

When I posted to you what I was saying is..A car like that should be brought back to as close and as nice as it can be when it left the factory......You stated you were going to put a "ship load of money in it".....I just wanted to let you know that the car is not only collectable but a nice one as well....After viewing your one picture, I noticed that somone "slid" a peice of sheet metal between the frame of the hood to cover the hole where the hood tack belongs...I then thought..Who would do that to a nice car?..another hard to find item would be the original master cyl....I suggest that you do the car the right way or do not restore it at all and drive it as is...Just my 2 cents.

I didn't see you in any rush to change your RAII equipped RAI back to the way it was when it left the factory.

You got it. Don't do anything irreversible. If you make changes, think toward eventual restoration. That does not mean you cannot or should not make changes, just think first. The car is already a few steps from original (exterior mirrors, engine) but all easily reversible.

Vikki You are right....I did not change anything on my RAII /RAI car and I did as I told him....I drove it, enjoyed it and sold it...As I knew the cost of restoring it the proper way would be more then the value of the car.....And I sold it for 4 times what I paid for it