Our ’69 Camaro is sick—cue the V-8-ectomy - Hagerty Media

Hagerty’s Hugger Orange 1969 Camaro has been rough around the edges for a while now. The big-block is consuming oil at a considerable rate, and power output feels inadequate, so in-house wrench and Redline Rebuilds maestro Davin Reckow ran some some tests to see just how bad things were under the hood. The results were not good.

Last episode of Redline Update laid out how to run a compression test and also a leak-down test, which helped Davin determine that compression on the number three cylinder was 20 percent lower than it should have been, with only 130 psi of pressure. A leak-down test using compressed air showed that it was not the valves or head gasket leaking—it was the pistons rings.

So, the engine needed to come out and we’ll need to perform a full rebuild. This quick Redline Update episode is all about removing the engine from the Camaro and the process of taking  off parts to give the V-8 exit clearance over the radiator support.

Now, the Camaro on course to be on layaway for a bit while Davin gets down to the business of tearing down this iron giant. For starters, he knows the V-8 will need a fresh set of pistons rings, but there’s no telling what other surprises the engine might hold once he tears into it further. Tune in for the next Redline Update to find out, and be sure to subscribe to the Hagerty YouTube page to get notified when the episode releases.