Ezra Small posing with the motor he just took out of his truck before replacing it. Photo provided by Ezra Small.

By MAYA STONE
Intern

PIERCETON — Rough starts and bumpy roads are so much easier to get through when you have something else to keep your mind busy and your hands dirty. The same applies for 17—year-old Ezra Small from Pierceton.

When he was only 5 years old his whole world seemed to get flipped around. Looking for a hobby to get a sound mind he turned to his grandfather for help. His grandfather immediately turned to teaching him new things and vehicles started to become a home structure for him.

These little projects weren’t the only things that helped comfort him but also the time spent with his grandpa who he said, “Was like a father to me most of my life.”

These projects started as small things his grandpa would have him do including fixing engines on go-karts, mowers and weed eaters. They soon grew into bigger things when he was 10 and his mother married his stepdad, Isaiah, who had the same passion for fixing things and took Small under his wing in many situations.

This hobby became a stepping stone in most aspects of his life. When he was 13 he rebuilt his first motor which was in his stepdad’s truck. At the age of 14 Small, with the help of Isaiah, brought home a 1973 Chevy C10 square body that had been neglected for years. They fully tore it apart and rebuilt it all using tools and machines from home. Sadly this truck no longer is with them due to certain circumstances.

Although he has worked on many projects, his biggest project, and the one he is most passionate about, is his 1999 Dodge Dakota or “his baby” as he often refers to it. Small began remaking this truck in 2016, when his stepdad finally got a chance to start working on it again, and has not stopped since.

Over the years he has completely rebuilt his truck from scratch, using the knowledge he’s learned over the years. Before the truck was brought into his life it had sat in a field for more than seven years and slowly started to deteriorate. Anything that was rubber on it was gone and it even had caught on fire. Isaiah rebuilt the interior of the truck and then he and Small got to work on it.

From the time he started working on his truck until now you could say it has become brand new over the years. With the help of his stepdad Small has completely rewired the harness of the truck, put an entirely new front end on it, and swapped the motor. Not to mention all the little things he constantly keeps fixing or revamping to make sure his truck continues to run smoothly.

All the time and money Small has put into this truck really have just been projects his stepdad has wanted to do with it but never had the time, with his own spin on them. He really just gave the truck a new home.

As Small gets older he hopes to broaden his knowledge on mechanics and use what he knows in more stages of his life, and of course, continue to put more time and money into his favorite truck