400 RAIV 1969-70

Pontiac V8 400 RAIV 1969-70

Round Port, Long Valve — 400 RAIV 1969-70 for Pontiac V8s

The Ram Air IV heads of 1969-70 are round port castings, and they are the outlier of the Pontiac cast iron family. Butler lists the Ram Air II and Ram Air IV heads on the longest cast iron valves in the catalog, a 2.11" by 5.213" intake and a 1.77" by 5.230" exhaust, well past what any D-port 400 head uses.

They also take their own pushrod: Butler stocks an 11/32" Ram Air IV stock replacement pushrod from Melling, sold each or in sets, which is not the common 5/16" Pontiac pushrod. Valves, guides, seats, seals, springs and locks round out the rebuild.

This category is empty.

More About 400 RAIV 1969-70

1. The Longest Valves In The Cast Iron Family

Almost nothing from a standard 400 head carries over to a Ram Air IV casting.

Valve length	Butler lists a Ferrea kit for RA II and RA IV heads at a 1.77" by 5.230" 45 degree exhaust and a 2.11" by 5.213" 30 degree intake. A standard 1967-70 400 head uses 5.110" and 5.095", and the 1971-up castings use 4.980".
What that means downstream	the longer valve puts the retainer higher, which changes installed height, spring selection and pushrod length together. Do not mix a D-port parts list into a Ram Air IV head.
Round port	these are round exhaust port castings, which also changes the exhaust hardware and the porting conversation compared to a D-port head.

2. The Ram Air IV Pushrod

This is the part people order twice because the first set was wrong.

Its own diameter	Butler stocks a Melling 11/32" Ram Air IV stock replacement pushrod, sold individually and in sets, separate from the common 5/16" Pontiac pushrods.
Check length anyway	if the heads have been cut or you have changed rockers, verify length with an adjustable checker rather than assuming stock replacement is correct.
Rocker hardware	guide plates and stud hardware should be chosen to match the rocker and pushrod you actually end up with, not the other way around.

3. The Rest Of A Ram Air IV Rebuild

Guides	Pontiac cast iron guides in 11/32", cast or bronze, with the machinist confirming dimensions against the casting.
Springs	Butler groups Ram Air IV spring choices with the Edelbrock and Super Duty heads rather than with common cast iron castings, because of the installed height the longer valve produces. Expect to shop that list, not the 1.600" cast iron list.
Seats and seals	plan seat work around the valve size you choose, and use seals sized for machined guides.
Verify the casting	Ram Air IV heads are valuable and frequently misidentified. Confirm the number before anything is cut.

Call with the casting number. A Ram Air IV head is worth the phone call, and the valve length alone puts it in a different parts list than everything else wearing a 400 badge.

Not sure what your Pontiac needs?

Call our tech team at 866-762-7527. Tell us your engine, heads, car, and power goal, and we will put the parts together as one combination that works.