The GMMG Registry Forum

I am asked this questions a lot so I thought I'd start a thread to answer the question. This was a long process

I started to learn about GMMG's when I flew to Tampa to look at Year One Formula #5. It was a very low mile car & when I drove it I knew it was very special but out of my price range & I didn't want cloth seats. I had no clue what I was looking at & it looked amazing in the Florida sun. I know about TA's & Firehawk's but nothing about GMMG's.

I've loved cars since I was under 10 & have owned way over 100. I actually went to to Florida to look for a winter place, found one, put a deposit down had Sandy fly down for the final OK. She hated it & refused to do anything in Florida. This angered me & I told her that if there isn't going to be a place in FLA then I was going home & start buying a bunch of cars with my money. As it turned out Sandy was right, the FLA real estate market tanked & I'm glad we didn't do it.

I already had a few cars in my collection ('68 Chevelle that I factory ordered -survivor, Van & a few TA's & Firehawk's). That YOF #5 was all over my 'Monkey-mind' & I started to look for a GMMG. I found HRE #1975 in northern MN & bought it.

I had my GMMG but one is never enough. I now have seven. The more I researched I quickly realized how super rare Matt's cars were. As I found GMMG's for sale I would talk with Matt all the time & he would verify the cars for me. If you know Matt there were never any short calls. Sometimes we'd talk many times every week. I started buying & selling Firehawk's & WS6's & slowly added to the collection. I visited Matt @ GMMG & he came to visit me & sign my cars. He was only here a couple of days & we didn't sleep much. I was picking his brain for anything GMMG. When I visited him in Georgia I suspected their could be some financial issues so my radar was up.

Matt & I became friends, I started talking & working on him to start the GMMG Registry. I felt so strongly about documenting & preserving the information ("JUST-IN-CASE'") on his special cars & I know I made a pest of myself. After he visited me, signed my cars & realized that I was for real he finally agreed. I went to GMMG February/March 2010 & spent 4 or 5 days with Matt. Angel, Mike & Ron were already gone by now. Matt opened up the files & records for me & I thought I'd died & gone to heaven. Pinch me, please! While I was going through the files Matt was loading photos & car build information onto a Zip drive for me. One wasn't enough - man did he have the information to give me. I was like a kid in the candy store, slept on the couch & didn't sleep much at all. My nose was always in the file cabinets. I delivered a car for Matt to a big collector in NC, picked my old Firehawk that I bought back in VA, returned to GMMG & headed to FLA in the Firehawk to see my pals. I visited Steve (bought PE #37 from him) on my way to St. Pete. All I could think about in FLA was getting back to GMMG, I returned, spend a few more days there, shipped the Firehawk back to WI & drove the Trail Blazer home.

I stopped @ GMMG again with PE #37 in June 2010 while on the Power Tour & my earlier thinking was right on - not much going on - only a few cars - just a couple of staff. I was devastated & knew the Registry I started March 2010 was very important now. Matt was a tremendous resource for me & I can never thank him enough. We would talk all the time. Rumor's started to surface on a number of Forum's about the health of GMMG & Matt. I was very protective or Matt & GMMG & still am to this day. If anyone said anything negative I was on them & not happy. I saw a bunch of things that Matt had (including the little #8 Jr. car) & mentioned that I would really like to buy the items if he ever wanted to sell them. In late November 2012 Matt called me, I bought a bunch of things & arranged pick up. Then the telephone went dead in late November & I wasn't able to reach Matt & we haven't talked in over 2 years.

The Registry was growing, I was finding more photos & car information all the time & starting tracking GMMG's for sale. BUT there was a big problem....... This was not only a big expense, very time consuming & it needed to be interactive. I didn't know how to do this & considered new software but it was cost prohibitive.

I've met many great people from the Registry including JD. We've been to each others houses & attended a Car Show together. In mid November 2012 JD called me & asked if I'd ever considered an interactive site. Well, YA! JD & I have been working (almost around the clock for 10 days) getting ready to go live on December 1, 2012. Jim Simon has also been helping, We been loading information & photos so there is something to look at. What you see is the result of our efforts & we hope you will enjoy & share the Registry Forum.

An open message to Matt Murphy from Jim Smith (huge type so Matt can't miss it)

Matt:

I know you will eventually read this.......

You have so many friends that miss you & are hoping you are doing well. You were responsible for building some of the rarest & baddest Camaro's & Trans Am's on the planet. If it wasn't for you there wouldn't be any GMMG Cars & no Registry. I am honored & privileged that you gave me the OK to start the GMMG Registry. You have a strong following that would like to say hi. I've been trying to reach out for over two years & have only been able to get messages to you once in awhile. I miss our conversations. You know JD & I will continue to promote you & your great cars & archive this for future generations. Please contact us sometime to say hi. We invite you to join us on the new GMMG Registry Forum. Your knowledge is amazing! I miss you my friend. Jim Smith
.

I miss my weekly talks with Matt as well and I hope he is doing fine where ever he is. Matt if you are out there drop me a call or email, I miss you buddy. Mark

Matt........................."IF" YOU EVENTUALLY READ THIS..........................I would like to echo what Jim said above. You know that you and I used to talk relatively often....................you sold me parts such as the lowering springs that Eibach made specially for GMMG and your chambered exhaust that I would install on Camaros in my shop here in Iowa and we went together and placed that large order for 17" and 18" Cragar S/S wheels from Stuart @ Rev Wheel that we both sold to Camaro and Firebird enthusiasts plus you would give me advice............and when you didn't know the answer.....................you would hook me up with Mike Carnahan out in your shop so that he could either tell me or one of my mechanics what to do if we were working on a car.



I miss you too my friend and miss our long telephone conversations. I learned so much from you and I treasure the two GMMG cars I presently own plus I have you to thank for helping me straighten out the mess with my 30th Anniversary Camaro SS and the Chevrolet dealer who tried to defraud me.



I often look at the last picture I have of you by one of your cars with my wife (Nancy) @ Chevrolet Vette Fest when we gave you a custom neon "GMMG -When Fast Just Isn't Fast Enough" clock that I made for you.







and of you and Nancy together besides Jr.'s car that you own.







Whatever may have happened in your past IS IN THE PAST and I value your friendship and hope to hear from you soon ! ! ! ! !

Neat story. I have a #88 Jr Monte SS hood hanging on my wall right now at my new house. I have a lot of Dale Sr stuff I could sell.