Take a walk through the Reviva shop floor, and see the different steps of the engine remanufacturing process. From demanufacturing to cleaning to painting the engine, the Reviva team ensures quality engines are sent to their customers.

Although Reviva has been around for over 70 years in the automotive aftermarket industry, we first reported on the company last year. Reviva, a Minnesota-based engine remanufacturer, was well known in industrial equipment circles, then opted to open a new business line in high-performance LS engines.

“In the beginning, it was like a small, two-man shop,” company owner Josh Stahl explained. “My Grandfather was a purchasing guy for Sears. Instead of moving to Chicago, he intended to be his own boss and bought this tiny little shop, and that is how we started.” From those meager beginnings, “he just kind of worked it and grew it.” 

Reviva Timeline:

• 1944 – Founded as Dealers Mfg. in Minneapolis.
• 1960 – William Goodwin acquires Dealers Mfg. with a $75,000 SBA loan.
• 1975 – Goodwin’s son David takes over the company.
• 1995 – David Goodwin’s stepson Josh Stahl joins.
• 1996 – David Goodwin’s son Ben Goodwin joins.
• 1998 – Ford drops Dealers Mfg. as an authorized remanufacturer, but it remains a parts distributor.
• 2002 – The family changes the company name to Reviva to help it stand out as a brand, with the tagline, “Revitalize, Retrieve, Recover.”
• 2008 – Reviva acquires North Dakota-based Engine Rebuilders.
• 2009 – Josh Stahl named president of manufacturing.
• 2010 – Reviva seeks new sources of business after Ford cuts back during the economic downturn. Reviva launches FreightBuddy, a less-than-truckload (LTL) freight quotation, and scheduling business.
• 2015 – Reviva introduces new products and new product lines. They expand their national fleet business.
• 2016 – Reviva now solely focuses on manufacturing, divesting its distribution-related businesses.

The company has three engine plants where they remanufacture gas and diesel engines ranging in size from .5L to 14L. Reviva also offers a line of high-performance LS engines for Hot Rodders and Restoration projects. The company also partners in a large machine shop that supports the defense and oil and gas industries.

Gas Engines

While the company came from Ford Motor Company roots, Reviva has broadened out to GM gas engines in the last few years. “We were doing a lot of diesel work for a customer and they were starting to spec their fleet with GM gas engines. That’s how we got into GM gas engines,” Josh added.

When it came to servicing the street rod market, Josh made it clear this was a direction they had wanted to go for a long time. “I had wanted to get into this business because we build a really good, strong, commercial-grade engine. When I started talking to some of the car builders, when it came to electronic fuel injection and ECUs, it was difficult for many of them. Grasping the integration between the engine, the electronics, and the car.”

The problem created by modern electronics was one that could easily be solved by the team at Reviva. “We do this integration all the time with the different truck engines we build. It just made sense for us to come up with a platform that would work with these custom cars.”

For more information about Reviva, and their LS-based engine platforms for hot rods and street rods, visit them online at Reviva High-Performance.