My dad just purchased a 71 Mach1 with 351c, it has the ram air hood but its not functional. I've seen online setups for Ram Air that sell for $1500-$2500, complete kits (air cleaner, fiberglass plenum, flaps, etc). How much value would installing this factory option on a 71 Mach1 add to the car? Would we get back the roughly 1500-2500 cost in value? How about more?

One ad is selling a complete setup for 1500 and he claims it will add 4k in value to the car, but my dad and I think it might be fluff, would it be work buying a ram air setup?

oh and don't worry guys, pics and details on the 71 Mach will come soon, my dad and I are going to pick it up on friday We got it for what we think is a steal of a deal, great options, H-code real running/driving Mach 1 with daily driver type paint. Should be another great Father/Son project!

 

yeah its not that high id say 1-1.5k if all the correct parts are installed. there are repop ram air kits for the 71-73s now

 

ok yeah lets say 1500 at the most, and I found a repop set for under 600 bucks at cjponyparts. Will the repop or original one increase the value of the car?

 

original is better but a lot of people wont know the difference

 

Depends who would buy it some wouldn't pay more for a car with stuff it didn't come from the factory with.It won't hurt it but i don't know if you would get every penny back unless its a really nice car.A lot of cars had the nasa hood but had block off plates over the scoops they had the honey comb in them.Is it a true ram air car or is he adding it to the car?

 

Well my dad and I were thinking of adding it when we get the car because we think its so cool lol. Right now the car has the nasa hood with I assume block off plates (haven't seen the car yet). I don't believe it is a true ram air car but has other great options (H-code, AC, PS, Power Disks, Gauge pack, front and rear spoil, and I'm not sure of what else since I haven't seen it yet). I was just asking the question as a hypothetical, IF my dad ads a Ram Air kit (which can be easily removed), would it add any value to the car? or would it simply be for the "cool" factor?

 

It would add to the cool factor, anyone who is interested in an original ram air car will look at the info on that one and surmise it isnt. I like it for the cool factor, but I would go with the aftermarket version provided they look the same and are of decent quality. No need to spend way too much money if you dont have to.

Looking around I couldnt find a flat steel hood for a 71-73 in the aftermarket, they just arent there. Every aftermarket hood I found had the scoops, so if its bent and rusted like mine, and you cant find a straight one near you, then you get a scooped hood. You can still get the flat hood in fiberglass, just not steel.

Welcome to my world, hopefully yours int swiss cheese...

 

Thanks for the great response thumpin! I hope this one isn't swiss cheese either, but apparently the floors and frame are solid and the only rust coming through the paint was a little bit on the quarter panel, I can handle that.

Oh and this car we're getting already has the NASA hood on it, so I don't need to worry about finding a normal straight one. I'll try to convince my dad to get the aftermarket Ram Air unit since the 1500k isn't justified since it's not an original Ram Air car. I just think the vacuum operated scoops are too cool!

One last question, how much hp is the ram air good for? like 10hp on the higher end of the power band or what? I can see it doing a little bit but probably not a drastic differece

 

Are you planning on selling it? If not don't worry about the added value. Stay factory.

 

My dad just bought it for another father/son project with me. It is possible we will resale it in a couple years or so when the value goes back up, but will definitely enjoy the car in the mean time. My dad got it partly as an investment and partly as just a nice project to do with me.