What happened to GMMG?

[@hotrodder5034]

Still have my 95 Z28. 27 years now! Had Scott sign my glove box years ago at Camaro Superfest. He's a great guy. 👍🏾

[@themattavery]

Very cool. Sounds like you bought it new?

[@hotrodder5034]

@@themattavery No it was a year old. I drove it off the lot in the niddle of a ifreezing rain storm . I almost recked it. SMH

[@GamerPastHisPrime]

95 Z28 was my first car. Loved it so much, but it sadly caught fire in 2006 (long story, but was not an issue with the car really). I missed it so much I got a 94 Z28 last summer. So happy to have it back.

[@hotrodder5034]

​@@GamerPastHisPrimeOhh cool!!Any mods?

[@GamerPastHisPrime]

@@hotrodder5034 no, I tend to keep my cars stock… however… after watching some of these videos I kind of want to supercharge it and get something kind of close to one of these… still though, I think I’d miss having a stock version of my original car, so maybe it would be better to buy an LS1 4th gen and modify that one.

[@Bking7string]

On my second 4th gen now in last 10 years. 1st one, a 02 z28 A4 I sold two years ago. Only had 56k org miles, beautiful black paint, and I did full bolt on's, 3.42 gears, and 3600 stall built 4l60. When I sold It, I knew I'd get another one one day. Well 2 years later I missed it too much, I had to have another. This time around I knew I wanted another 35th anniversary, but 6 speed this time. So just recently bought a 2 owner 02 SS slp car, 6 speed, red, well taken care of, with a fresh h/c/I build. Such fun cars, this is my forever 4th gen this time around.

[@seanhoward8025]

I knew Matt Murphy and visited the shop numerous times when traveling to Atlanta back in about 2004-2005. As a matter of fact, Matt and I went to spring Talladega one time. An interesting story Matt told me was how those few Intimidator SS speedometers got signed by Dale Sr. Matt went to Daytona Speedweek in 2001 to meet up with Dale. Matt took the speedometer faces for a the first batch of cars he was working on back in Marietta. They met in Dale’s motorcoach parked in the infield of Daytona International Speedway, where he signed the initial batch of speedometer faces, with Dale to do the remainder after the first cars were delivered back in Newton, NC. Dale died that Sunday. Oh, and the dealer in Kennesaw, GA that commissioned the Blackbirds was Carl Black Pontiac. Beautiful cars!

[@themattavery]

Thanks for sharing. Any other memories of Matt or stories he told?

[@seanhoward8025]

@@themattavery Not really, other than the last time I was at the shop, Matt had a few interesting cars there. One was the last of the Dick Harrell wide bodies you referenced. I can't remember which time it was, but I recall a wall full of crated C5-R engines. The other two cars of interest were 1969 Camaros. In a trailer in the back yard was a COPO Berger full on drag car campaigned by Dick Arons. I still have a GMP model of that car, given to me by Matt. The other car was in the back corner of the shop under a cover...one of the blue Penske Sunoco #6 TransAm cars driven by Mark Donahue...both pieces of racing history and in pristine condition.

[@bjrntoregrande5893]

Thanks for sharing the story!

[@themattavery]

Thanks for watching!

[@mikehixson6005]

I was lucky enough to tour GMMG while attending the f-body gathering in Marietta, Georgia. Also had Scott Settlemire sign the airbox on my 2001 SS Camaro. Hate to see they cloaed shop... those cars they built were amazing

[@themattavery]

Very cool. Thanks for sharing. It certainly was a unique era in Camaro history.

[@maldo72]

i was there many years ago (f-body gathering)

[@808heliJet]

Great lecture!

[@themattavery]

Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@aquabluepyro]

VERY cool! 2002 GMMG ZL-1 supercar number 45 was a common friend I would park near or next to at car shows when I lived in Pennsylvania. He optioned his to compliment his rare optioned 1969.

[@dougjoseph3863]

Is the owner of 45 from Chicago area? Also do you know if the car was fitted with the phase ll engine then later converted to phase lll?

[@aquabluepyro]

@dougjoseph3863 the owner is in middle Pennsylvania, or at least he was until I moved in early 2018. He was a retired gentleman, so I doubt he moved since, but the car is a phase III car, black on black with a red stinger. He has a color matching, also rare optioned, 1969 Camaro as well. That was his reasoning behind ordering it with the color scheme.

[@dougjoseph3863]

Ok thanks.....I've been trying to track the owner down for some time. The car isn't registered in the gmmg registry so I've had no name or city to go on.

[@aquabluepyro]

@dougjoseph3863 if you are ever in south central Pennsylvania on the 4th Friday of the month during the summer, he takes it to The Markets at Shrewsbury car show pretty regularly. Otherwise, I used to see him running around York, PA periodically.

[@Dynobrat]

The car tracks straight it just needs gobs more power and a tire. Hula-hoop 700hp is pinky-finger simple. More-than-likely means you have no idea.

[@edschmittteam]

Any information on the Blackbird Trans Am's?

[@themattavery]

Yes, that spotlight will be in a separate deep dive. This one was looking at GMMG's Camaro efforts.

[@clintwilliams2705]

Owned Berger 56

[@themattavery]

Very cool. White T-Top? And did that have a 2X6R engine upgrade?

[@clintwilliams2705]

@@themattavery sure did! Sold it regretfully about 5 years ago. LW flywheel, houndstooth, etc.

[@themattavery]

@@clintwilliams2705 Is another one in your future?

[@clintwilliams2705]

@@themattavery I would love it!!

[@clintwilliams2705]

@@themattavery GMMG was essentially in my back yard so I went many times and got to know Matt and the crew well. My brother and other friends build some high end street rods and originals, they helped Matt some with his COPO Nova.

[@CPAJayhawk]

Another reason there are more 4th gens hitting auction, these low mile high sticker price special cars are probably one owner, and those owners are probably in their 70s and 80s now… Certainly agree about the kids from those days having the money now, I bought a C5 Z06 4 years ago at 32… I can see the 60s muscle cars dropping a lot in value… I certainly have little interest in owning one over a 90’s and 00’s classic

[@Freddy_Confetti]

Dick Harrell edition is by far the most badass

[@themattavery]

Agreed. It stands apart from the rest of the 4th-gen Camaros

[@Freddy_Confetti]

@@themattaveryabsolutely

[@maldo72]

4th gen fbody so underrated glad to see some are getting into them again

[@themattavery]

Glad you're enjoying the content! Thanks for watching!

[@JohnDoe-xl1ig]

Everything camaro related really fell apart in 2002. Sure the LS engines have some popular yet but overall GM pony car wasn't same after 2002.

[@Rayvisin]

Watch this while driving my 02 hardtop..

[@sirinix1]

Is Mecham still around? I tried emailing about a hood they made for the 4th Gen to see if they still produced it.

[@daphmcc6791]

Certainly glossed over the FALL of GMMG. We are out 30k for an upgrade to our GMMG Camaro. It never left the trailer it was hauled in on and all badging removed to piece together other cars. It’s never good business practice to rob from Peter to pay Paul. Luckily we were able to seize the car back from him. But had to sell it for a song.

[@jarmaljackson]

Nice seminar! I actually ordered a gmmg/ madhammer exhaust I can't wait!

[@themattavery]

Thanks! And very cool! What are you putting it on?

[@jarmaljackson]

@@themattavery my 1994 chevy camaro z28. I've owned it for about 10 years

[@SSFormula-iz7wc]

Such an awesome and informative seminar. I just recently ordered your new book and awaiting it's delivery. I haven't really researched your video archive yet but I am looking for more in depth information on the SLP years. I currently own a 96 SS no.1824. Thanks again for any information.

[@themattavery]

Much appreciated! I'll see if I can work an SLP deep dive into a future presentation. It, like GMMG, is noteworthy and a very important F-body era.

[@ericcaisse791]

Thanks I have a built 99z28 had her 13 years mods will never end and will never sell😂

[@JohnnyLally]

2002 PE#36. As far as we know we had the only center mounted exhaust one.

[@Grifter371]

Matt thank you for the absolutely awesome video and content! I have a 2001 Camaro SS that I bought from the original owner in 2007, it's nice to see all the coverage you're doing on these cars. After watching a lot of your videos I realized that the mid 90's-early 2000's was my muscle car era. I remember going to SLP Day and Mustang vs. F-Body races at Englishtown when I was younger. It's really cool to see all the special editions they had for these cars and all the effort that was put into making them. My car isn't nearly as rare as these but it is a stripper SS which I don't see very often. The only option on the car is a rear defroster.

[@themattavery]

Thank you for the kind words & so glad you're enjoying the content. This 4th-gen era of the Camaro certainly was unique and these special performance editions are something we sadly likely won't ever see again (the distinct collaboration between a dealer, the Chevrolet brand itself and outside tuners). Cool story on your car, too, getting it from the original owner. Hope you're enjoying it!

[@kevinthomas26]

Are there any kits available companies that sells the kit to replicate the Dick Harrell cars?

[@Petzkec]

Awesome seminar! A little disappointed that the Blackbirds weren’t mentioned a whole lot. Are there plans to expand into those? Was hoping to see a picture of mine pop up in it 😂

[@themattavery]

Thanks Chris! And yes, more discussion of the Blackbirds is coming. Since this seminar was given at the Bloomington Gold Corvette & Camaro show, I limited the discussion to GMMG's Camaro efforts.

[@Petzkec]

@@themattavery awesome, can’t wait. I always dreamed of owning a Blackbird since seeing the ads in Pontiac Enthusiast back when I was in 7th-8th grade. Love seeing the history of GMMG. Really wish they could’ve continued.

[@SAMEone567]

How much for your black bird

[@Rayvisin]

Yes the interior sucks, but its functional lol

[@daytonajim]

Awesome Matt - thanks

[@themattavery]

My pleasure. Glad you're enjoying the content.

[@Wangchung405]

Awesome thanks - Matt

[@Michael_camaro96jr]

👀

[@danielanderson8502]

Cool!!!

[@danielwilson500]

I am interested in getting a Berger SS Grill for my 2002 Camaro SS. Anyone know where I can order one.

[@carsbykris]

This is a great seminar with some extremely thorough research. It's cool to see a visual history of these cars. Great work putting it all together! Funny story - I was hired as a freelance designer by GMMG/Matt Murphy on the Dick Harrell program at the very beginning of my career. I actually did the rendering of the silver car you showed in the Dick Harrell section of the seminar. I wish I remembered more from my time working on the project, but it's going on 20 years now and they were one of my first major clients. I do still have a bunch of the original renderings though and remember enjoying working with Matt on the project. I will have to pick up a copy of your book!

[@themattavery]

Thanks for watching & sharing the memories!

[@swiss35thle]

Great story! LE#1945

[@themattavery]

Thanks!