The startup of a brand-new engine is always the moment of truth – are all of the wiring connections made properly, are the fasteners tight, and did anything get missed during the installation process?

Or, it could be done like this – before the engine ever gets installed in the car, hanging from the engine hoist, with no transmission or other driveline parts anywhere in view.

It’s not exactly the “right” way to do things, but it does have some redeeming value if one doesn’t think about the possibility of the engine falling off the chain or otherwise dislodging from the one secure point that’s keeping it from driving itself across the shop floor.

These backyard mechanics have the right (or wrong?) idea – getting this big-block 454 purring before they take the time to get it into the vehicle. While the concept of starting the engine without the transmission attached is one that’s foreign to most, these guys do take a moment to strap the engine to the hoist at the header collector – as if that’ll prevent any problems from cropping up during the fire-up process.

The starter doesn’t sound terribly healthy, skipping teeth on the flexplate, and the engine itself doesn’t sound too healthy initially, but once the butterflies are whacked wide open it gets rolling good enough to throw a few flames out of the headers. Redneck engineering at its finest?

Oh, and next time, turn the phone sideways into landscape mode. Who watches their big-screen TV turned on its side?!?