From the beginning of our look into American Modern’s journey with their 1965 Malibu SS, we’ve experienced just what it’s like to tear down a well-worn classic muscle car, all the way to the beginnings of engine reassembly. And this week, we dive even deeper, continuing to check in with The Build’s Rick Drewry and Tony from Smyth Automotive as the two begin reassembling the engine block. Check out the next step in this intensive process in the video above.

When we left off last week, Drewry and Tony had just gotten the engine block sealed up and put on the engine stand. In this episode of The Build, the two gearheads move forward, checking the ring end gaps, oil expanders and finally the crankshaft for the appropriate level of oil clearance around the main journal.

Just like with other areas of the tear-down and rebuild process, checking things like ring end gaps and oil clearances can be tedious but they are a necessary part of every engine build. Not only will checking and rechecking your work guarantee a proper fit of components, it will also lessen the likelihood of any type of engine failure due to instances like lack of oiling inside the block.

We’re getting closer and closer now to the engine being back in working order, but there’s still plenty of work to do both to the block and to the remainder of the car before that first turn-over between the fender walls of the Malibu occurs. So keep checking back for more updates!