V8 Speed And Resto Shop In-House Engine Machine Shop

From stock rebuilds to high performance, the V8 Speed and Resto Engine Shop is fully equipped to do it all – in house.

The V8 Speed and Resto Engine Machine Shop is a full-service facility handling all aspects of original and high performance engine rebuilding for classic cars, muscle cars, hot rods, and other enthusiast vehicles.

Click To Contact The V8 Speed and Resto Shop Engine Shop!

Some Of The Engine Services We Provide:

Engine Disassembly, Cleaning, Measurement
Cylinder Block Boring, Line Boring, Honing, Resurfacing
Cylinder Head Machining, Valve Machining, Decking, Reconditionng
Connecting Rod Resizing and Refurbishment, Piston Installation
Crankshaft Grinding and Balancing
Precision Engine Assembly, Run-In, Leak Checks, Dyno Tuning
Complete Engine Detailing and Appearance Restoration, Painting, and Custom Finishes
Photo Documentation of the Reconditioning Process

Contact us today for your engine needs!

The Art Of Power

The V8 Speed and Resto Shop is not only home to an award winning restoration shop complete with mechanical, fabrication, body, paint, and interior departments, but also a complete, in-house engine machine center capable of refreshing original as well as building complete custom high performance engines.

We tailor each engine to the unique specifications of the customer. Whether it’s a meticulous, 100% concours-correct restoration or a high-performance engine for the street or track, our team is dedicated to delivering exceptional results. Our in-house engine machine shop and world-class fabrication, body, and paint departments enable us to create engines that meet the highest standards of quality and performance, including custom designs for one-of-a-kind vehicles.

Ready To Rock

Our goals include making the engine building and installation experience as enjoyable as possible by including many elements often overlooked in traditional rebuilds, such as the starter, engine mounts, linkages, and fasteners. Our process includes running the engine and verifying proper oil pressure, cooling system function, ignition timing, carburetor or fuel injection settings, and providing the customer with video footage of the engine running demonstrating leak free performance. We also provide a-la-carte engine machine services, such as flywheel surfacing, valve jobs, block boring, parts cleaning, and more.

Our Process

The process begins by our team learning all we can about the performance and appearance aspirations of the customer and the engine. Many questions are asked and answered, including intended usage, power desired, appearance desired, custom aspects, and more. Once the usage and performance targets are determined, a build plan is drafted to select the required parts and components required to meet the goals of the project. We work only with top manufacturers and reputable companies to source the parts required to build a performance engine.

Next, each engine is carefully cleaned, disassembled, measured, and analyzed before the machining and reassembly processes begin. This allows us to evaluate the condition of each component and decide the best course of action to achieve the customer’s goals. New parts are proposed and ordered, and the machining process begins. Machining tolerances are corrected to factory “blueprint” specs. Once machining and assembly are complete, each engine is run on our test station to ensure proper and leak-free performance. Optionally, engines can be run, tested, and tuned on our dynamometer as well. From there, engines progress to our world-class body and paint shop for proper polish, colors, and finishes. Accessory brackets are restored and installed, and custom parts are completed and the engine final assembly is completed. The end result is a ready-to-install engine that delivers performance and aesthetics worthy of a concourse restoration or a full custom build.

Our customer experience and machine shop team will bring you along for the full experience through photo updates and videos of milestone moments, including video of the machining process, first start ups, and dyno tuning sessions.

ENGINE PACKAGES

CLASSIC RENEWAL SERIES

Original Looks With Fresh New Performance

This package renews your vehicle with a correct appearing engine, with performance restored to as-new. This can be the original, numbers matching engine the car was born with, or if not available, a correct replacement. Our team restores the original engine to have the correct finish, color, and internal specifications. Rebuilding focuses on conservative machine work to preserve as much of the original block and cylinder head material as possible. Classic Renewal Series engines can be expected to make a similar power level to the original, but with blueprinted machine work, and all new internal wear parts like bearings, rings, and any other parts requiring replacement such as camshaft, lifters, oil pump, timing set, and gaskets. Cylinder heads are cleaned and inspected, and machined as needed with a new valve job, springs, seals, and rocker arms. The carburetor and distributor are rebuilt and tuned to match the engine. Research to correct previous modifications and to obtain factory original or NOS parts is also part of this package.

Classic Renewal Series engines utilize all the original and correct equipment, including the front accessory drive system, carburetor, ignition system, spark, plugs, plug wires, sensors, connectors, and wiring. The accessory drive brackets and components are restored and installed with correct belts, hoses, and fluids.

The Classic Renewal Series is the perfect option for a correct restoration or an original surviving vehicle that needs an engine refresh. We can even work to preserve the original paint on the engine block, intake, manifold, and valve covers where possible.

This series pairs well with the Day Two Period Correct appearance packages, which rely on authentic performance parts matched to the time period of the engine. For example, should the customer seek a “Day Two” appearance featuring as-then-available performance parts, valve covers, and other items to reflect the look of a 1968 Camaro back in 1968, our team will locate and install proper examples of these vintage speed parts.

RESTO MOD SERIES

Familiar Appearance, Modern Technology And Performance

When you open the hood, Resto Mod engines lead people to believe that there’s not much difference from the original… until you take them for a ride! This series delivers an engine that appears to be mostly factory correct and original, but is hiding modern technology and performance modifications under the skin. Once the architecture, performance, and appearance plan is hatched, our team goes to work amassing the parts. The original or a replacement block is used, cleaned, and machined for proper tolerances. A stroker crankshaft may be added, along with custom pistons featuring ceramic coatings and upgraded ring packages. The block might be treated to a hydraulic roller camshaft conversion. A double roller timing chain, improved oil pump, new gaskets, roller rockers with modern springs, and other improved performance parts are used throughout. Modern, high-performance aluminum cylinder heads, and an aluminum intake manifold are used to reduce weight and increase performance, all while being painted to match the original finish of the cast-iron pieces. Original cast-iron heads can be machined and improved through porting and valve improvements for a completely stealth appearance. Performance exhaust manifolds or headers are treated to high-temp ceramic coatings for heat management and appearance. An electronic ignition system hidden under a stock appearing distributor or other electronic ignition system is utilized. This engine can be expected to make 50 to 100 more horsepower over stock and sometimes far beyond that.

This is a great option for a person who wants to truly drive and enjoy their classic vehicle while retaining a familiar appearance under the hood. Our team couples these engines with an optimal, modern serpentine accessory drive system incorporating the proper water pump and power accessory units to ensure smooth and trouble free operation under the hood. These engines may be carbureted or rely on any number of electronic fuel injection systems, ranging from throttle body style to multi point with injector bosses machine into the intake manifold. All the components, including the front accessory drive are color-matched in our paint shop to achieve the desired appearance. The engine is test run to verify leak-free performance, and dyno tuning is also an option. These engines are built to drop in, ready to go in your hot rod, street machine, Pro-Touring car, truck, or street cruiser!

STREET PERFORMANCE SERIES

Let’s Have Some Fun!

The Street performance series is a fully custom built engine that can be of a different architecture than what originally came in the car, or a highly modified version of the original. For example, this could be a modified modern LS engine fitted with a performance camshaft, improved cylinder heads, supercharger, and the accompanying electronics to make it sing. Or, it may be a vintage Ford FE series engine that has been bored, stroked, and treated to premium forged internals, block oiling modifications, high-tech coatings, a roller camshaft, cross-bolt main cap modifications, and more. Our team works with the customer to custom design an engine that delivers the performance desired, targeting horsepower levels, torque, torque curves, transmission, and gear type, sanctioning body rules, and more. These engines feature a variety of exterior finish choices, from clear coated raw aluminum to painted finishes and ceramics. Each is seasoned on our engine testing fixture, dyno tuned, leak checked, painted and detailed, and ready to install.

CUSTOM SERIES

A One-Of-A-Kind Power Plant Designed To Stand Out. Or Not.

Our top offering is a fully custom built engine, both inside and out, featuring the elements from the STREET PERFORMANCE SERIES but adding a custom designed appearance to match your high-end, custom built car or truck. CUSTOM SERIES engines are nice enough to bring home the cup at the big shows, but also deliver power and performance on the street or track.

These engines can be of any architecture, deliver performance from smooth and quiet to extreme, utilizing superchargers, turbochargers, stack injection, multiple carburetors, vintage or modern induction… the sky’s the limit. They feature custom exterior components, like valve or coil covers, air intake systems, brackets, housings, and accessory drive systems. Custom Series engines flaunt the details, like deburred blocks and heads, custom mixed paint with gloss or satin finishes to match the other colors and finishes on the car, custom fabrication, and more. Our world class body and paint team can match any color or finish desired. We deliver an engine that has been designed, engineered, broken in, dyno tuned, leak checked, cleaned, prepped, and painted to show ready condition, ready to install in your show car or truck.

Selected Services – Not A Comprehensive List

Disassembly
Hot Tank Cleaning
Shot Tumbler Parts Cleaning
Magnaflux Crack Detection
Measuring / Dimensioning
Engine Design / Parts Selection
Blueprinting
Deburring
Block Surfacing
Block Boring
Block HoningAlign Honing
Cylinder Head Surfacing
Valve Seat Refacing

Valve Guide Replacement
Valve Grinding
Connecting Rod Reconditioning
Piston Installation
Crankshaft Grinding
Crankshaft Balancing
Cam Bearing Installation
Complete Engine Assembly
Custom Paint / Finishes
Test Run / Leak Check
Engine Dyno Tuning (3Q 2025)
Installation / In-Car Tuning
And Many More Engine Building Services

LET’S DO THIS!

The V8 Speed and Resto Shop Engine Machine Shop is our in-house engine lab where we control every aspect of the engine building process. This allows us to keep stringent quality control standards along with our focus on the customer experience for a smooth and rewarding engine building journey.

V8 SPEED AND RESTO SHOP ENGINE SHOP CONTACT FORM

Please take a moment to complete this form to let us know your needs and expectations for your engine build. We’ll get back to you as soon as possible to chat and learn more.

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Engine and Underhood Engine Bay Restoration on a 1973 Plymouth ‘Cuda 340 at the V8 Speed and Resto Shop

At V8 Speed & Resto Shop, restoring classic muscle cars is more than just a job; it’s a passion.

One day, a 1973 Plymouth Cuda rolled into the shop, its striking lines a bit dulled by time, and its once mighty 340 cubic inch V-8 engine showing signs of hard miles. This wasn’t going to be just any job. The owner wanted a complete underhood restoration—returning the engine bay and its components to their original glory, if not better.

The first task was removing the tired and greasy engine. It was a beast, but our team made quick work of it, carefully disconnecting all the hoses, wiring, and mounts. With the engine out and set aside, we got our first real look at the underhood area. Years of use had left it coated in grime and grease. The once-vibrant paint that matched the exterior of the car had faded badly, and rusty patches were beginning to creep into the corners of the bay.

1973 Plymouth Cuda 340 Engine and Engine Bay Restoration at V8 Speed and Resto Shop

After a thorough cleaning, the full extent of the rust and wear became apparent.

Thin, rusty spots were scattered across the engine bay, and the original factory paint was barely recognizable. On these Cudas, the factory had painted the engine bay the same color as the exterior, giving the car a seamless, clean look when it was new. However, years of heat and exposure had taken their toll. It was time for some serious TLC.

The team set to work on rust repair and patch panels. The thin spots were cut out and replaced with fresh metal, carefully welded and blended so that they looked as though the rust had never been there. Once the structural integrity was restored, attention turned to prepping the entire underhood area for a full repaint.

Every bracket, clip, and component that could be salvaged was restored. The alternator and power steering brackets, the coil mount, and even the little things like the battery tray were removed, degreased, sandblasted, and refinished. If a part couldn’t be saved, it was replaced with an exact reproduction to keep the original look intact.

Turning the corner

After the rust repairs, the next step was laying down the fresh paint. Using a premium-grade primer, the entire underhood area was prepped for color. Bodywork was performed in the same way it is on the outside of a show car. The paint mix was matched perfectly to the original exterior hue of the car. We carefully applied multiple coats of paint, making sure the surface was flawless. By the end, the inside of the engine bay gleamed with a mirror-like shine, looking even better than it had when it rolled out of the factory over 50 years ago.

Meanwhile, we had turned our attention to the 340 V-8 engine itself. Every gasket and seal had been replaced, the heads and block were inspected and cleaned, and the internal components were brought back to factory specs. Once the engine was fully restored mechanically, it was time to give it a fresh coat of paint. We mixed up the original light blue color that these engines came with from the factory. The soft hue contrasted beautifully against the vibrant underhood paint.

With the engine now looking brand new, it was time to reinstall it. Carefully, the engine was lowered back into its gleaming cradle. The freshly restored brackets, hoses, and components were meticulously connected, ensuring that everything functioned as perfectly as it looked. Wiring was rewrapped in factory-correct harnesses, and all connections were tested and rechecked.

No more “Open Hood Anxiety” for this ‘Cuda!

The result was outstanding. When you open the hood of the 1973 Cuda now, you’re greeted by a perfect fusion of restored originality and precision craftsmanship. The fresh engine bay is more immaculate than even the exterior of the car, a subtle yet powerful reminder of the care and effort poured into the restoration. The light blue engine, with its gleaming brackets and flawless components, sits proudly in its newly rejuvenated home, ready to roar back to life as though it had never aged a day.

The owner couldn’t have been happier, and the V8 Speed & Resto team? Well, we were already onto the next classic in need of a little love, knowing that nothing beats the feeling of breathing new life into a legend like this Plymouth Cuda.