Upgraded Ram Air Power: 1980 Pontiac Firebird
This 1980 Pontiac Firebird is located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The car is listed for sale here on eBay with a $15,000 Buy It Now Price. It is also listed for auction with a starting bid of $10,000. There are 7 days remaining in the listing and the reserve at $10,000 is not met. The VIN code indicates that this is a 1980 Pontiac Firebird and not a Formula as the scoops on the hood indicate. The second digit of the VIN is an S which is for the Firebird. A “V” would indicate a Formula and a “W” would indicate a Trans Am.
The VIN indicates that the car was originally equipped with a 301 cubic inch V8 engine with a 4 barrel carburetor. This combination yielded a factory rating of 155 horsepower which is not a lot to move a 3,500 lb car. At some point, an owner replaced this weak 4.9 liter engine with a 1971 WK block 400 cubic inch V8 Pontiac engine. This indicates the engine came from a GTO and is built with a Ram Air II cam, aluminum intake, Holley 4 barrel, MSD electronic ignition and headers. The build also included #16 heads which are small cc heads than later smog 400 cubic inch engines. This increases compression and the power output. The engine was said to be built by Butler Performance out of Tennessee who are known as expert Pontiac engine builders.
The interior is the base vinyl interior that came on all Firebirds. The 400 cubic inch V8 engine is backed by a GM Turbo 400 automatic transmission which will easily handle the reported 450 horsepower produced by this Ram Air engine. The car still retains its factory air conditioning and the suspension has been upgraded to WS6 specifications. This should be a fun car to drive. If it was presented a little better, it might be getting more attention.
The car was repainted in 2007 and has sat for 15 years. The 15×7 Rally II rims have been refinished. The car is said to run and drive great. If your not concerned about originality and like power, this might be a good car at a good price.
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Comments
Ram Air cars were equipped with forced air cleaners attached which is why they were called that, they were not just a simple camshaft swap, they were also given many other block reinforcements and revised exhaust manifolds to breathe better, do your research before you write…
Original ram air blocks had 4 bolt mains but no other reinforcements.
It has headers, which are better than the rain air manifolds. Ram air 3 exhaust ports were still D port. Ram air iv were round port.
It’s easy enough to make the hood functional, but if it is truly 450 HP, it far exceeds stock ram air engines
I referred to the engine in this car as a Ram Air motor because it is a WK block with #16 heads and a 744 RAIII cam. A Pontiac Ram Air II, III or IV engine is more than air induction from a hood scoop. It is a combination of the correct Pontiac parts – block, heads, cam and air intake. My 2nd Gen GTO has forced air induction through the hood scoops and the proper air cleaner but the engine is not a Ram Air 400. It has 7K3 heads, Y code block and 068 cam which are not RAIII components. The scoops on this Firebird can be made functional but without the correct engine components, it is not a Ram Air engine.
Exactly Bruce…you tell ’em! Looks like he got smart with the wrong guy. Way to make yourself look like a jerk Raymond, lol!
Seems worth the money to me.