Hagerty is famous for its classic engine rebuild videos, which compress months of arduous work into just a couple of minutes.
In the latest installment of their Redline Rebuild series, Davin Rekow got his hands dirty with a Pontiac 389 V8 engine. The engine originally came out of a 1966 Pontiac GTO – the last model year to run the infamous Tri-Power setup. There are three two-barrel Rochester carburetors supplying the fuel to the 6.3 litre, 360hp behemoth.
After a local Pontiac enthusiast collected the parts for years, but ultimately gave up his dream of rebuilding the engine himself, the boxes of old junk came to Hagarty for a second chance at life.
Solving the puzzle of parts scrambled into half a dozen of boxes was the easy part. Davin had to put a serious order to the machine shop.
Every functional surface of the block got some treatment. One of the cylinders had a huge gaping hole, which required a new sleeve to be fitted. All cylinders, connecting rods and valve seats were resurfaced. New custom pistons were produced by JE Pistons. The crankshaft needed regrinding of its main bearing surfaces and the camshaft went through a 4/7 swap.
After an extended vacation in the machine shop, the block was back to Davin’s shop for the final assembly.
All those months of hard work and even the fireball to the face were 100% worth it after hearing the rolling thunder when Davin finally started up the engine.
Pontiac GTO is one of those iconic cars that made American muscle into what it is today. After starting its life as a optional package for the Pontiac Tempest LeMans, in 1966, the GTO earned its right as a separate model and was manufactured until 1972, after which it returned as an option package for the LeMans.
During the GTO’s brief history, Pontiac produced more than 280,000 units. The car became Motor Trend Car of the Year in 1968.