In the case of the Stephen Pontiac pro car , they would update the body every year to look like the next years model. But it was the same car .
They couldn’t do that with the 69 so when it carried over into 70 they just changed the paint scheme by lettering it different.

The 70 up body actually ran in the 71-73 seasons the car wasn’t delivered til late (half way through season) 70 and being in the north east the season was pretty much over by the time it got dialed in.

It seems the RAV engine was tested in my 69 because the car has two hoods with it one hood was cut for the dual quads. No one can remember for sure . Doesn’t help (the memory ) that all the cars were painted similar. Of course that’s what helped me get this car in the first place ..

Many probably don’t know it (even Pontiac guys) but the Ram air V engine was a very rare beast only given out to racers in most cases, the one I have was also topped by a RAV dual quad intake and carbs that only 4 racers got ahold of. (When I go to shows I get comments that it’s not even a Pontiac engine in there ) the last picture is of the exhaust gasket layout the ports aren’t in the normal Pontiac exhaust arrangement
The engine was mainly designed to be a contender in super stock , but was forced to run in pro because they never got installed in car bodies, do to a shortage of the A frame forged connecting rods.

The DS series of part numbers means developmental series or service. It shows up mainly in engineering test engines or parts not production parts

Well
One thing is for sure, I’ve posted this same basic question in a poll on several different websites and it’s always the same, people prefer to see them restored as drag cars to stock 4 to 1 or more every time.

If I saw your '69 lettered up on drag wheels I'd hustle right over. If there was the restored to stock version of your car there I'd only briefly check it out personally.

Little late to the game, and against the criteria since it was a privateer, but keep as raced for me. I sold the Tin Soldier in race trim and missed the car, so researched and bought it back, luckily still in race trim.

What makes the Tin Soldier COPO unique is that it is the only COPO that the original owner actually hands on built part of on the factory floor himself. Mr. Ron, the OO, worked at the Norwood plant. :)

I have toyed with the idea of a "detune" to drive to local shows. Great video below where we revealed the TS at the Camaro Nationals years ago, Mr. Ron initially thought someone cloned his old race car.

Mr. Ron and his wife back in the day
https://i.imgur.com/X6T6Dou.jpg


Mr. Ron and his wife at the Camaro Nats (same car, same wife) :)
https://i.imgur.com/DOISoGN.jpg

Some cool pics he let me copy
https://i.imgur.com/sUvLNGj.jpg

And more
https://i.imgur.com/NTajyyq.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Gq4FStf.jpg

Vid


Whats really cool is that he still races and competes today, and his son continues the legacy with Tin Soldier Fabrication building cars.

https://i.imgur.com/gIyDpB4.jpg

/R

Cool famous COPO!!

I'm guessing Mr. Terrell enjoyed seeing the car.

Love The Tin Soldier, and I think it's a great idea to de-tune it enough to drive to shows and cruises. So many more people would get to see an amazing Camaro.

Tin Soldier Race Cars is in business here in KY building chassis components. I believe it's Ron's grandson who runs the business. Excellent TIG welding skills. Their shop car is a 4 door Malibu called Charlie Brown. Very fast.

Yep, that's his son Jason Terrell. Jason had never seen TS until the Camaro Nats, what was cool is that even though you usually cannot drive the cars once they are in (except to leave) they allowed Mr. Ron and Jason to drive TS once around the show that year.

Great that Jason has continued the legacy.....

/R

So if it’s been proven over and over in polls on forums that race cars are preferred 4-1 why don’t they bring More than the stock counterparts at auctions seems that would make sense and it’s that way in other forms of auctions and other types of cars only really in the muscle car world it doesn’t seem to be that way.

Especially in the realm of the early stock eliminator cars because they were pretty stock w just ringers with some blueprinting (stock but better) and some bolt ons.

Wouldn’t it make Sense if you gonna spend big money on a car to show you’d prefer to pay for one that 4 times as many people actually want to see at that show? Sometimes these pills go 10-1.

With todays stroker assemblies you can pull out compression add cubes and end up with the same HP and more torque and drivability actually drive them and enjoy them . Outwardly they are exactly the same stock look they had and the same performance without the worry of having to grab race gas all the time .

The down side is nothing makes that kind of sound unless you have some ungodly compression which a detuned engine will not have (correct me if I am wrong here). I just love that sound.

----That's what everyone always said about Red Alert once my second rebuild went back in the car, Rick. 14 to 1 compression just makes a great sound!.....Bill S

I don’t agree with that at all. I have a RAV pro stock engine 13.6 to 1 compression and a D port low compression 9.0 to 1 turbo engine in my other car. They sound exactly the same. You’d never be able to tell me which was which. My turbo engine even when not I. Boost sounds angry and nasty! Just like my RAV engine .

Kind of hard to hear it the sound quality sucks in this old video

https://youtube.com/shorts/yhWOybem01w?feature=share

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aqGcHD2mnKs


https://youtube.com/shorts/W5MBXrZvMqU?feature=share

Same cam same CR same CI I dont think any diff in sound on a RA III engine and a RA V engine.Been there done that.JMHO,Tom

Tom we were talking about the difference in compression ratio in the sound not necessarily the d port Vs V port . I only used the V and D port because that’s what I had for comparison in my garage in different compressions, and wanted to explain the difference . That the RAV was a higher performance version and higher compression. Yet the D port lower performance engine w low compression sounded the same . In fact most people who hear both side by side idling feel the Turbo car sounds nastier and snottier even though it’s far lower compression , smaller cam , and blows through the turbo which knocks down some decibels. . RAV is a roller cam 650 lift range about a 112 LSA and the d port turbo car is a solid flat tappet in the 550 range 114 LSA.

I’ve built RAIV both ways stroker w low compression and original w high compression and I dint feel there was any dicernable difference in the way they sounded. We are really only taking about 1 point to 1.5 points of compression between the two on those engines if the original is built to 1969 NHRA specs even For a stock eliminator to a drivable on pump gas stroker RAIV.

Compression DOES make a diff,sometime BIG.Tom