has anyone put a 67-68 style ram air induction on their firebird? i heard that you must have a ram air intake manifold or you will have height issues? can anyone confirm or dismiss this?
That's because there is no such thing as a '67-'68 style Ram Air manifold. The RA I used the early '68 4bbl intake, the RA II used the late '68 4bbl intake as did the '69 RA III
Vikki 1969 Goldenrod Yellow / black 400 convertible numbers matching
Vikki is correct (as always), no clearence issues at all. Had one on my 68, stock intake and Q-jet and even fit perfectly with an Edlebrock Performer carb as well...
Checked their website...not much there (actually could not find the setup)....what was their cost and what did it include? Love the look of the RA setup...seriously thinking of doing it. Did it change the sound at all?
David, does NOTHING for the sound of the car, does very LITTLE to help cool the engine/compartment etc. and adds little to nothing to HP. So why bother? Because it's friggen cool that's why! LOL
jose, I had the exact same setup you describe above on my bird when I first bought the car and added the ramair pans and it fit perfectly. NO issues at all...
The Ram Air setup will quiet the engine down, especially under part and full throttle. All the carb noise will be coming through the two scoops, verses the "whoooom!" you get with a 360 open element. If you're going from a single or dual snorkel, factory lid, to the Ram Air setup, no difference in sound. But if you're going from an open 360 element to the Ram Air, it will be quieter under part and wide open throttle with the Ram Air.
Remember back to the old days, when we flipped air cleaner lids over on our GM cars? They would roar when you floored it, but would be whisper quiet with the air cleaner lid sealed to the base.
The drop in the intake charge with the Ram Air will buy you some hp. You won't get any from actual Ram Air, because there isn't any Ram Air with a GTO or Firebird setup, but the drop in air temp (if you jet up accordingly, usually 1-2 sizes for a Q-jet) will give you about 10-15 hp.
And yes, Ram Air is downright cool! If you have hood scoops, make 'em real.
Well, I had an open 360 air filter on my car for the first few years. Then went to the R/A setup. Zero difference in sound and or performance EXCEPT on VERY cold nights, the car would in fact perform better. However, I'm not so sure the R/A had anything to do with that as most any car will preform better in colder temps.
I've run several different Ram Air setups on my car (all ones I designed), and the quietest one was a hose-fed setup (like the Olds W-30 style) using a couple handmade bumper scoops under the valence. The engine was VERY quiet around town, eerily quiet at cruising speed, and very muffled under full throttle. All the noise was contained in the enclosed air cleaner, routed through the hoses, and came out at the front of the car.
On a factory Ram Air setup, the sound of the carb "roaring" will come out the hood scoops. With a 360 open element, the carb roar is unrestricted. That's why the factory started using snorkel air cleaners, some with dual inlets, some with a tiny single snorkel. It was all for noise control. The 70-72 Trans Am's used an enclosed air cleaner, and were quiet, but when you floored it, the trap door kicked open and the carb noise was directed at the windshield, and it was loud (as in cool sounding!).
One of the most extreme cases (for me) on sound control was with a 65 GTO tri-power I had. With the 3 open air cleaners, the thing sounded like a freight train when you floored it. I installed a repro Ram Air pan, opened the scoop, and the full throttle sound was much more subdued.
As for performance, getting cool air to the carb will always provide more horsepower, but unless you jet up accordingly, you're just leaning the mixture out. What many people discover (me too) is that our Q-Jet jetting is always a tad rich, so on cold nights, the engine seems to come alive. Cold air is denser than warm air, so on each intake stroke, you can pack more air into the cylinder, making more horsepower.
Ram Air won't be very noticeable seat-of-the-pants, but it does provide more horsepower.
Bottom line IMO, if you purchase and add R/A pans to your FGF for any reason other than looks, you will be sadly dissappointed. If you are looking for performace, put that same money towards a good set of heads and dollar for dollar you will gain much more going that route.
However, if you already have a killer motor/heads, or just want to make your FGF look as tough under the hood as does the rest of the car, go for the pans, you will not be dissappointed!
Yes, it definitely the cool factor. I read somewhere they actually cause a vacuum in some cases. That's why they went at the front of the hood in 69/70. Now that you can the kits I think it's well worth it.
Engine Test Stand Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwoxyUwptUcdqEb-o2ArqyiUaHW0G_C88 restoring my 1968 Firebird 400 HO convertible (Firedawg) 1965 Pontiac Catalina Safari Wagon 389 TriPower (Catwagon) 1999 JD AWS LX Lawn tractor 17hp (my daily driver) 2006 Sequoia 2017 Murano (wife's car) 202? Electric car 203? 68 Firebird /w electric engine 2007 Bayliner 175 runabout /w 3.0L Mercuiser__________________________________________________________
I agree. The problem is, today these Ram Air repop systems can cost $1000 or more. When we used to actually street race and/or drag race these cars (which is why Pontiac stuffed a 400 under the hood of a Firebird to begin with), making your own Ram Air setup cost about $20. A trip to the hardware store, couple homemade scoops, some dryer duct, you get some horsepower, about 1/10 in the 1/4 mile, and usually around 1-2 mph on a 100 mph car.
For the overpriced repop systems today, then I agree, don't install Ram Air for performance reasons, just for looks. You WILL pick up horsepower, but on a cost per hp basis, these repop systems rate very poor. Cool air to the carb is worth horsepower, always has been, always will be.
For $1000+ dollars, I'd invest in a cam, headers, and a good exhaust system. But if you want the cool factor, and a little horsepower, then get the factory Ram Air setup. If you're just looking for horsepower, you can make you're own Ram Air setup.
Just an FYI....it's a myth that the Firebird/GTO hood scoops sucked air out of the scoops, and actually cost horsepower. Pontiac moved the scoops to the leading edge of the hood for the 1969 Trans Am in order to actually get a little ram effect.
Makes sense on an areodynamic stand point. Once the air is broken by the leading edge of the car it is hard for a "Low Profile Scoop" to direct that air inside the engine compartment to make it functional. Where as the later scoops like on my 73 formula I Had with functional ram air was able to pick up the air the scoops were disturbing on the nose of the car. But cool factor trumps functional anytime when guys are involved...
Just installed Warpath's kit last weekend and Earlybird is right... high quality and good people to deal with. I installed more for cooling down the carb than for HP gain. It did solve my hot start issues. Also noticed a slight increase in hp. On hot days and after the car was up to temp it didnt spin the wheels as well as when it was cool. With the ram air it spins them any time.
I put the Warpath ram air setup in my 68 convertible. Holley carb and performer RPM intake. Butler milled the intake some (an inch?) to fit. It looks great to have working hood scoops, and I really recommend the Warpath parts.
Performance difference is minimal on my car, but I already have too much HP, at least according to my wife!
