Grand Prix Motors

About Juan Villarreal

Meet the master mechanic, Juan Villarreal, proprietor of GPM.  From an early age Juan was taking things apart and putting them back together. By the time he was in high school he was already fixing cars and caught the attention of a friend who in 1988 got him a summer job working with Lyle Tanner* in Carson, CA. Two summers and most Saturdays later he was apprenticing as a mechanic working between Ferrari’s and muscle cars. The Stallion won out and Juan had found his niche.  One only has to talk with Juan to recognize the passion and extraordinary knowledge of Ferrari’s DNA.  He is a walking Ferrari encyclopedia from vintage 250’s to current model 430’s, 550’s and 575’s (see below). There aren’t many individuals in the industry that have the experience and the expertise to meet a standard of “Excellence” in service as a commitment and not an exception.

 

To get a feel for the man and his work we can highlight the Ferrari breadth and depth of experience as exceptional.  As charted below and recognized by his clients Juan has a Five Star ★★★★★ reputation for engine/transmission/transaxle builds and services, plus an impressive list of Concours winners and Ferrari Platinum preparations and restorations.  Giving credit where credit is due Juan was and remains a student of his craft learning and applying the knowledge of masters to meet modern day demands of service and repairs. Two individuals, Lyle Tanner, is an early icon of Ferrari as a broker/dealer, restorer, service and parts guru, knowledge resource and good-guy; his boss, mentor, and friend.  Building on the training of Lyle and his staff Juan also found a mentor, teacher and friend in Tim Morgan, recognized as one of the great high performance engine builders.