# RAM AIR II & IV Engine Parts



## PontiacJim (Dec 29, 2012)

Have this article on the Ram Air II & IV engine parts and prices. It gives you an idea of what the differences were between the standard GTO engine and the Ram Air option. Check out the prices! :yesnod: I'll take 10 sets of heads please. :thumbsup:


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

Cool stuff. Thanks for posting. That is the first article I've seen that talks about the RA II and RA IV as being so similar. When folks ask me about the RA II, I usually explain that it's basically a RA IV in stealth mode. No badging on the car anywhere that advertises what is under the hood and it's the same basic engine as the IV with some differences (as noted in the article above...). Pretty cool.

I have an old article that is kinda fun as well. It's from '68 so all it talks about is the RA II but still worth a read.


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## PontiacJim (Dec 29, 2012)

Excellent addition to the info. What I really like, and want to point out, is that the Ram Air engines used cast connecting rods and the article you have supplied states that the RA engine will spin 6200-6300 RPM's as designed. Of course the lighter weight pistons cited in the article help make this possible, but it shows that the cast rods are not as weak as most think they are (I don't know if the RA rods may have had better rod bolts than the standard HiPerf 400CI engines?).

Today, of course, forged factory style I-beam rods with ARP bolts are readily available at an affordable price and not much more than the cost to rebuild a set of cast rods and add the better ARP rod bolts. So you can get a new & stronger forged rod, ARP rod bolts, and at a comparable price which makes these aftermarket type rods the best route to go with. :thumbsup:


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## 1968gto421 (Mar 28, 2014)

pontiacjim said:


> excellent addition to the info. What i really like, and want to point out, is that the ram air engines used cast connecting rods and the article you have supplied states that the ra engine will spin 6200-6300 rpm's as designed. Of course the lighter weight pistons cited in the article help make this possible, but it shows that the cast rods are not as weak as most think they are (i don't know if the ra rods may have had better rod bolts than the standard hiperf 400ci engines?).
> 
> Today, of course, forged factory style i-beam rods with arp bolts are readily available at an affordable price and not much more than the cost to rebuild a set of cast rods and add the better arp rod bolts. So you can get a new & stronger forged rod, arp rod bolts, and at a comparable price which makes these aftermarket type rods the best route to go with. :thumbsup:


x2!!


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

PontiacJim said:


> Excellent addition to the info. What I really like, and want to point out, is that the Ram Air engines used cast connecting rods and the article you have supplied states that the RA engine will spin 6200-6300 RPM's as designed. Of course the lighter weight pistons cited in the article help make this possible, but it shows that the cast rods are not as weak as most think they are (I don't know if the RA rods may have had better rod bolts than the standard HiPerf 400CI engines?).
> 
> Today, of course, forged factory style I-beam rods with ARP bolts are readily available at an affordable price and not much more than the cost to rebuild a set of cast rods and add the better ARP rod bolts. So you can get a new & stronger forged rod, ARP rod bolts, and at a comparable price which makes these aftermarket type rods the best route to go with. :thumbsup:


Agree. In the old days, I used to spend a fair amount of time prepping cast rods to survive at the track. Stronger rod bolts were mandatory in my book. But they could take a beating if set up correctly. Interesting question if the RA rods had stronger bolts from the factory....I don't recall the bolts being any different on the cast rods but it's been a long time since I've taken one apart.

I recently built an engine to RA II specs for my car and I used the aftermarket forged rods. Just couldn't see any reason to mess with cast rods these days. Hate to ruin a rare block when forged rods are so affordable now.


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