Could a 1969 Pontiac GTO Ram Air IV be better than a GTO Judge?
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- Опубликовано: 29 дек 2024
- Driving review and technical breakdown for a 1969 Pontiac GTO Ram Air IV. Better bang-for-your-buck than a GTO Judge?
GM's engineering wizards unleashed the 400ci Ram Air IV V8 engine as the top power option for 1969. Built for severe, high-rpm duty, the 370hp Ram Air IV was based on a special iron cylinder block with 4-bolt main caps, high-strength crankshaft and rods, forged aluminum pistons, a hot hydraulic cam, free-flowing cylinder heads, a big 750-cfm Quadrajet carburetor on a lightweight aluminum intake manifold, and low-restriction dual exhaust system, making it good for 370 factory-underrated horses. As the ‘Ram Air’ name implied, an efficient twin-scoop hood and sealed intake plenum underneath delivers cool, dense air to the engine for additional power. Available with a choice of 4-speed manual transmissions or GM’s quick-shifting heavy-duty M40 Turbo-Hydramatic automatic transmissions, the Ram Air IV mill required HD cooling and Safe-T-Tack limited-slip rear end with either 3.90:1 or 4.33:1 gears. While the A-Body GTO is relatively heavy, acceleration with the Ram Air IV is awesome, with the quarter mile covered by a stock example in just 13.99 seconds.
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Ram Air IV GTOs were so strong that most were dynoed at 450 horspower with a closed exhaust . Open the exhaust and add a decent electronic distributor and 500 horsepower at the crankshaft was very possible. 12 second time slips were normally if tuned correctly .
What a dream machine! Thank you for sharing. Frankly, the drop top, the options, and the RA IV - I prefer this to a Judge at this point in my life.
Family friend owns a 1970 Ram Air 4 judge convertible, bought it from bank repo in 1972. Auto car, one of 17. Phs documented
Never understood why Pontiac didn’t increase the cid to the 428 or 455 for the RAIV. With the right rear end it could have kept up with just about anything back then.
In 69 the RAIV was limited to 400 for the Firebird and GTO. For 70 Pontiac had planned a RAIV 428, but the 455 replaced the 428 and they didn't think the engine and drivetrain would stand the power. The 70 RAIV in the Firebird was originally going to be called the 400 Super Duty, with a special block, forged rods and a steel crank. The 70 RAIV did get larger intake ports, but a slightly lower compression ratio. The SD parts didn't add any power and would have raised the price above a 70 Hemi Cuda. The 70 RAIV Firebird came late in the model year, as the engines were leftover GTO RAIV engines, as the 1970 RAIV GTO was discontinued late in the model year.
GM was negotiating with the insurance companies, to make it easier for their customers to get insurance on the CID of their engines. Yes, they should have just did the 7 liter engine sizes.
If you asked the right questions at the right time, at Myrtle Motors or Royal Pontiac, you could get get a Ram Air 428 in a Firebird or Goat.
Awesome car! Hope one day my 1971 Lemans GT-37 will be this nice!
Lol now not even many Pontiac guys can say they have even seen a T-37 in person! I did and it was 1986! Had to go home and ask my dad, i saw a Pontiac that looked kinda like a gto but it said T-37 on the lower front fender! Even he had no clue! But I never forgot it because it sounded good!
@@garyhatstat8449
Very true! Not many GT-37 are seen as well.
I've always been a big fan of the 69 GTO of any flavor & this one is exceptional!!! Thanks for sharing this exciting video!!! 👍👍🙂
Had a 69 RA III. It wasn't quite the beast as the RA IV but it ran strong. Love the blue block, Pontiacs had the nicest looking engine bays.
Nice to see this car. The GTO convertible I’m restoring has the same body, top and interior color!
TOO bad they never came out with a Ram Air 4/5 428 In these.
The ram air 4 was a monster
One of my neighbours has a 70 Buick GSX. It would be fun to see them side by side at Cayuga.
I knew a guy who had a new 69 Hemi Super Bee. He said the GSX was the only car to beat him on the street.
*Legendary Motorcar* She's a beauty, thank-you sir for taking the time to show us. God Bless.
I salute you for keeping it factory fresh. Oh man that top. 👍
Love the Ram Air 4s , Wish they put the Ran Air 5s in them ,Love Any Judge mostly , my 1969 Ram Air 4 Judge W/ 433 gears
Absolutely
According to a couple of Pontiac magazines, Ram Air V had such huge ports it needed either race compression and race gas, or a displacement over 455.
Man is that beautiful.
I cannot imagine, in any rational thought process, how this body style of GTO is less than perfect. Holy experience. I remember when the 68's came out, I was a child, and I would just stare....nothing else comes close as an overall package in performance and styling. While I love the performance of the newer cars......they do not have the realness, sound or style of these time machines. Who would not love a disappearing antenna and wipers?.....lol
stupid question.
judge was an appearance package.ram air 4 was available in any GTO.
Yep,you win the argument.
This guy only knows about looks and money...
I just want one really, really nice car, like one if these GTOs or a W-30 Cutlass Supreme, a Nova 350 4 speed or a 70 Chevelle 396/402.
I personally don't believe any of these musclecars are worth about $70-80K. $200K+ for a car no matter how rare it is, is sheer madness. Eventually, the markets gonna tank on these things. They're not ancient Silver Ghosts or special bodied Packards or Lincolns made just after WWI.
Love everything about this car, except the fact it's a convertible. Really any muscle car that's a convertible just drops points in my book. Just my taste, maybe I'm just weird. lol
As someone who’s owned a ton of Pontiac muscle for well over 40 years I’ll be devils advocate about the RA IV. While it did have a lot of potential it wasn’t a great end product. In bone stock form they weren’t really any quicker than a basic GTO engine with the same driveline behind it. The added power at the upper end was offset by very weak low end power.
Fundamentally the RA IV only made sense when it was modified to take better advantage of its high flow induction and camshaft design. This meant headers and larger diameter exhaust plumbing. It also called for much higher timing advance than the stick setting (which was necessary for emissions reasons. Lastly the standard 3.90 gears were not sufficient for the radical cam duration. It really needed 4.33 gears but they made the 3.90’s standard in order to make the car more practical to regular use buyers.
pontiac did make round port cylinder heads in 1967. i forget what the casting #s were, but almost 200 gto's got them in 1967
I'm going to say it that the body style looks better without the Judge stripes.
Those stripes look silly
These cars are somewhat of a boat in stock form.
You can do a lot of suspension upgrades to these cars, and they still feel like a boat until you change a key part of the car, the factory sprung seat! Replacing the springs for high density foam gives you suspension and shock capacity, whereas a sprung seat gives you no shock capacity at all.
The seat will transform the feel of the car.
Awesome car!!! Thanks!!
Insane prices. I’m NOT a stickler for numbers matching. As long as the period correct parts are used, if you’re going for a stock look. I would build a stock looking ‘69 GTO Judge tribute in Matador Red with a 455. Upgrade the wheels to 15x7 Rallye II’s with sway bars front and rear. But have everything “stock” looking. 👍😎👍🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
To find a WW or XP RAIV block is extremely rare!! Most blew up decades ago but there are many counterfeits out there too!!!
And not that I'm a convertible fan, but nowhere does the host speak of the rarity of this car...being a RAIV, 4 spd, "convertible." Not sure f he mentioned it. How many produced...with the rag top?
Only 45 made with a 4 speed....WOW!!
And it is in the rain!
Trim ring flying of in 3-2-1.....cool car. I'm a convertible fan.
Enjoyed!!
....Designed by none other than Anatole Lapine, the man who went on to design the Porsche 924 and 928. If you look at the rear end you can see a slight similarity.
928 was pretty cool back in the day.
Nice car, just needs to lower the rear suspension to stock height, lose the hurst wheels and replace the Chinese power antenna switch!
Peter Klutt isn't exactly the most knowledgeable about the cars he drives. Never cared for him that much when I use to see him on Speed TV on the series Dream Car Garage. The rear of the RAIV cars never had a 3.70 ratio from the factory. Only two options were offered by Pontiac back then, 3.90 and 4.33. Further, I'm wondering where Klutt is getting his information on the prices he his spewing out concerning these cars. Seems way too high!!!
Wasn't the Ram Air 4 the big dog? These & the Buick 455 makes for a good race,throw in a hemi for good measure.Comes down to driver & tires @ this level.
Looks like they raised the redline from 5300 in 1965 to 5600 in 1969... would have to mod the engine for power out to nearly 6500...
The Ram Air 4 was Pontiacs Big Dog, but I'll definitely put my money on a Buick GS with the Stage 1 455. I'm not really a GM guy, but those Stage 1,s were Monsters, and i prefer the looks of the GS/GSX Buicks, compared to the Chevelle, GTO, or 442.
🔥🐐🔥
Hideaway lights r the best!!!!69!!
Since you could get a RAIV in a Judge the question is moot.
I would rather have a 67 or 68 Firebird.........
$200,000? Absolutely absurd.
only if you have that kind of money
Only absurd to us common folk lol
Prefer the clean look of a gto over the clown car version anyways