The basics of rebuilding an engine are pretty much the same regardless of how the engine is going to be used. Whether a race engine, street engine, or restoration, almost all engines get decked, bored and honed, their crankshafts turned and polished, valve jobs, etc. But when you are building an engine for a numbers match restoration, there are a few things you need to think about differently. Boring, honing, crankshaft turning, etc are all internal and nobody will be able to see those things once the engine is put together, but there are a few things that will be visible from the outside if they aren’t done right.

One of those things is decking the block and cylinder heads. If the engine is a numbers-matching build then the deck is important because those numbers are located on the front of the deck in most cases. Of less concern, but still visible to close inspection, is decking the heads which can sometimes mean the intake manifold won’t line up as well as stock. This is getting nit picky, but something to think about.

But in this video here the numbers that are located on the front of the deck are the concern and yet this block needs to be decked. So how do you deck it the right way AND keep the numbers intact?

Watch.