# what are they worth. 70 ram air heads



## 70_GTO_JUDGE (Dec 8, 2010)

what are they worth. 70 ram airIII heads matching.


he wants $500, what should I know about them to be sure? any photos of these guys?

thanks


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## BearGFR (Aug 25, 2008)

70_GTO_JUDGE said:


> what are they worth. 70 ram airIII heads matching.
> 
> 
> he wants $500, what should I know about them to be sure? any photos of these guys?
> ...


Ram Air III's are still D-ports --- pretty good D-ports, but still D-ports. From a pure performance point of view, they're not significantly better than, say, #16's or #62's. On an othwewise stock 400 with "nominal" dimensions and gaskets they're going to result in a static compression ratio that's going to be too high for todays gas, plus they don't have hardened exhaust seats. Personally, I wouldn't have any interest in them except perhaps as something to buy and sell.

To someone who's restoring a 70 RA III car, and who cares about everything being "correct", they'd probably be worth more.

Before laying out the cash I'd insist on them being pressure tested and otherwise tested for cracks by a reputable machine shop.

YMMV,

Bear


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## OrbitOrange (Jul 5, 2010)

are #13s worth having Bear?


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## BearGFR (Aug 25, 2008)

OrbitOrange said:


> are #13s worth having Bear?


Sure! At least one site I referenced lists those as 1970 Ram Air III's, so they'll have the larger valves, screw in rocker studs, and "open" chambers. They'll probably cc somewhere in the vicinity of 70 to 75 cc's (the factory lists them at 72) but they can vary quite a bit. As far as iron D-ports go, those are about as good as they get. They should work pretty well on a 400. On a larger displacement engine, say a 455 or a 461 stroker, you'll have "issues" trying to get the compression ratio down to something reasonable for pump gas. It can be done, I did it with my 71 cc #722's on my 461, but getting there required me to make some compromises I would have preferred not to have had to make. For a 455 or a stroker, 6X-4's would be a better choice for a D-port head just because they have larger chambers.

Bear


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