[pggto]

[QUOTE=turbo69bird;5022659]

Also funny to me hat bird guys aren't usually GTO people and GTO guys aren't usually bird people. TE]


That's not true, I own a 70 GTO and a 67 Firebird.

[Greg Reid]

I'd kind of like to see the '68 RAII that started this whole conversation...I don't think it's a phising expedition as has been suggested.
I've followed some of the OP's posts in the past and he's never impressed me as a joker when it comes to rare Pontiacs.

[MikeNoun]

Originally Posted by Region Warrior

Correct me if wrong(know you will ), the 68's where lighter then 69's.
Only dif in engines where 1.52 rkrs in 68 vs 1.65 in 69's.

Well, the 69's were slightly heavier, but not enough to make a difference.

So the RAIV had the extra lift and duration on the cam thanks to the rockers, the aluminum 2-piece intake, and the carb limiter was gone for 69, freeing up all the hp.

On the downside, the 69 Ram Air setup was more restrictive than the 68, but neither flowed very well.

The 69 Trans Am would have everything the RAIV would offer, plus have an aero advantage coupled with much better hood scoop flow, so the 69 Trans Am would be the pinnacle of 1st Gen performance.

And I agree about the OP. He's not one to start rumors.

So we'll wait patiently for more info.

[PONTIAC LARRY]

"I got a feevah(fever) and the cure is more cowbell(RAII)"

[turbo69bird]

Originally Posted by MikeNoun

Well, the 69's were slightly heavier, but not enough to make a difference.

So the RAIV had the extra lift and duration on the cam thanks to the rockers, the aluminum 2-piece intake, and the carb limiter was gone for 69, freeing up all the hp.

On the downside, the 69 Ram Air setup was more restrictive than the 68, but neither flowed very well.

The 69 Trans Am would have everything the RAIV would offer, plus have an aero advantage coupled with much better hood scoop flow, so the 69 Trans Am would be the pinnacle of 1st Gen performance.

And I agree about the OP. He's not one to start rumors.

So we'll wait patiently for more info.

The 69 firebird was chosen by dealers to race over the TA Im guessing there was a reason especially since engineering was involved. Engineering told Stephens to ditch the ram air set up for weight and air flow day 1 so your likely spot on there. Don't know of any dealers that drag raced the T/A though Im sure someone probably did.

[turbo69bird]

[QUOTE=pggto;5023902]

Originally Posted by turbo69bird

Also funny to me hat bird guys aren't usually GTO people and GTO guys aren't usually bird people. TE]


That's not true, I own a 70 GTO and a 67 Firebird.

That's why I said USUALLY. lol

Not everyone is that way, but Most have a preference one way or another.id own both but Im still partial to birds.

BTW the caps aren't for yelling just for dramatic effect.

Im hoping if we keep this at the top long enough we'll get some news on this bad azz car!

Im sure the poster is working hard on securing this car but it takes time sometimes. He found a needle in a hay stack and probably is trying to make sure it ends up his needle not someone else on PY . Lol

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

Originally Posted by PONTIAC LARRY

I would prefer a 69 Camaro over a 69 Firebird...then the fight started.....lol

i got yer back
it has hide-away headlights , right ?

68 Ram2 Bird
2 the front tho

[turbo69bird]

Well everyone knows the 69 camaro is a much more value able car right

[Wareagle]

Couple of cool pics F.A.S.T. Racing 10 sec. 68 RA II & the 68 Knafel RA II

[keith k]

Originally Posted by Wareagle

Couple of cool pics F.A.S.T. Racing 10 sec. 68 RA II & the 68 Knafel RA II

The FAST car with the stock rims/tires (?) and the front wheels in the air just boggles the mind...

[muscle_collector]

whos car is it?

[Wareagle]

Originally Posted by muscle_collector

whos car is it?

Here's a video - 10.36 for the white RA II of Rick Mahoney

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMtZNOtxEec

[MikeNoun]

That's Rick Mahoney's RAII car he runs in the F.A.S.T Series. It was originally a 350 car. Rick also ran a RAII in Pure Stock, and he owns a real RAII ragtop.

His F.A.S.T. car is a serious machine. No stone was left unturned when it came to shaving weight.

They had 4 sets of heads custom ported by the best engine builders in America, and they were all told to go nuts on the porting. Rick said there's more money into the heads than what most guys have into their entire engine. His TH400 trans is one of the exotic low hp loss units many of the F.A.S.T. guys run, with a set of internal ratios they won't disclose to anyone. He said that a TH400 would lose 80-100 hp behind a 600 hp engine, Rick's only loses about 30 hp.

By the way, before anyone gets too excited about this being a vaunted RAII, it's not a RAII, it's not even a 400. It's an SD455. And it has 15:1 compression. And titanium rods. And the intake has been cut and re-welded, the runners extrude-honed, and the manifold flows 300 CFM to each runner. And he goes through traps at 7000 rpm.

Rick chose a 68 RAII Bird over a 69 RAIV Bird because of the slight weight advantage. He said the RAIV is the stronger and better engine, but since this was going to be an all-out, no holds-barred SD455 combo with exotic, lightweight internals, it didn't make any difference whether it was a RAII or RAIV, so they went with the slight weight advantage of the 68.

Nothing "stock" about these F.A.S.T. cars, but it's amazing (and very admirable) how these guys get their cars down the track on skinny bias-plies. I think there are a few of the F.A.S.T. cars in the 9's now.

[Wareagle]

Mike the SD455 should have been available in 1970

[turbo69bird]

Originally Posted by MikeNoun

That's Rick Mahoney's RAII car he runs in the F.A.S.T Series. It was originally a 350 car. Rick also ran a RAII in Pure Stock, and he owns a real RAII ragtop.

His F.A.S.T. car is a serious machine. No stone was left unturned when it came to shaving weight.

They had 4 sets of heads custom ported by the best engine builders in America, and they were all told to go nuts on the porting. Rick said there's more money into the heads than what most guys have into their entire engine. His TH400 trans is one of the exotic low hp loss units many of the F.A.S.T. guys run, with a set of internal ratios they won't disclose to anyone. He said that a TH400 would lose 80-100 hp behind a 600 hp engine, Rick's only loses about 30 hp.

By the way, before anyone gets too excited about this being a vaunted RAII, it's not a RAII, it's not even a 400. It's an SD455. And it has 15:1 compression. And titanium rods. And the intake has been cut and re-welded, the runners extrude-honed, and the manifold flows 300 CFM to each runner. And he goes through traps at 7000 rpm.

Rick chose a 68 RAII Bird over a 69 RAIV Bird because of the slight weight advantage. He said the RAIV is the stronger and better engine, but since this was going to be an all-out, no holds-barred SD455 combo with exotic, lightweight internals, it didn't make any difference whether it was a RAII or RAIV, so they went with the slight weight advantage of the 68.

Nothing "stock" about these F.A.S.T. cars, but it's amazing (and very admirable) how these guys get their cars down the track on skinny bias-plies. I think there are a few of the F.A.S.T. cars in the 9's now.

He'll yeah! Lots of respect for those cars. I'd bet he's running a Kilgore th400 he's the man at keeping rotating weight down so the parasitic drag of the components are minimal, he also uses a stand off tube so no extra fluid is in the trans, you uncap the tube and fill til it leaks , then plug it and go racing Kissrule in effect there. I believe the design was based off the 727 torque flight of the mopar guts in a th 400. But today they are all new machined pieces. BIG $$$$

Just look at the stock eliminator guys I have a freind w a Big block nova who runs stock eliminator he's got no less than 30 converters at a time in his garage, flow tests a crazy amount of heads etc. these guys are true artists when it comes to making it work and the FAST guys are no different.
As with most classes the cubic dollars it takes to run put the regular guy out of the running very quickly.

[MikeNoun]

Originally Posted by Wareagle

Mike the SD455 should have been available in 1970

Yes, or simply a RAIV 455.

Of all the GM divisions, Pontiac was the only one that didn't up the ante in 1970. Buick went from their 1969 400 Stage 1 to the 1970 455 Stage 1, 1969 Olds W30 400 to the 1970 W-30 455, and Chevrolet from the 1969 396/375hp to the 1970 LS6 454.

But even at 400 cubes, the RAIV was pretty potent.

By the way, notice the little "Ram Air II" embedded in the H.O. stripe on Rick's car. A nice touch.

He did an awesome job.

[turbo69bird]

Introducing the new Super 210 Transmission
Click Here for more information
The Kilgore Superlite TH400
Im sure his is more exotic than this but this is kil gores off the shelf piece if it can be called that.

"Everything works quicker.
The ET's are quicker, reaction times are quicker,
60 foots are quicker,
quarter miles are quicker, everything is faster."
- John Kilgore

John Kilgore Transmissions offers a new three-speed racing automatic that's stronger, lighter and quicker than a C4 and less power-robbing for quicker ET's. This light weight transmission is based on the legendary Turbo 400 but has been redesigned with super lightweight internals to reduce drag and speed-up shifts. The key is in the direct drum that weighs a full five pounds less than a C4's and 15 less that a C6. Though dramatically lighter than the C6, Kilgore's transmission offers as much or more capacity. 5.0 Mustang race application is a snap with the available small-block Ford bell-housing.

Although the Superlite is based on a GM TH400 transmission, its very low parasitic losses make it a natural for the small block Ford Mustangs. It's a must for Super Stock and Stock drag race cars to help them accelerate quicker than ever!


In the Superlite transmission the forward & direct clutch assembles are in one housing, and always rotates with engine RPM. The complete housing assembly weights just 12 pounds and with aluminum steels it can weight as little as 9 pounds. That means it takes far less horsepower to run the transmission, so more power is available for acceleration. This is not rocket science! Less energy used by the transmission and more energy is available to the rear wheels!

Lighter Parts = Quicker Starts

[Wareagle]

Originally Posted by MikeNoun

Yes, or simply a RAIV 455.

Of all the GM divisions, Pontiac was the only one that didn't up the ante in 1970. Buick went from their 1969 400 Stage 1 to the 1970 455 Stage 1, 1969 Olds W30 400 to the 1970 W-30 455, and Chevrolet from the 1969 396/375hp to the 1970 LS6 454.

But even at 400 cubes, the RAIV was pretty potent.

By the way, notice the little "Ram Air II" embedded in the H.O. stripe on Rick's car. A nice touch.

He did an awesome job.

Yes he did - also Jim Mino was kicking all their Butts with his RA II - For the RA IV 455 - it was supposed to be but got nixed - to bad - it was in this Restored car called the Blackbird - kicked a lot of Butts on Woodward back in the day and still could .

[MikeNoun]

Originally Posted by turbo69bird

Introducing the new Super 210 Transmission
Click Here for more information
The Kilgore Superlite TH400
Im sure his is more exotic than this but this is kil gores off the shelf piece if it can be called that.

Ahhh...that was it, the Kilgore Trans! I remember a bunch of Mopar guys getting pretty upset when Rick's Firebird seemed to appear out of nowhere a few years ago to kick their collective arses in the F.A.S.T. Series. The top of the F.A.S.T. field consisted of Chevys (ZL-1's, L-88'), Mopars (426 and 440's), and a 1971 Ford Moostang with a 429. Then all of a sudden, a 'lowly' Pontiac appeared out of nowhere, with what was supposed to be a 400 engine, and the Mopar guys cried foul because they felt it was a 'money is no object' type of car. They mentioned using the Kilgore trans.

Oh well, all's fair in love and drag racing.

[Greg Reid]

Anyone here belong to this Verdoro one?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BL5xcrZqfM