# How to tell if a 1968 GTO had factory Ram Air



## kj1556 (Dec 24, 2013)

Hi everyone. Im new to the Pontiac world and have a few questions about a 1968 GTO I bought. I Have PHS invoice that says it was a GTO but nowhere does it mention Ram Air? Is it because it was added on later or was this not part of the invoice? This an absolute stunning car. New paint too. Everything works like it was when it was brand new. Im normally a chevelle guy but after looking at this car I couldnt pass it up. What are these cars worth? It has an aftermarket Edelbrock intake but also came with the origional. I also got a dual snorkal air cleaner as well. I havent even got the car home yet due to the road conditions so this all i really have for pictures. Any insight would be appreciated.


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## ALKYGTO (Mar 29, 2010)

Welcome! Stunningly beautiful 68' ya got there.



Not sure how to identify if it came with factory Ram Air but I do know RA was _extremely_ rare that year.


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## GTO JUDGE (May 14, 2005)

If the car came from factory with R/A it would state so in the PHS. Being you have the snorkel could be it was added at the dealership or the owner added it. If its a true ram air, it would have HO manifolds. Range on value would be mid 20s low 30s IMO depending on condition and originality.....Numbers matching.

I assume the scoops are operational? I dont see a cable leading to the flaps in that pic. Very nice car!


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## kj1556 (Dec 24, 2013)

Scoops work I dont know about the exhaust manifolds? The best thing about this car is how smooth everything works from hide away headlights to door hinges door handles, windows etc. Has a working AM radio too. Everything works as as good as the day it left the factory. For condition and paint Alot of people would call it a 1 car. It could use a little better detailing under the hood and I dont know if it would help the value with the origional intake on it or to just keep it with the car. Also all the interior is new or like new including all the chrome on the car. I have never had a pontiac but after looking at this one I bought it on the spot because it was so nice. When I get it home Ill have to check it out a little bit better.


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## ALKYGTO (Mar 29, 2010)

GTO JUDGE said:


> I assume the scoops are operational? I dont see a cable leading to the flaps in that pic. Very nice car!


68 didn't have cables or flaps, you replaced the hood "ornaments" to switch between Ram Air and closed scoops I believe.


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## GTO JUDGE (May 14, 2005)

ALKYGTO said:


> 68 didn't have cables or flaps, you replaced the hood "ornaments" to switch between Ram Air and closed scoops I believe.


Now that you mention that I recall that. The ornaments had the back removed to achieve the ram air scoop.


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## GTO JUDGE (May 14, 2005)

kj1556 said:


> Scoops work I dont know about the exhaust manifolds? The best thing about this car is how smooth everything works from hide away headlights to door hinges door handles, windows etc. Has a working AM radio too. Everything works as as good as the day it left the factory. For condition and paint Alot of people would call it a 1 car. It could use a little better detailing under the hood and I dont know if it would help the value with the origional intake on it or to just keep it with the car. Also all the interior is new or like new including all the chrome on the car. I have never had a pontiac but after looking at this one I bought it on the spot because it was so nice. When I get it home Ill have to check it out a little bit better.


You have a nice find. IMO, if you're happy with the look keep as is and enjoy but retain all the original parts for the future. The value will be greater. Detailing the engine bay is easy.


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## 05GTO (Oct 6, 2004)

A 1968 GTO with the Ram Air II used a 4 bolt main block with a casting behind the #8 cylinder of 9792506, the heads were cast 96 and had round ports, The engine letter code was WI (manual) and XN (Auto). I believe GTO and Firebird used the same blocks for their RA II engines that year. The standard block casting number for 68 and 69 was 9790071, 68 used the 8 bolt water pump and 69 changed to 11 bolts.


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## kj1556 (Dec 24, 2013)

As soon as i can get the car home ill have to check it out a little bit better. Is a Z code car, as in there is a Z in the vin for manufactured in California make a difference to anyone?


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## geeteeohguy (Feb 2, 2008)

What o5GTO said. Round port heads and very, very rare. Nice '68 no matter what, though!!


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## 05GTO (Oct 6, 2004)

kj1556 said:


> As soon as i can get the car home ill have to check it out a little bit better. Is a Z code car, as in there is a Z in the vin for manufactured in California make a difference to anyone?


Depends, If the car was built and sold in California it will be equipped with the A.I.R. smog equipment, cars made in CA and sold in the surrounding states were not built with the smog equipment.


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## kj1556 (Dec 24, 2013)

Sold at Tate motors in Ponoma CA. Assembled in Freemont CA


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## Glenn's Goat (Sep 7, 2010)

Your car would have a YZ stamping on the engine block if it were a HO or true ram air car. Since it's a YS it's just a standard GTO Nice but as another poster said. It was common to remove and replace the scoop blanks with open inserts on the hood. I think your the same guy that posted about this car on the Chevelle forums. I posted all the engine codes for you there . Last week.


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## Glenn's Goat (Sep 7, 2010)

Your car is nice and as for value I would put it in the low to mid 30s . Of course it's worth whatever someone that likes it enough will pay.


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## kj1556 (Dec 24, 2013)

No I didn't post in the chevelle forum. But I really appreciate all the info everyone is giving me.


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## jmt455 (Mar 26, 2012)

Also, be aware that the correct 1968 4-barrel air cleaner base only has one snorkel. 
The dual snorkel air cleaner was introduced on the 1969 model.

Beautiful car!


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## kj1556 (Dec 24, 2013)

I got the car home and found the casting number 521971 YS on the front of the block. As I can tell its a 68 350 HP auto trans block. Is there any numbers on the block that have the vehicles vin on it? Also there wasnt any cables for the ram air. It appears there are filters in the hood that go to the air cleaner. Does this sound correct?


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## 68GTO4004Spd (Jun 19, 2008)

The block VIN is on the front of the block stamped vertically next to the water pump on the passenger side. They are about 1/4" tall.


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## BearGFR (Aug 25, 2008)

kj1556 said:


> I got the car home and found the casting number 521971 YS on the front of the block. As I can tell its a 68 350 HP auto trans block. Is there any numbers on the block that have the vehicles vin on it? Also there wasnt any cables for the ram air. It appears there are filters in the hood that go to the air cleaner. Does this sound correct?


Yes, it could be. The 68 ram air system was very simple. It was basically just a pan, foam seal, and open scoops. The "fancy" arrangement with the flapper doors, pull cables, vacuum diverter valves, and such didn't come out until 1969.

Bear


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## Shake-N-Bake (Jun 16, 2015)

Old thread, but I figured I would add a few items that might help someone else who finds this thread later.

As previously mentioned, the PHS will show if the car came with ram air or not. The car in this thread is not a ram air car.....still very nice though.

'68 ram air models assembled before May 19th were D port engines (what is now called Ram Air I). '68 ram air models assembled May 20th or later would be round port engines with an even more aggressive cam than the RA I cars. The round port engines were called Ram Air II cars.
All 68 ram air GTOs had 4 bolt main blocks, cast iron header type exhaust manifolds, specific carb and distributors and 4.33 HD rear axle. Manual transmission models were the close ratio type. Air Conditioning was not available in Ram Air models.
The air intake assembly shipped in the trunk for dealer or owner installation. Ram air cars would have originally shipped with a single snorkel HO air cleaner and heat riser shroud and tube. The dealer/owner would unbolt the hood scoop bezels and replace them with factory provided scoops that were open in the back. Some hood bracing had to be cut away to fit the hood baffle to the underside of the hood. There was a foam seal between the hood baffle and hood. The single snorkel air cleaner was removed and replaced with a large circular open pan with another foam seal that matched up to the hood baffle when the hood was closed. As already mentioned, there were no cables to manually open or close the scoops....they were always open. The factory bulletin that shipped with the parts in the trunk instructed the owner to reinstall the closed scoops and HO air cleaner in inclement weather. I don't think many owners followed those instructions.


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## Rukee (Feb 8, 2007)

Welcome to the forums!! :cheers
Nice looking Pontiac!


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## Highflyer1101 (Nov 16, 2019)

ALKYGTO said:


> 68 didn't have cables or flaps, you replaced the hood "ornaments" to switch between Ram Air and closed scoops I believe.


If it's a real Ram Air car it will say on the window sticker there will "4 BBL 400 RAM-AIR V8 ENGINE" and directly across from that will be a code 347 I have a real Ram Air I car and that's what the window sticker states. Hope this helps


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