Ever since I could sit on my Tonka truck and go down hills, if it had wheels or a motor, I was interested.

At about 12 years old, my dad got me a pile of metal and bolts that was supposed to be a Bonanza mini-bike, and after tinkering around without any real guidance, I finally got it to run. For the next few years, I got addicted to building go karts, tearing them apart, and swapping in even bigger motors. The faster they went, the happier I got. At 17, I got my first car- a Datsun Pickup, which I promptly tore the 4-cylinder motor out of and replaced with a 240z inline-6. My next car was a SCCA Datsun 240z, with an IMSA GT body kit, race-ready with a 3.0L engine and full suspension… and almost lost my license because of it.

When I was 18, my uncle brought me his 1972 365 GTC-4 Ferrari to tune up- just basic work, tuning the carb’s, swap spark plugs and wires (I had to make the wires myself), and change the oil. After I got the car -close- to perfect, my uncle took the car to Al Burtoni, of the famed Milano Imports. After seeing the shop and showroom, my uncle decided to introduce me to Al Burtoni himself, and try and get me a job- this was my big break. Burtoni told me to come back on the weekend, so he could “try me out.” I arrived on a Saturday afternoon in 90+ degree weather… this was to be my first day, and at that point I worked on my first Lamborghini: a white 1983 Countach. I was instructed to run the car at 1500 RPM and balance the 6 carburetors, and come up to the kitchen and get Al when I was done. I laid across a “modified” ironing board and physically hung over the engine while I wrenched, until the carburetors were tuned to perfection. We went for a test drive, and at 100 mph with the ashes flying off his cigar, Al told me that I had done alright, and asked when I could start.

I worked for Al for a total of 13 years, interrupted in the middle for a few years when I worked at Ferrari of Los Gatos. During this time, I had taken a trip to the Lamborghini factory in Santa Agata, Italy, to further my training. After working for Al, I took over Scott Performance, a Datsun/Nissan Z specialty shop. I was apart of the APS Twin Turbo Systems development team for the North American market, where I succeeded in building 350z twin-turbo motors that put out over 700 rear-wheel horsepower. By now, I had been taught and mentored by not only Burtoni, but also Jim Feuling from Feuling Motors. Feuling was the engineer of the W-3 engine, which sparked my interest in building choppers- W3 Sick Choppers was created, and the Copper Chopper and Kryptonite bikes were born.

Since then, I have gone back to focusing on Lamborghini’s and Ferrari’s, and offer a high-end, specialized service to both local and international clients.

Ted Taormina