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Simeon Pryor
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Engine rebuilder

Rebuild an old engine in your own garage, job by job

I’m Simeon. I rebuild the engine of an old saloon in my barn garage and film every job, and I sell job guides with torque tables and two video courses.

From $4
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Simeon at his engine bench

The toolbox

Twelve tools, and the jobs each one opens. The first six are enough to start.

Pick a piece to see what uses it

Starter

Socket set The tool for nearly every bolt on an old engine in 4 jobs.

Torque wrench Tightens a bolt to the figure in the table and no further in 3 jobs.

Jack and stands Lifts a car and holds it safely while you work under it in 1 job.

Calipers Read the size of a piston, a pin or a bore to the hundredth in 2 jobs.

Multimeter Tells you if a wire carries current, and where it stops in 1 job.

Small screwdrivers A set for carburettors, gauges and the little screws in 2 jobs.

Micrometer Measures a bore or a shaft more finely than calipers in 2 jobs.

Engine hoist Lifts an engine out of the car and lowers it back in in 2 jobs.

Jet cleaner set Thin wires that clear the fine holes in a carburettor in 1 job.

Polish and cloths Chrome polish and soft rags for the slow work of cleaning in 1 job.

Tape and label pens To mark every wire and part before you take it away in 1 job.

Notebook Where every measurement and figure goes, in pen in 2 jobs.

The jobs

Each guide lists the tools it needs by number.

  1. Engine hoist lowering an engine into a cream saloon

    Engine Refit Guide

    Lowering the engine into the car and connecting everything in the right order. Difficulty 4 of 5, about a weekend.

    • Engine hoist
    • Jack and stands
    • Torque wrench
    • Socket set
  2. Thick manual with an engine cross-section cover

    Full Engine Rebuild Guide

    The whole rebuild from the first bolt to the first start, with every figure and every tool listed. Difficulty 5 of 5.

    • Socket set
    • Torque wrench
    • Calipers
    • Micrometer
    • Engine hoist
  3. Illustrated chrome bumper with a sunburst reflection

    Chrome Cleaning Guide

    Taking haze and light pitting off chrome by hand. Difficulty 1 of 5, about 1 hour.

    • Polish and cloths
  4. Three blank-faced chrome gauges against racing green

    Starter

    Dash and Gauge Guide

    Taking out, cleaning and setting dials. Difficulty 2 of 5, about 2 hours.

    • Socket set
    • Small screwdrivers
  5. Laptop with a blurred logbook sheet beside an engine

    Rebuild Logbook Template

    A sheet for every measurement, part and torque figure, so the next person knows what you did.

    • Notebook
  6. Grid of coloured wires, fuses and connectors

    Wiring Loom Check Guide

    Laying out, testing and labelling an old loom. Difficulty 2 of 5, about 3 hours.

    • Multimeter
    • Tape and label pens
  7. Hands cleaning a brass carburettor jet

    Carburettor Rebuild Guide

    Stripping, cleaning and setting a carburettor, with a parts layout to copy. Difficulty 3 of 5, about 4 hours.

    • Small screwdrivers
    • Jet cleaner set
  8. Macro of a piston skirt and caliper jaws

    Piston and Bore Measuring Guide

    Reading calipers and a micrometer and noting the wear. Difficulty 2 of 5, about 2 hours.

    • Calipers
    • Micrometer
    • Notebook
  9. Torque wrench and reference card on a mustard backdrop

    Starter

    Torque Table Reference Card

    The tightening figures for the common bolts on an old engine, in the order to tighten them. Difficulty 1 of 5.

    • Socket set
    • Torque wrench

YouTube

Latest videos

A new video every Sunday: one job on the saloon, with the tools it needs.

Downloads, a course and merch

Shop

His barn garage with the saloon on stands

About

About me

I have loved old cars since my father stood me on an oil drum to reach the bench. My saloon is older than I am, and it spent twenty years in a barn before I got it. I am rebuilding the engine one job at a time and filming each one.

Every video is a single job, and I say at the start which tools it needs, because the first thing people ask me is what to buy. Most jobs use the same handful, so a short list goes a long way. I measure everything and write it in a logbook, and I make my mistakes on camera.

I sell a guide for each job, with the torque figures, the steps and the tools listed at the top, plus a logbook sheet and two video courses. I do not sell tools or parts, and I do not take on rebuilds for other people. I show you how to do your own.

Newsletter

Shop Notes

A short letter every Sunday: one job from the barn, the tools it needed and the mistake I made.

One email every Sunday. Unsubscribe any time.