1970 gto judge ram air IV

[BillyBobcat]

Back to the Tunnel Port topic... [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/[/img]

Greetings fellow Gearheads! [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/worship.gif[/img] My name is Bill Schultz, and I have owned the 1969 Royal Bobcat GTO since 1979. After the Royal GTOís restoration in the mid 80ís, I have spent a great deal of time and energy researching Tunnel Port engines and their history. After reading the posts concerning RAM AIR V GTOís delivered to Knafel Pontiac, I would like to share the following information that you may find very helpful in regards to this matter:

1) The closest thing to a ìrealî RAM AIR V factory GTO would have to be the turquoise & white Royal Bobcat GTO. This car, actually a RAM AIR IV car, had a PMD Engineering dyno RAM AIR V installed by Royal and tested for Pontiac. This car was the earliest known GTO to use a RA V, and no one was allowed to open the engine up for inspection. The motor was returned to engineering after testing.

2) My factory paper work has an ìEngineering Developmentî notation on it. I would assume any GTO with something as extreme as an engine substitution by Pontiac should have a similar notation. The ìmemoî data on the invoices could refer to anything such as a special option addition, a stripe or paint upgrade, special delivery fees, or added components put in the trunk. Oddly enough, the dealer cost ($76.00) and the retail price ($105.32) of these particular ìspecial equipmentî features reflect the exact cost of a couple of available options on the ë70 GTO at that time.

3) The exhaust situation would prove to be very difficult. The Royal GTO served as the initial template for ìAî body Tunnel Port headers. Taken to JR Headers in Hillsdale, Michigan, they created the first tubular headers offered. These were fender-well units requiring the inner fender to be opened up. Initially these were the only units available in late 1969 & early 1970. Are these the headers on these '70 Judges? Additionally, with few actual exhaust manifolds available and no head pipes ever made, where would the exhaust have come from? It is doubtful Engineering would have made an exhaust, let alone several for multiple cars. I doubt Engineering would have installed headers, though Knafel could have. The warranty and liability ramifications of such a vehicle change for a retail customer would have been huge! The ì$105.32î charge shown on the invoice for these cars could not logically have been for such a large feat as substituting a very expensive motor, making an exhaust, and dealing with the liability issues of the time.

4) Although I do not know Mr. Knafel personally, and I do respect some of the fine racing accomplishments by his dealer, I have been told through the years by other Pontiac authorities, magazine writers, and fellow rival dealership personnel that some of the stories and recollections of his may be slightly exaggerated. I do not know this myself, but if you have dozens of people giving you information, and one person contradicts that information, you typically would have to go with the masses. In my discussions with PMD Engineering staff, press people, dealer personnel and others such as Jim Mattison of PHS, no one has even entertained the thought of Factory RA V GTOís.

In conclusion, based on the above information, I can see nothing to indicate the possibility of ìFactoryî RA V Judges. It is not up to anyone to prove that Pontiac ìdid notî put Tunnel Ports in from the factory, rather it is up to those who believe they did to prove it. I have seen no evidence of this at all, so my thoughts have to go with the real world facts at this point. I deal with concrete facts, and there are none in this case.

Now...letís hear from all the folks who have ìfactoryî RAM AIR VI Tunnel Ports in their cars!!! [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/haha.gif[/img]

Bill [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/burnout.gif[/img]