Life and Times of Garagelu: S15 Build in the Dirty South

[garagelu]

Originally Posted by vJilly

huntsville downtown huntsville or like madison/monrovia area?

Madison city by Bob Jones High School

[garagelu]

So I'm sure all of you know that an actor/automotive icon passed away yesterday. I was lucky enough to be on set and watch him film 2-3 scenes for FF7. I took this picture as he walked right in front of me. My S15 along with my friend's R32 GTR were used as extras for Han's funeral scene. Between takes Paul would walk up to the GTR and pop the hood and check out the engine bay. He even talked to us between takes about cars. Whether this affected your life or not, the fact is Paul Walker was an icon for all car enthusiasts after Fast and the Furious 1. Big loss for the car community. I still can't and don't want to believe what happened yesterday.

[Ramonesfreak2010]

Wow. That is awesome that you were able to see him in person. He had a huge impact on me when I was a kid (2001) and is one of the reasons why I am into cars today.

[garagelu]

Well I took advantage of the long weekend and started on my winter build. I was out of town most of it but came back to Atlanta Saturday night so I could have a full day Sunday to work on it. If you have a large shop, these roller dolleys are a must have. This was the first time using them and damn I am sure glad we have these at the garage.




This is pretty much all the parts I pulled off Sunday. Got the whole front end off. Pulled everything around the engine so it's about ready to be pulled.



I was at a good stopping point and plus I still need to buy an engine stand so decided to stop at this point. Just need to drain the fluids, unbolt the engine mounts and unplug the harness. I'm glad I got a start on this because I have a lot more motivation to keep moving now. The past few weeks have been so busy to where I am too lazy to even turn the first bolt.



A new addition to the garage. As I was working on my car, this guy pulled in his Ford GT. Sounded so mean. The owner said he bought it for a steal from a lawyer that was going to jail for tax evasion.

[CamryOnBronze]

Dang nice GT. Car looks awesome Kevin- keep up the progress!

[91coupesr20det]

Put the volks back onnnn!!!

[Oakville]

Our shop has the exact same dollies, they're great eh!

[Oakville]

Also, I just saw "A look at FAF7" online, which was a teaser leaked before Pauls death showing the funeral scene and a good 3 second shot of the black R32, sadly not of your car tho. Who owns that R32?

[Frank_Jaeger]

Originally Posted by 91coupesr20det

Put the super advans back onnnn!!!

This x1000. Nice car.

[garagelu]

Originally Posted by Oakville

Also, I just saw "A look at FAF7" online, which was a teaser leaked before Pauls death showing the funeral scene and a good 3 second shot of the black R32, sadly not of your car tho. Who owns that R32?

Yea that R32 belong to my friend Cory in Kentucky. I actually got him on to film that scene. I wasn't part of that shot. As Vin Diesel leaves the funeral, he walks down the hill to his car to chase Jason Statham in that Maserati, my S15 and my friend's cayman will be behind his Roadrunner.

Originally Posted by 91coupesr20det

Put the volks back onnnn!!!

They are actually for sale right now but if they don't sell they will eventually make their way back on the car.

[garagelu]

This is my S15, my friend Dan's Cayman and Cory's R32 GTR parked while we waited for instructions before we drove on set.



This is the 2nd day of filming where Lucas Black and Vin Diesel are talking. This is the scene at the parking garage from the last scene in Tokyo Drift.



As you can see I got a pretty prime spot right next to Vin Diesel's car.



Interesting fact: I was able to participate in this opportunity because Universal Studios was looking specifically for an S15. My friend referred me to them and when I got on the phone with them I found out that they were looking for a S15 to replicate the Wise Sports S15 that Lucas Black is driving at the end of Tokyo Drift. See, FF7 takes place right after Tokyo Drift. So the first scene would be Lucas Black and Vin Diesel in that parking garage. Well turns out they couldn't find that S15 they used in Tokyo Drift. I was very hesitant after hearing this because movie productions usually do quick, fast hack jobs to make the car look good in the movie. They were talking about roll cages, graphics, wing, etc. Plus that Wise Sports S15 was wide body. They asked to meet with me in person to discuss all the details and any questions I had.

Well once we met they had bad news and good news. Bad news is they found they car they used and good news was that they would still like to use the car as an extra. I was kinda bummed because when in your life would you be able to say my car was used as one of the main character's cars in the movie? But I was still happy to be an extra. I'm so grateful I got to see Paul Walker film 2 scenes and see him in person. This is something I will never forget.

[TWest]

Originally Posted by garagelu

This is my S15, my friend Dan's Cayman and Cory's R32 GTR parked while we waited for instructions before we drove on set.



This is the 2nd day of filming where Lucas Black and Vin Diesel are talking. This is the scene at the parking garage from the last scene in Tokyo Drift.



As you can see I got a pretty prime spot right next to Vin Diesel's car.



Interesting fact: I was able to participate in this opportunity because Universal Studios was looking specifically for an S15. My friend referred me to them and when I got on the phone with them I found out that they were looking for a S15 to replicate the Wise Sports S15 that Lucas Black is driving at the end of Tokyo Drift. See, FF7 takes place right after Tokyo Drift. So the first scene would be Lucas Black and Vin Diesel in that parking garage. Well turns out they couldn't find that S15 they used in Tokyo Drift. I was very hesitant after hearing this because movie productions usually do quick, fast hack jobs to make the car look good in the movie. They were talking about roll cages, graphics, wing, etc. Plus that Wise Sports S15 was wide body. They asked to meet with me in person to discuss all the details and any questions I had.

Well once we met they had bad news and good news. Bad news is they found they car they used and good news was that they would still like to use the car as an extra. I was kinda bummed because when in your life would you be able to say my car was used as one of the main character's cars in the movie? But I was still happy to be an extra. I'm so grateful I got to see Paul Walker film 2 scenes and see him in person. This is something I will never forget.

Sucks that you didn't get to be used as the main car, but still, that's an awesome experience that'll stick with you for the rest of your life. Sad to see such a prominent figure of the car community pass on.

Just read every page of this thread and love the direction it's going. Will definitely be following for updates!

[Oakville]

I'm in awe, that is super cool man. I would have loved to experience that!

[CamryOnBronze]

Cool to see that you got Cory's R32 in the movie. I wrote his feature for Modified and got to meet him and see the car at the IA summer meet earlier this year. Really cool guy and the car is immaculate!

[STL240SXDRIFT]

Really cool experience man!

[conrad_s13.5]

^ for sure!

awesome stuff, thanks for sharing.

Cars awesome, looking forward to watching this winter build,.. and ur car in the next movie!

[Rambo slice]

This whole thread...DAMN. Thats it subscribed!

[da_crew10]

Those Model 5's look ugly on your s15 maybe you should sell them to me?

Haha jk my man, car is looking amazing!

[garagelu]

(Follow me on instagram "garagelu" if you don't already. I usually post pictures as I am working on the car. This post is several days late, lol)

We had a plant shutdown during the Christmas break so I had a few days free to pull the engine.

I used the dollies to roll the car over the lift. We arn't allowed to leave a car on the lift overnight unless you have permission. The dollies make it super easy to get the car lifted.








Never seen this on any SR manifold over the 7-8 years of messing with SR's.



My almost blank canvas. Next time my goal is to pull the remaining components in the engine bay so it can be ready for prep and paint.



I numbered the bolts and their location so I can put everything back the same way.



Prybar used to move the trans away from the flywheel housing.



The garage had this transmission jack that made it super easy to pull the trans off. This will make it 10x easier when I am ready to install the trans.



My car only has 27k km so plenty of life left in the clutch.



S15 flywheel is a lot different than S13/S14 I noticed.

[tricky_ab]

Are there any specific plans to the engine that you have planned, while it's out?

[psi999]

Neat S15 mate.

What's the go with RHD and rego over there, can this be street rego'd or track/offroad use only?

[mlrtime]

Neat build man. In for updates.

[conrad_s13.5]

followed.,..for progress

[garagelu]

Originally Posted by psi999

Neat S15 mate.

What's the go with RHD and rego over there, can this be street rego'd or track/offroad use only?

This car is street legal. I have all the paperwork for it to be 50 state legal.

[garagelu]

Originally Posted by tricky_ab

Are there any specific plans to the engine that you have planned, while it's out?

Yea definitely. Turbo upgrade and supporting mods. Going to go through the whole engine and just clean it up/reseal everything. Wire tuck too.

[NOLAGG]

Wow I also just read this whole thread and this is awesome. It's even cooler you got to talk to Paul walker and have your car in the next movie . Great journey your having with your s15 it seems and keep it up!

[juvi22003]

Awesome build, love it !!!!

[Oakville]

Originally Posted by garagelu

This car is street legal. I have all the paperwork for it to be 50 state legal.

This car is 50 state legal....? I thought it was just a state titled car. Nice!

[garagelu]

Originally Posted by Oakville

This car is 50 state legal....? I thought it was just a state titled car. Nice!

Yes it is 50 state legal. This is one of the few. I have EPA, DOT, etc paperwork.

[garagelu]

HKS Hipermax 3 coilovers off the S15 are up for grabs if anyone is interested. Only about 6-7k miles on them. I hardly drive my car. Paid 2400 new for them. Asking 1800. PM me if interested.