10 years ago, L.J. Garcia was a mixed up kid facing a bleak destination. Like many of his generation, Garcia found himself right in the middle of gangster lifesyle as a teenager with a future bound for nothing but trouble with the law. Now, at 27 years old, he supports a family doing what he loves-building the very best import show cars in the world. It might sound somewhat clichff,d, but import cars changed L.J.'s path, one otherwise destined for nothing. His four-wheeled creations have set the mark for all show car enthusiasts to follow and gained more exposure than most race cars. These days his automotive creativity has him endorsing aftermarket parts like Jordan does Nikes. He has made a career out of building his own personal vehicles and informs us this is just a beginning, a platform for even greater heights.
IT: All right, first off I'm sure many people are curious about how all this started? LJ: Shit. Let me see, I started street racing back in like '91. I had a '85 Celica that was a hand me down from Mom. I had a header, intake, exhaust, that kind of stuff on it and was spanking Civics out at the street races in Sylmar. I messed around with that for like two years and then brought a brand new '94 Civic.
IT: That's when I met you back in '92. You were into a lot of bad shit back then. Over the years it seems like something got you out of all that, would you say it was cars? LJ: Definitely. I know it sounds kinda lame but it really did. This passion for customizing cars just got so intense that I simply focused all of my attention and energy on fixing up my car. It also motivated me to make a living doing what I enjoyed.
IT: That's what I thought. In fact that's another reason I wanted to do this interview. There's a side to L.J. Garcia that not a lot of people know about. I think it's similar for other import enthusiasts too. It kinda contradicts what some outsiders think about the people involved. LJ: Yeah, for sure.
IT: So back to the car. That Civic that you brought back in '94, that was the same hatchback that you got into several magazines right? LJ: The blue one. I put everything I had into that one. It was of the first few Civics out there with a DOHC motor transplant. And I had 18-inch rims on that bitch back in '96.
IT: That's when you started getting crazy , what ever happened to it? LJ: I got it into a couple of different magazines and then I sold it. I got $18,000 cash for that thing. That gave me a good base to move onto a newer car and get really crazy.
IT: So you pretty much started from scratch and built up to where you're at now? LJ: That's it, exactly. Lots of hard work and time.