Life-Size Chevy 454 V8 Made of Lego Runs on Ancient 8-Bit Hardware

Lego may have started out as a simple toy, but later became a brilliant platform for mechanical experimentation. Many like to build their favorite cars or engines in thousands of plastic bricks, and Evan Koblentz is no exception. His latest build is an award-winning recreation of the Chevy 454 big block V8 from the 1970s.

"It took me one pandemic to build it," says Koblentz, showing pride in his life-size replica. As explained in his YouTube video, the build weighs about 40 pounds and stands 4 feet long with its transmission attached. It's complete with crankshaft, pistons, pushrods, camshafts, and sixteen valves. It's also got a simulated distributor that runs a series of eight spark plug lights, one per cylinder.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-x7YFMWnBQ

While most Lego enthusiasts are happy to raid the company's entire parts bin, Koblentz was more discerning in his selection. The engine was built only using Lego parts from the 1970s and 1980s. The vast majority of components are from the Expert Builders series, the predecessor to the popular Technic line of mechanical Lego parts. Koblentz took this tack to prove the engine could be entirely built with traditional "studded square parts" from the Lego range.