Since 1998 · 24-month / 24,000-mile warranty · 4.9 from 214 reviews
Measured with patience.Assembled by hand.
0.0005of an inch, every bore
Bore · Stroke · Balance
No. 0
A good rebuild is one you forget about — for the next hundred thousand miles.
28 yearsat the same bench on the Pike
1,900+engines rebuilt and signed for
± 1 gevery rotating assembly, balanced
Every part measured. Every number written down.
1
Complete engine rebuilds
Torn down, hot-tanked, crack-checked and measured, then rebuilt with new bearings, rings, gaskets, oil pump and timing set.
From $4,800 · 3–5 weeks
2
Cylinder heads & valve jobs
Pressure-tested and resurfaced, with new guides and seals, a three-angle valve job and every spring checked on the tester.
From $850 a pair · 1–2 weeks
3
Boring & honing
Bored to the next size for new pistons, then honed with a torque plate bolted on, so the bore stays round once the head goes on.
From $380 a block · 1 week
4
Crankshafts
Checked for straightness and cracks, ground to an undersize when it needs it, then polished and measured at every journal.
From $295 · 1 week
5
Balancing & blueprinting
The rotating assembly balanced to the gram and every clearance measured and written down — an engine that revs smoothly and lasts.
From $450 · 3 days
6
Head gaskets & warped heads
Overheated engines put right: the head checked flat on the straightedge, resurfaced if it needs it, and the gasket torqued in sequence.
From $1,450 · 1 week
7
Timing chains & belts
Stretched chains, worn guides and belts past their interval, replaced along with the water pump while everything is apart.
From $890 · 2 days
8
Diagnosis & compression tests
A compression and leak-down test, a borescope in every cylinder, and a plain answer about what the engine actually needs.
From $189 · same day
Plate II
The rotating assembly.
A four-cylinder’s crankshaft, rods and pistons — the parts we balance to the gram. Drag the drawing or the slider to turn the crank by hand: each piston rises and falls, the valves open in turn, and the cylinders fire in order, one, three, four, two.
PauseTurn the crank
090° of 720Firing order 1 · 3 · 4 · 2
Cyl. 1—
Cyl. 2—
Cyl. 3—
Cyl. 4—
3.781 inBore, honed with a torque plate
3.126 inStroke
5.203 inRod, centre to centre
± 1 gBalanced, end to end
Most of the work happens on the bench.
Fig. 1 Cams, lifters and valve gear, measured before they’re reused
Fig. 2 Pistons, rods and the parts worth keeping
Fig. 3 A small-block, back in the car after its rebuild
Fig. 4 Air-cooled fours too — measured just the same
A rebuild, start to finish.
Day 1
Teardown & measure
We strip the engine, clean every part and measure the bores, journals and heads. You get the numbers and photos before a quote.
Days 2–3
A written quote
Every machining step and every part, priced. Nothing goes to the machines until you have approved it.
Weeks 1–3
Machine work
Bored, honed, decked, ground and balanced here, in our own shop — never sent out.
Week 4
Assembly
One builder assembles your engine from start to finish, checking every clearance with a micrometer and plastigage.
Week 5
Run-in & spec sheet
Primed, run in on the stand and leak-checked. It leaves with its spec sheet and a 24-month / 24,000-mile warranty.
Every engine leaves with its numbers.
1972 Chevelle · 350 small-blockNo. 1912
Bore.030 over, torque-plate honed4.030 in
Strokefactory crank, polished3.480 in
Main clearanceall five journals.0024 in
Rod clearanceall eight journals.0022 in
Ring gaptop / second.018 / .020
Deck heightsquared to the crank9.025 in
Compressionmeasured, not quoted9.6 : 1
Balancerotating & reciprocating± 1 g
Measured, assembled and signed by Rosa Medina.
One builder per engine
The person who tears it down is the person who builds it back up — and signs the sheet.
Numbers in writing
Every clearance on the spec sheet, every machining step on the invoice.
Nothing machined without your yes
A written quote after teardown, and a call if anything changes.
24 months · 24,000 miles
Parts and labor on every rebuild, in writing, wherever the car takes you.
They called me after teardown, sent photos of the scored journal and told me plainly the block was worth saving. Thirty thousand miles on, it doesn’t use a drop of oil.
Walt talked me out of a blueprint build I didn’t need. The refresh cost half as much, and the truck runs better than the day I bought it.
The spec sheet came in an envelope with the invoice — every clearance, written by the person who built it. I framed it.
Head gasket on my daily driver, back in a week, and they showed me the straightedge on the head before and after.
Three pairs of hands.
Walt Hensley
Founder · engine builder since 1986
Opened Oakline in 1998 with a lathe, a boring bar and the idea that every number should be written down. Still assembles a blueprint build every month.
Rosa Medina
Machinist · cylinder heads
Runs the valve-seat machine and the surfacer. If your head came in warped, Rosa is the reason it went back flat.
Theo Park
Assembly & run-in
Builds the bottom ends and runs every engine in on the stand before it leaves, oil pressure logged minute by minute.
Engines on a pallet to the rear dock, door 3 — we unload with the forklift.
Cars by appointment, so a bay is waiting for yours.
Towing arranged from anywhere within 30 miles.
Before you bring it in.
Is my engine worth rebuilding?
Often, but not always. After teardown we’ll tell you plainly whether a rebuild, a used engine or a crate engine makes more sense for the car — and what each would cost.
How long does a rebuild take?
Most take three to five weeks, depending on machining and parts. You get a date with the quote, and a call if anything changes.
What is the difference between a refresh and a rebuild?
A refresh puts new rings, bearings and gaskets in an engine whose bores and crank still measure in spec. A rebuild machines them back to spec first. Teardown tells us which yours needs.
Can I bring an engine in on a stand?
Yes — engines out of the car are welcome at the rear dock. We’ll measure it and quote the same way as one we pull ourselves.
Do you do machine work only?
We do, for other shops and for people building their own engines. The prices are on this page; turnaround is usually a week.
Do you work on modern engines?
Fours, sixes and V8s from the 1950s to today, aluminum heads and blocks included. Some modern engines are better replaced than rebuilt, and we will say so.
What does the warranty cover?
Parts and labor on our rebuilds for 24 months or 24,000 miles, whichever comes first, provided the engine is run in and serviced as the sheet says.
No. 10
Book a consult
Let’s talk about your engine.
Tell us the engine, the car and what it’s doing — or not doing. We’ll call back to talk it through and book a time to look at it. Nothing is machined until you’ve approved a written quote.
Bore · Stroke · Balance 
