FIXED RIGHT.THE FIRST TIME.

My interest in engines goes back a lot further than the business. When I was around 14, my dad and I were already messing with scooters. Between the two of us we owned Malaguti F10s, Aprilias, Derbis, Hyosungs, Hondas, Yamahas, Ventos, E-Tons and probably a few others I’m forgetting.

Nobody handed me a manual and taught me everything. I learned mostly by taking things apart. If I wanted to know how something worked, I tore into it. If something was broken and I didn’t know how to fix it, I figured out what I needed to learn and kept going until I understood it. That never really stopped.

I’ve now spent more than 15 years working with engines, fuel systems, electrical problems, drivetrains and equipment of all kinds. Two-strokes are still my favorite, and I have a soft spot for basically anything vintage with an engine. Scooters, motorcycles, golf carts, powersports, old equipment, weird projects, it really doesn’t matter. If it’s mechanical and interesting, I’m probably going to want to mess with it.

The stuff I build for myself

Two of my favorite projects show that side of me pretty well.

My Malaguti F10 comes from those early years of messing with scooters with my dad. It started as a small Italian two-stroke and turned into a full custom performance build. I took the engine all the way down to the cases and rebuilt it with a 70cc setup, 2.2mm stroker crank, VForce3 reeds, 21mm PWK carb, Malossi clutch and drivetrain parts, along with a modified expansion-chamber exhaust setup. It’s the kind of project where there’s always something else you can change, tune or improve.

Then there’s my Yamaha G1, an old two-stroke golf cart that became a completely different machine. It has a 5-inch A-arm lift and had four-wheel air ride using Monroe air shocks, controlled by two switches with a one-gallon air tank. I built the audio system with around 500 watts RMS powering four 6.5-inch speakers. The cart has also been through clutch and drivetrain work, crank seals, starter-generator work, steering, suspension and plenty of other changes over the years.

Those are the kinds of projects I enjoy most. Not just replacing a broken part, but understanding the machine and making it into something different.

And when I’m not working on engines...

I’m usually building or messing with something involving technology. I’m into computers, servers, networking, cameras, home automation, AI, software and electronics. I run my own home-lab equipment and self-hosted services, build networks and automation, experiment with local AI and computer-vision systems, and work on my own apps, websites and software projects.

Mechanical or digital, it comes from pretty much the same place for me: I like knowing how things work.

If I don’t understand something, I usually end up taking it apart, researching it, testing it, rebuilding it or creating my own version of it until I do.

Dad’s Small Engine Garage grew out of that. It gives me a place to work on the machines I’ve been interested in since I was a kid, take on unusual projects, and put years of figuring this stuff out to use.

Outside all of that, my wife and six kids are the biggest part of my life. I still work a regular day job too, and Dad’s is something I’ve built around the kind of work I genuinely enjoy doing.