It’s been a big week, Donald Trump confirmed tariffs were coming to make cars more expensive, Red Bull fired yet another race driver and another submarine fiasco killed six. If you’re looking for a way to switch off after all this, then these stop-motion engine build films could be the perfect solution.
Everything is better in stop-motion, just look at the meticulous reconstruction of this old Mercedes or any Wes Anderson animation. The precise engineering of an engine build is no different, and two online creators have created a pair of incredibly calming animated films of work being carried out on their motors.
In one, the How a Car Works YouTube channel performed a careful tear-down of the four-cylinder motor found in the Mazda Miata. The second, from the Mech A Nic Channel, is the opposite and it documents the rebuild of a straight-four Honda engine from the CRX and, I must say, both are beautiful.
A well-loved Miata
For the tear-down of the old Miata engine, How a Car Works leans into the magic of animation as all manner of nuts, bolts and components loosen and unscrew themselves from the engine. Parts fly across the workshop while the engine spins in some wonderfully-choreographed display.
As the film progresses, cables slither off, gears spin loose and spark plugs jump free from their bonds. With each piece that’s removed, a new layer of dirt and grim in the engine is revealed to show that this was the motor from a well-loved Miata.
The pistons are the final parts to pop out, making an incredibly satisfying sound as they’re freed from the engine block. With that, the entire unit is dismantled and ready for a repair and a refresh. The channel, sadly, hasn’t made a stop-motion film of the rebuild, but that’s where Mech A Nic comes in.
Six months’ work
This clip is, dare I say it, a cinematic masterpiece. The film reportedly took the YouTube channel six months to make, and the results are stunning. Over the course of eight minutes, shiny new parts are unwrapped, tools are selected and all manner of components are lubricated and screwed into place.
Upgrades are unboxed and fitted to the four-cylinder motor on a Honda CRX that the channel is rebuilding, and there’s even a stop-motion brake upgrade that really is the icing on the cake. It’s lovely and well worth a watch to ease you into the weekend.
If that whet your appetite for lovely stop motion films, then you’re in luck as we’ve, weirdly, covered quite a few over the years. Head here to watch a stop-motion rebuild of a vintage Range Rover or, if destruction is more your cup of tea, an artist trashed an old VW van for your enjoyment here.
