Part 2.5 you ask? Yes, part 2.5.

Along with all of the photos that I captured at World of Wheels this year, I also captured some footage of Dom and his partner practicing for the Battle of the Techs competition. I put it together into a video for the YouTube channel and decided that instead of grouping it in with the third set of photos (keeping with the theme of sharing everything in chronological order, that’s where it would fit in) I decided to give it its own post.

In the contest, teams of two competed to see who could build up an engine and get it running the quickest. The engine used was a Chevy 350 small block with the only pre-installed parts being the cams, rods, pistons, and crankshaft. From there the rest of the components had to be installed and only a small selection of basic hand tools could be used to do so; whichever team could get it to fire up and run first – albeit very briefly as there were no fluids – won.

The speed at which everything was put together was astounding, and it was fascinating to watch in person; the insane levels of concentration were obvious and there were many little tricks and special techniques to watch for that helped the assembly happen as quickly as it did. Ultimately Dom and his partner came in second place in the main competition – 3 seconds behind the winners – but the fastest time was set in practice by Alex Herbert and Sebastian Labranche at a staggering 6 minutes and 25 seconds!

As I attended World of Wheels on the Friday, the video shows one of the practice runs so this was a slightly relaxed pace according to Dom; but it was still wicked fast. I do hope you enjoy watching, and be sure to check back soon for the third set of photos from the event as we wrap up the coverage!

-Bill