Video: Rebuilding The 331 Chrysler Hemi Engine In Five Minutes

Rebuilding an older engine is a tedious process. Chasing down missing, broken, or otherwise non-salvageable parts, machining the existing parts to freshen them up, and generally ensuring that the engine returns to serviceable status can take months of time. In fact, in the case of this 331 Chrysler Hemi engine tuned up by Thirlby Automotive‘s machine shop for Hagerty Classic Cars, the process took over ten months to complete from start to finish. Thanks to the magic of video editing software–and what we suspect is many emptied coffee pots–we get to watch the entire process, which the Hagerty team says includes over 40,000 photographs of the entire build.

Not only do they take the engine from greasy status to super-clean sanitized status in just over five minutes, they also took the time to develop a one-off, tubular intake manifold to mount the triple carburetors and a new set of stainless-steel tubular headers to finish off the Hemi’s return to glory.

Perhaps even more impressive than the rebuild of the engine is the effort that went into producing the video itself. Cataloging all of the photographs, editing them to ensure that the exposure is correct throughout the entire video, verifying that an image of the block in the hone doesn’t appear in the middle of the intake manifold fabrication sequence–our hats are off to whoever the talented soul is over at Hagerty who coordinated this entire video.

But the fun doesn’t end there; they also installed the engine onto a test stand and fired it up to test its mettle. Is there anything else in the world like the sound of a rip-roaring old-school Hemi? We think not. Check it out below!

About the author

Jason Reiss

Jason draws on over 15 years of experience in the automotive publishing industry, and collaborates with many of the industry's movers and shakers to create compelling technical articles and high-quality race coverage.
Read My Articles

Hot Rods and Muscle Cars in your inbox.

Build your own custom newsletter with the content you love from Street Muscle, directly to your inbox, absolutely FREE!

Free WordPress Themes
Street Muscle NEWSLETTER - SIGN UP FREE!

We will safeguard your e-mail and only send content you request.

Street Muscle - The Ultimate Muscle Car Magazine

streetmusclemag

We'll send you the most interesting Street Muscle articles, news, car features, and videos every week.

Street Muscle - The Ultimate Muscle Car Magazine

Street Muscle NEWSLETTER - SIGN UP FREE!

We will safeguard your e-mail and only send content you request.

Street Muscle - The Ultimate Muscle Car Magazine

streetmusclemag

Thank you for your subscription.

Subscribe to more FREE Online Magazines!

We think you might like...


fordmuscle
Classic Ford Performance
dragzine
Drag Racing
chevyhardcore
Classic Chevy Magazine

Street Muscle - The Ultimate Muscle Car Magazine

Thank you for your subscription.

Subscribe to more FREE Online Magazines!

We think you might like...

  • fordmuscle Classic Ford Performance
  • dragzine Drag Racing
  • chevyhardcore Classic Chevy Magazine

Street Muscle - The Ultimate Muscle Car Magazine

streetmusclemag

Thank you for your subscription.

Thank you for your subscription.

Street Muscle - The Ultimate Muscle Car Magazine

Thank you for your subscription.

Thank you for your subscription.

Loading