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motorsports
Matt's Story
Matt, born in 1973, has been into cars since he was a toddler. His father Stan, was a car guy who owned many different types of cars and trucks (Corvettes, RX7s, VW's, Road Runners, Jeeps, and many more) during Matt's younger years. This exposure to cars instilled a love of cars in Matt. Some of his first childhood memories involve a 1968 Corvette, that his mother bought from a junkyard for his father (his first of 4 Corvettes). Matt held tools and basically got in the way while "helping" his father restore the Vette.
When Matt turned 15 he bought his first "car." a 1947 Ford truck, for $900. The truck was a literal basket case, as in he sat on a basket to drive it home while keeping his feet on the peddles as there were no floorboards. Over the course of the next two years Stan and Matt restored the truck though at this point it was mostly Stan doing the work and Matt helping when he could (teenagers). Once the truck was finished Stan decided it was too nice to be driven by a 16-year-old, so he bought the truck from Matt (who had still never driven). So Matt, still wanting an "antique" truck, bought a 1952 GMC for $1,800. This truck was in better shape and Matt had many good years of driving and learning how to repair old, worn-out parts, and still has the truck to this day.
In his late teen years, Matt started learning about stereo installation and sound dynamics. He installed stereos in every car he owned and helped install stereos in friends cars.
Soon the import car scene came about. Matt, after going through a dark (not allowed to work on cars marriage) time in his life, traded in his 1988 Mazda 626 Hatchback Sedan (Eeewww) for a 2001 Toyota Celica GT, and moved into a house with a good sized garage. From that point he began modifying the Celica with every bolt-on part he could find (Celicas did not have an aftermarket yet). Because the aftermarket for Celicas was lacking at that time, Matt invented an engine brace system for them. He sold over 50, KillerM Engine Braces, in 3 months before discontinuing production due to manufacturing taking too much time and selling his Celica. The Celica, which is pictured on the gallery page, was very heavily modified after two years of Matt owning it.
Matt eventually met a girl and got remarried. Julie is a wonderful girl, who to this day is helping Matt to realize his dreams (and editing his copy).
Matt bought his "new" car one month before his wedding to Julie in 2004 (amazing girl, Julie, letting him do that), trading in the Celica for a 1995 Toyota Supra non turbo. The Celica was sold in less then 3 hours after Matt traded it in. Matt is currently in the process of modifying the Supra.
While working on the Supra Matt met Dave, another car enthusiast with a similar car-loving background, and the two quickly became friends. Matt had always had the dream of owning and running a tuning garage, and with Dave's help, they opened JDMmotorsports a garage dedicated to not only installations and tuning of cars but also to teaching car owners about their cars and what performance is all about.
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