See All 7 Photos When it comes to engine block prep, most tasks can be split into two categories. Call them what you will, but they are easily summed up by calling them "The Basics" and "The Extra ...

At the beginning of any complete engine buildup, the block needs to be cleaned. Serious engine-builders know that hot tanking, block machining, and a host of other engine-building tasks all ...

However, across the board, all of the engines used the same basic engine block. There is no Pontiac big block because there is no small block, either. There is simply the Pontiac V8 engine block ...

As it turns out, it's not as obvious as it may seem based on the number of tech letters we get with very basic ... engine in just about anything, but especially in any car with a small-block ...