Watch BRM’s 30-Second 350 Chevy Engine Rebuild Video

In the movie Gone in 60 Seconds, master car thief Randall "Memphis" Raines returns to Southern California to steal 50 vehicles in 96 hours. In BRM's new YouTube video, a team from Brush Research Manufacturing (BRM) rebuilds a used 350 Chevy engine in just 30 seconds. BRM's time-elapsed video isn't a Hollywood blockbuster, and the V8 powerplant that we purchased was acquired legally from a Los Angeles junkyard. For members of the performance racing industry who saw the rebuilt block at PRI Show 2014, however, BRM brushing tools are engine maintenance superstars.

BRM's time-elapsed video captures the highlights of an in-depth automotive project that took weeks to complete. The employees in the video don't rebuild engines for a living, and they had plenty of other jobs to do during their busy workdays. Team BRM delivered, however, and demonstrated once again that our flexible honing and brushing tools set the standard for surface finishing success. Engine cleaning is a process, of course, but BRM's 30-Second Engine Rebuild video moves fast. So let's take a look at the engine tools you'll see before this YouTube video is gone in 30 seconds.

Flexible Cylinder Hones

BRM Flex-Hone tools have distinctive abrasive globules or balls that are permanently laminated to flexible nylon filaments. These flexible cylinder hones are self-centering and self-aligning to the bore, and can be used with handheld power tools like the electric drill in the video. Ball hones are also self-compensating for wear, which means that the abrasive you need is always at the outermost edge of the tool. As a Flex-Hone® tool's abrasive globules wear, fresh cutting particles are exposed.

Flexible hones don't require special training or complex setups and clean-ups either. As BRM's 30-Second Engine Rebuild video shows, cylinder wall surface finishing is easy-to-achieve. The plateau finish that flexible honing imparts optimizes lubrication, which is essential to engine performance. Plateau honing also promotes proper piston ring seating and sealing. Additional applications for BRM ball hones include cylinder wall deglazing and removing burrs from cross-drilled holes.

If you watch BRM's 30-Second Engine Rebuild video carefully, you'll notice that two different kinds of Flex-Hone® tools are used. BC Series Flex-Hone tools are small-diameter engine hones that are designed for bores ranging in diameter from 4-mm to 3-in. GB Series Flex-Hone tools are designed for bore diameters from 3-1/4" to 4-5/8" inch, and have an overall length of 13-1/2". Both types of engine hones are Made in the USA.

Automotive Brushes

BRM's time-elapsed video moves fast, but copper center wire wheel brushes also play a role that you won't want to miss. Wire wheel brushes are great for removing rust from engine blocks, and are ideal for use with handheld power tools. Unlike some larger-diameter brushing tools, BRM's small-diameter copper center wheels won't push away from the work surface. Depending on your engine cleaning and maintenance requirements, choose brush tools with either stainless steel or carbon steel filaments.

As the time-elapsed video also shows, wire end brushes are used for general block cleaning. These power brushes clean, blend, polish, deburr, and prepare surfaces in small, tight, or hard-to-reach areas. Typically, wire end brushes are used with handheld power tools. BRM's hand scratch brushes are also part of the engine rebuild video, and are great for hand deburring, thread cleaning, and rust removal. BRM's 30-Second Engine Rebuild video moves fast, so hang on for the ride.

Author's Note: This CR4 blog entry originally appeared in the BRM Flex-Hone Blog.