In 2013, Brett made the decision to get into the industry that was made for him: the motor/vehicle industry. We were lucky to gain his wit, humor, experience, and overall love for his craft here at The Tuning School! Another frequent face as a Tech Tuesday teacher, you can also find Brett manning our private classes.
Read the transcript of our interview with Brett McClelland below.
- What city did you grow up in?
I was born in raised in the Tampa Bay FL area in a small (relatively country) city just north called Odessa.
- When did you start working in the motor/vehicle industry?
I got my start in this industry and in this field 6 years ago.
- And now you are an instructor for The Tuning School. Why did you choose this route?
Well, I seem to have a natural gift for taking complex subjects, understanding them very quickly, and then I am able to break things down and explain things for others. What really keeps me going through is a love for helping people. I am able to teach people skills that make their lives better, and that is very rewarding.
- Do you have any interesting experiences working on or with a car?
To date, there has only been one time that Bob let me borrow a company car for the weekend. A couple of years ago he threw me the keys to our 2006 Corvette, which, at the time, had a cam and headers. While the car was in my possession, a lock failed on one of the exhaust valves. Contrary to who you might ask...I assure you was not beating on the car! Thankfully for me, the piston hit the valve twice, bending it, where it then stuck up in the valve seal. Either way, it was a pretty sickening experience for me ending up on the side of the road with a fatally broken company car.
- If it were up to you, what kind of car would you be driving instead?
The answer to this question changes about every month, but something that was always stuck with me is building a 1965 to 1968 Ford Galaxie 500. I would letter it up to look like an old NASCAR and I would perform the sacrilegious act of powering it with a Chevy LS3 engine.