We were over at the AAPEX Show yesterday shooting some video with the guys from Mahle, and they took us over to a live demo with a couple of NASCAR engine builders from Hendrick Motorsports, where they slammed one together and got it running in just over 20 minutes. It was awesome to watch.
When we got over to AAPEX and talked to the Mahle guys, we found out all kinds of fun stuff. Did you know that they are the largest manufacturer of pistons and rings in the world? And did you know that Clevite bearings are the ONLY bearings used in NASCAR? And did you know they are coming on board with BangShift.com for 2015?
See how I snuck that in there?
Anyway, we had an awesome time with those guys, and the engine build was fun. A couple of things to note. The prep and organization these guys do is insane, and is at least two thirds of the reason they can pull this off in 20 minutes. One of the other things you’ll notice is that the heads have no valvecover gaskets. They are an o-ring seal built into the cylinder head itself. Also note the Holley EFI, which we are assuming made the cold start much easier after slamming it all together.
Here are the photos from start to finish.
