I'm a Hungarian born in Germany a couple of years after WWII.

I am an ex-Navy nuke submariner during Viet Nam war. I was trained as a submarine nuclear plant operator and technician. Operated and worked on pumps, valves, turbines, reactor components and other propulsion equipment. I attended fleet schools in A/C and refrigeration, air compressors, Fairbanks-Morse diesel engine, propulsion shaft equipment and machine tool operator (metal lathe, Oxy-acetylene welding & brazing).

I also worked as a contract nuclear plant QA/QC inspector while getting my degree - specifically mechanical, electrical and nuclear weld inspections. This requires a good eye for flaws and details. This is the practical side.

I obtained degrees in nuclear engineering and reactor physics. Designed reactor cores for commercial power reactors, performed physics calculations on nuclear fuel, performed fuel and project management. I was also involved in the design of a new nuclear weapons reactors for the DoD/DOE. Written computer models that perform nuclear analyses and that simulate nuclear physics processes in reactors. And I was involved in the design of the reactor core model for a full-scale, real-time reactor simulator. This is the theoretical side.

In my younger days, I used to build racing engines and did some racing myself. I never built a whole car though. This is my first big car building project. I've always loved cars ever since I was a kid growing up in Newark, NJ. Later, as a teenager, I used to repair lawnmowers that were thrown out. Also worked on a "mini bike" from a 26" bicycle frame with a 26" wheel up front and a wheel-barrow wheel (with sprocket) in the rear. Tricked-up the Briggs & Straton engine by shaving the heads with a file, and an exhaust system made of iron gas piping. Used to keep up with highway traffic (50+ MPH) with this thing on the new I-287 interstate - with no brakes This thing was probably one of the first "Choppers"; though it was a bicycle. We were crazy kids, but inventive and resourceful.

As I grew older, and the toys got bigger, my need for speed grew as well. My first car project was a 1965 VW bug. Tricked-out the engine and did my own unique mod to the rear suspension. This bug could handle and could reach speeds up to 100 MPH. Then came the 1971 Plymouth GTX - a special order demonstrator that was never picked up. Modified the engine and used to do some drag and street racing. The car had the nickname "The Earthmover" because of its torque. Then there was the 1973 Porsche 914 2.0S. That was when I decided road handling was more important than straight-line drag racing. I did some rallying with it when I was in the SCCA.