Every now and again, I'll get asked "Where did you learn to do that?" I usually answer with something like "Just been doing it long enough time to know what I can and I can't do myself."
The attached picture was taken in the late sixties when I was four or five years old. This was an old B&S motor my dad brought home from the dump for me to play with. Of course it was a dead motor, but my dad showed me how to tear it down and build it back up. I cranked and cranked on that beast, but it wouldn't ever kick. Gas in the tank probably would have helped, but after the "gas siphoning incident" I wasn't allowed near the stuff for awhile.
For many years my parents probably wished I had never learned how to do it, because I was forever tearing everything apart. Most of the time I got it put back together without too many left over parts. Other times I wasn't so lucky.
From broken down lawn mower engines I moved into outboard motors and now it's tinkering with the Harley. I never went through a phase with cars, didn't have the resources, or garage space for that matter.
Anyway, this is where it all started for me. How about you?
Chief