Chevy small block that sat for 25 years gets torn down | Redline Update - Hagerty Media

You know Davin isn’t one to sit around and twiddle his thumbs. The Jeep XJ is running and driving again with its new 4.6-liter inline-six, and that means it’s time for a new project in the Redline Garage. There were a few options to choose from, and Davin was clearly feeling nostalgic when he pulled a grimy Chevrolet 283 off the shelf.

“This whole Redline Rebuild thing started with a small-block Chevy, so it’s kind of fun to circle back around,” he says about the orange V-8 sitting atop one of the rolling workbenches. “It will be fun to see how far we’ve come in the process and production from that 350 to this 283.”

The teardown happens quickly, but the cleaning takes time—even with the massive Gladiator parts washer in the shop. All these parts will be headed to the Thirlby machine shop for final cleaning after they’re machined, but Davin likes to bring parts to the machine shop that are as clean as possible. That’s how you stay in the good graces of the shop guys, after all.

After a couple wash cycles, the block began to look like, well, a block again. It took multiple cycles to expose the last few oil galley and casting plugs. Davin thought that the warm block might be the best time to tackle removing those plugs, but even with everything warm to the touch these plugs were still locked in place. No matter, the oxy-acetylene torch makes quick work of breaking the bonds of corrosion.

This engine is going to progress fast, so be sure to subscribe to the Hagerty YouTube channel so you never miss an update and, of course, the final product.

Thanks to our sponsor RockAuto.com, an auto parts retailer founded in 1999 by automotive engineers with two goals: Liberate information hidden behind the auto parts store counter (by listing all available parts, not just what one store stocks or one counter-person knows), and make auto parts affordable so vehicles of all ages can be kept reliable and fun to drive. Visit RockAuto.com to order auto parts online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and have them conveniently delivered to your door. Need help finding parts or placing an order? Visit RockAuto’s Help pages for further assistance.