crossram questions

[Kelley W King]

Lasy night after reading some in Jerry,s 69 Z and SS book I noticed he says crossrams were not shipped in the trunk but were dealer over the counter items. It also says dealers probably did not install them because it voided the warranty. It made me think that I don,t recall seeing a window sticker, POP, or dealer invoice with the crossram on it. I see ads and show plaques saying original crossram car. Were there any? Hi po parts I bought over the counter in the 60,s and 70,s usually came with a yellow carbon hand written by the counter guy. If so how would you say original crossram car? Also could the hood come with the car or was it over the counter only?

[JohnZ]

Lasy night after reading some in Jerry,s 69 Z and SS book I noticed he says crossrams were not shipped in the trunk but were dealer over the counter items. It also says dealers probably did not install them because it voided the warranty. It made me think that I don,t recall seeing a window sticker, POP, or dealer invoice with the crossram on it. I see ads and show plaques saying original crossram car. Were there any? Hi po parts I bought over the counter in the 60,s and 70,s usually came with a yellow carbon hand written by the counter guy. If so how would you say original crossram car? Also could the hood come with the car or was it over the counter only?

There's no such thing as an "original crossram car"; you couldn't order one - there was no factory option for it. The crossram setup came in a box, over the parts counter, as did the hood, if you had the connections to get one. In 1969, the crossram setup was about $400.00.

[Kelley W King]

Thanks,
That,s what I thought.

[firstgenaddict]

In the early 90's there were at least 5 of them in the original shipping boxes at the Charlotte Motor Speedway swapmeet. They were  1200 - 1500 at that time.

[Gramps69Z]

Kelly, here's some information if you haven't already read it.

http://www.camaros.org/crossram.shtml

[lakeholme]

In the early 90's there were at least 5 of them in the original shipping boxes at the Charlotte Motor Speedway swapmeet. They were  1200 - 1500 at that time.

Two are still in Zs in Charlotte!

[Kelley W King]

THere are at least 3 I know (crossram cars) in Durham, N.C.

[TooManyReels]

Kelly,
I did a little surfing last night regarding crossram Z's and there are several cars out there for sale with crossram's...Very few claim to be original crossram's with correct carb package though.

I went to Bristol last weekend and there was a Black on Black 69 Z that the guy drove to and from the track. I did not get around to talking to him, or  ask him how it ran on the street but you could tell it looked to be a driver car and not a trailer queen, like the ones in Durham area.. I was told by someone there that knew the history of the car that it was an original GM crossram and carb set-up from back in the day.

There was also guy their from Fla. that had an orginal crossram and carb set up, that was on e-bay a few weeks ago trying to sell the combo. He supposely had a deposit on the combo and the guy was to pick it up at Bristol....I never did see if he sold it.

I understand from my reading they are not street friendly and the main reason they are being installed is they raise more conversation at shows..I'm not sure if they help the sale value of a car based on the investment to install a crossram set up...I'm not sure one would ever recover the cost for installing a set up unless it came with a purchased car. It's kind of like the JL8 brakes there are a lot of cars out there with them installed as well.
Eddie,

[william]

Maybe it's me but I often see cross-rams on otherwise mediocre restorations. The $15,000 would have been better spent on research, better quality and correct parts. I attended the Scottsdale auctions for the 1st time 2009 and more than half the Z/28s there had one. The top selling Z/28 was virtually perfect and did not have one.

If you're looking to impress, make the car perfect. A cross-ram will not help a poorly done car.

[Charley]

Crossrams used to be really cool because they look cool and you never saw them. I remember buying a green 69 Z with a crossram and 456 gears that he drove on the street. He had spent a ton of time dialing that engine in. He said no matter what do not change the jets as they we almost all different and he had it set up perfect. It was the fastest Z I ever had. Would wind past 8K smooth as can be. Nowdays there are a million repo crossrams and most probably run like crap so they aren't very special anymore. I would imagine the repos have hurt the value of the real ones. I would like a nice 69Z with a flat hood , no spoilers and no crossram.

[KurtS]

But some people still think they are sooo cooooll. Kinda like running a 'full-race' cam or headers on the street, where they run like sh--.

[TooManyReels]

I can see both view points....Willam's point is well taken..Spend the extra money to restore one the correct way if you are going original. If you buy a car and you can't go original due to not having the original motor and accessories then maybe go with the crossram to make or enhance the look once finished.

I have an crossram car that fits the later of my two points. Other than the motor and the JL8 brakes my car is original no after market body or floor panels.   

I'm not sure the car would draw as much attention with a single carb set up as it does with the crossram..With a large field of cars it would just blend in, as one person stated to me. The extra chrome from the large air filter really helps brighten thing up under the hood.

TMR

[Jon Mello]

I understand the visual appeal of the cross ram although, as mentioned by others, they are not nearly the rare and unusual sight that they used to be. You almost expect to see one under the hood of every Z you see now and of course the hood is probably the cowl induction style (yawn). What is really silly to me is seeing a cross ram on an engine with exhaust manifolds and a complete AIR system.

[firstgenaddict]

I would like a nice 69Z with a flat hood , no spoilers and no crossram.

Charlie... how bout a Lemans Blue, rear antenna, no spoiler, flat hood, original interior, born with drivetrain BV 4.10....