Building an engine is a time-consuming and energy-draining process, especially if it’s a project that’s never been undertaken by the enthusiast. One way to ease the struggle (and come up with a nice video at the same time) is to document the entire build with a digital camera. By having a complete chronological assortment of each part that’s removed from the engine in order, it makes the reassembly process much easier if the builder can refer back to photos that were taken of the engine coming apart. 

Even if a cell phone camera is used, the quality of images produced by today’s smartphones rivals many lower-end digital cameras today, and they can be successfully used as a resource through the reassembly process. As seen in this video from lastchanceautorestore.com, this Ford 390 engine was in pretty rough shape in the beginning of the build.

There’s nothing fancy in the video – no music or soundtrack, just a large volume of photos arranged using a program like iMovie – and the builder now has a sweet You Tube video to share with the world of his engine restoration. In the long run, keeping a digital record of your build will help in many ways and should be a part of all your records, including receipts, shipping notices and, of course, the build sheet.

If there’s one thing we can stress – if you plan on doing this and using a smartphone, please, please, please hold it in landscape mode – that’s lengthwise, not top to bottom.