Everyone's Favorite Fabricator Stewart Leask - Ep.172

Hey, and welcome back to the next episode of the Right Hand Drive Guys podcast, the podcast

for guys who like right hand drives.

I'm Bobby.

This is Aaron.

Yo, yo.

And we are back.

We got a guest today.

A very special guest.

A special guest.

Yeah.

A definite special guest.

And if you're watching on YouTube immediately, you're going to notice we got an exhaust

on the table.

Normally, that is not our decor.

But today, this exhaust represents our guest and his very high, high, high quality work.

Very high quality.

Yes.

And also, if you're not watching YouTube, we both got matching hoodies on.

And they are leased spec hoodies.

That's it.

Today, we have our buddy Stuart Leesk on the podcast.

This is pretty cool.

I mean, I only had heard of Stuart from his work over the past few years with the GTRs.

But you obviously have known about him for much longer before any GTR stuff was going

on.

Yeah, yeah.

Absolutely.

He's been in the game for a long time, whether it be in GTRs or not.

Yeah, for sure.

He's definitely been around.

Yeah.

And so we met Stuart at the GTR festival.

Super cool guy was literally talking to people all day about anything that you could ask.

And he had a few displays, obviously, of his, well, what does he do?

He's like a fabricator, I guess you could say.

Yeah.

So he had exhausts and different piping and all kinds of stuff there that he had fabricated

some cool catch cans.

And so pretty much immediately after GTR festival, I went home and placed an order

with him because I was just like, dude, these things are like what you're looking

for pretty much.

Yeah.

No tariffs either.

Yeah.

No tariffs.

And that was the big thing, right?

Like I was like, dude, let's just support a local guy.

And we approached Stuart.

We're like, hey, you want to chat with us on the podcast, dude, like, you know, kind

of put out, put some information out there and he was like, absolutely.

So we are here with Stuart Leesk.

All right.

And we're back with Stuart Leesk.

What's up, man?

Hey, how's it going guys?

Pretty good, man.

We appreciate you coming on.

For sure.

I know you're a busy guy.

Nope.

I absolutely love you.

I love that y'all are having me on.

So I'm pleased.

Oh yeah.

And so I don't know if you noticed, man, but we got this nice, beautiful table ornament

here.

Very beautiful.

Looks familiar.

Yeah.

No doubt.

And so what's pretty cool, man, is, you know, I had heard about you through

Aaron and then we went to GTR festival and seeing your products in person was

just like, oh, okay, I get it now.

You know, like it's like that moment of realization, like, oh, this is the guy.

Yeah.

Absolutely.

I definitely appreciate hearing that this year I was able to bring a bit more of my titanium

product to my booth versus last year last year I was kind of rushed.

So it was a good feeling to kind of be able to showcase some of the stuff that I'm most

proud of.

Yeah.

I would for sure be proud.

Like we were just, you know, looking over the exhaust real quick when we were waiting

for you to get on.

And Aaron's like, dude, how does he make his welds chrome?

And I was like, dude, I don't know how he does that.

Lots of argon, lots of patience.

One of the tricks of the trade.

I guess when you've been doing it long enough, right?

You start to learn a lot of those little things that put your touch to it.

Yeah.

There's a small little touch up or something that I can do here and there and over

time those kind of accumulate and add up.

So there's some tips and tricks that I've learned both from some fabricators above me

that I really look up to and also just from kind of just doing it enough times and messing

up enough times to realize like, hey, don't do that, change this, change this.

And it's just kind of getting back in sync.

Nice.

Yeah.

That's like the key, right?

Is you like, you know, everybody says it like you have to mess it up to get those

lessons in order to write, you know, at this point, obviously have one of the

most beautiful exhausts on the market.

You know, it takes some failing.

You don't start out like that.

Exactly.

100%.

But starting out, where like, where does this start for you?

Because like I said, you know, I have a welder behind the camera in the corner over there.

But I'm telling you right now, I am not doing this.

So where does this start for Stewart?

I will skip some of the entry level stuff because I've kind of been a Nissan guy

since high school.

I got my first S14 and 03.

I kind of got into drifting.

I got into motorsports.

I competed in NoB, XTC.

I was Formula D licensed.

So I had to find a way to keep my car competitive throughout multiple stages

of crashing, changes, evolution, et cetera.

And I realized very quickly that that was not going to be a very sustainable

business model for me.

I do not come from a very large financial background.

So I had to figure out a way to keep this affordable and realistic.

And eventually I just kind of just told myself, like, look, you're going

to have to teach yourself this one time or another.

I had just wrecked my S13 very badly and I actually needed to do a front cut on it.

It wasn't just like, oh, I just want to front cut it to front cut it.

Like there was some come along used at one point in time when I was trying

to pull it back to straight, it was like kind of levitating in the air

and the windshield cracked and all that.

But regardless, what I did was I bought my first MIG welder

and I bought my first tube bender.

And I was like, you either just totaled your car

or you're going to figure this out.

And from there, I just never really stopped.

Dang, that's pretty cool.

Yeah, like the necessity, right?

They've like either having to do it or you're not doing it.

Exactly. Yeah.

Because I couldn't afford to keep it.

It was just too expensive.

Was this your silver S13?

It was. Yeah. Nice.

I remember seeing that build thread on Zilvia

and I went back the other day to try to find it.

And RIP to Zilvia, I guess it got shut down.

But I remember going to that to that build thread and just,

I don't know, just something about it.

It stuck in my head.

I thought it was one of the sickest cars to like come out of taxes really.

I really, I really liked that build thread, not because it was like my work

or it's like, oh, I'm so proud of it because it's me.

I liked it because it was really reminiscent of like a Japanese style

blog to me, and I really liked contributing to that just as much

as I loved reading everybody else's build.

Like I felt like that was kind of a fun way

to fire up the community and in multiple different aspects.

And I really do miss those.

Yeah. No, I agree.

Like those like, you know, early mid forum days were there was a lot of

a lot of stuff that became big later really started brewing then,

whether it was people, cars, you know, shops, like the forums

really bred a lot of that, I for sure agree.

Yeah.

So, OK, so you you fix your car and then do like friends or like,

how does it become like least spec?

Like, how does it go from fixing your own car to like?

Yeah, this I'm still mind blown, dude.

It was it was kind of like it was a tool of necessity.

Like I said, you know, obviously I repaired my S 13.

I kind of wanted to teach myself some techniques along

the way because around that time period, I was really, really fanboying

hard over people like Nigel, like everybody, everybody that knows knows

engineered to slide is like the upper echelon of car modification.

And I always found it so it was always so influential to me

how he he always just appeared so self taught.

But his technique and his approach and his fabrication was like second to none.

So I pushed really hard to kind of meet that level.

You know, like I started with a big welder like everybody else did.

I taught myself to weld in and I tried to get a little bit more advanced with it.

And then I had a really cool opportunity to be a part of the ASD Motorsports,

like Formula D program, where they kind of taught you a little bit more

about car engineering, suspension development, actually, actually lining up a chassis

more so than just throwing a bunch of parts at it.

And I think what happened is I ended up combining that with my what's the word?

I guess how bad I wanted to pursue like having a good technique

and everything else.

And that's when I started to really kind of combine a little bit of engineering

and a little bit of welding and fabrication together.

And that's what kind of like got me to where I'm at today.

I just kind of I mixed the two up and I just kept going for it, basically.

Damn, that's pretty cool, because, you know, I'm sure there were times

I'm sure you got stories about when, you know, you were like,

Dan, can I make this work?

You know, like, of course, we all have those stories, I feel.

Oh, yeah.

But my first my first like, can I make this work was actually Ian was really

big about adjustable sway bars and like how you set them up, how you calculate

their rates and everything else.

And I remember getting a set and just lopping the ins off and remind

I was like learning TIG welding.

So I was like, very green all this and like that was my first.

I have no idea if this is going to work project.

Now that seems stupid, because that's really easy to do.

But anyways, I digress.

Right.

But yeah, it's those little things, all of those little things.

Like the culmination of them that, you know, led you to the point

where, right, you're, you're selling some of the, again, the most beautiful

pieces on the market out of Texas, you know, out of your own space.

Like that's sweet, dude.

Thank you very much.

I really appreciate that.

Okay.

I have, I have, I have an off, off question here.

Okay.

So this is my first real titanium exhaust.

I think I had, I had a Chineseium.

I think they call it exhaust, but this is my first real, you know,

like American made.

And so I always heard like, don't touch the exhaust, right?

Don't put your fingerprints on it.

It'll ruin it.

Like, can you give us a little advice on like titanium and titanium care

for like people that, like me that just haven't had it.

And, and I just don't want people ruining these beautiful pieces,

you know?

Sure.

Yeah, absolutely.

So one of the, one of the key tricks is when you're installing it, I

always like to make sure that I have like the cleanest gloves possible

because it's real susceptible to like oil and fingerprints and stuff

kind of staining into the metal.

Granted, you can always wipe it off and clean it with acetone,

but if it's on there and then you heat cycle it, it's pretty much in

there for the long haul, if that makes sense.

So like what I typically do is I try to make sure I install it

with as clean of hands as possible.

And then after I'm done and everything's situated, I take a clean

set of rags and some acetone and I just go through and just kind of,

I wipe down as much of it as much as possible, whatever I can access.

So acetone is, is the, the fix as far as what to use on it.

Okay.

Yeah, that's, that's what I use while I'm fabricating

and everything else.

So because it's, it's equally annoying while you're in the

midst of fabricating because I have to go fit it on a car.

If I touch anything, if I touch the titanium, I have to

clean it off before I can weld on it or before I can't even

begin to explain how much acetone and rags and stuff I go through.

But like that's, that's what I try to do to keep my products a step

apart from everybody.

Yeah.

Cause I was wondering when I, when I unwrapped it and, and it came

very well packaged.

Like it came very, like everything came perfect, but I unwrapped it

and I'm like, dude, how is there nothing on this thing?

Like how is this so mint?

You know, like from a guy that had to touch every piece of this,

you know, so it's nice to hear it's really just you having

attention to detail and the quality.

Yeah.

Definitely trying to at least.

Yeah.

And then the packing, I will be happy to afford that to my wife.

She actually helps me with all the packing and everything else

because I'm usually so busy in the garage.

So she is a saint.

She is my life saver.

That's cool though.

A little family action.

There's nothing wrong with that.

Yeah.

Um, yeah, I got one.

So, um, off of the GTR subject, uh, I heard you're

building a K swap skyline.

What's that building?

That's such a bad one.

So what happened is, uh, I, I previously lived in my old house

where I started this whole shop experiment experience at, um, and

at the time that I had done it, this was actually something

that I just did at nights.

So I had a day job.

I came home, I welded, I fabricated and stuff at night.

Sometimes on weekend I would be working to like two or three

in the morning, et cetera.

And it was still kind of more like a passion copy for me.

So I started this project where I acquired, sorry, I don't mean

to be looking off, I'm just looking at the car over there.

Um, I started by acquiring an R32 chassis that wasn't exactly

street legal, nor could it ever be.

It was a Canadian car that was brought over too early.

Um, and it didn't have an engine.

I had just paid to rebuild my first RB and this was like

back then before prices went crazy.

And I was like, I am not spending that much money on a

track car motor.

So I have to find a cheaper way to make this work.

Um, I work really closely with the guys at TF works,

Mike and all those guys are incredible to work with.

They were in the midst of coming up with their mount system.

And I was like, Mike, I think that this is going to be a

good fit for the GTSC.

There's a lot of similarities between the subframes.

I think I can make this work.

If you guys can get some of your like prototype parts in my

hands, let's start doing this together and seeing how

everything goes.

And then from there, it just kind of went, um, the

downside is once I moved to my new house and got my new

garage and my bigger shop set up, this became more of a

full-time business for me.

And I have a very, very hard time wanting to put time,

effort and resource into my own product.

If I see a part of my own company slacking, so like, I

know I'm a little bit behind on projects, I would feel

terrible if I knew that and then decided, all right,

well, I'm going to spend like a week to finish that

car or two weeks to finish that car.

It's incredibly close, but selfishly, I just can't

find the time to like prioritize myself.

I guess that's kind of my own problem.

Dang, that's a, that's a real good business guy right

there.

He's, he's, he puts his customers in the business

first and doesn't finish the K series skyline.

That's a good one.

That thing, I, when I tell you it's at like 95%, I

mean, like it's wired, the Entron is wired, the

transmission wired, like the mechanicals are done,

the plumbing's done.

I am a, I'm a brake master cylinder setup, uh, which

is going to end up coming from Alex Cross.

I'm not sure if you guys follow him.

He's from over in the UK.

He's been doing a lot of group A replica parts.

Um, I'm waiting on his brake master cylinder setup

because my turbo kind of impedes every other setup

that I've seen in that area.

Um, I've got to get that in.

And then really, I just have to plumb the brake system

and like get it on a dyno.

That's how close it is.

Dang.

And how, and how long have you had that again?

Uh, like five years.

Hey, you didn't say 10, dude.

So you're good.

No, no.

Yeah, I haven't hit double digits yet.

I would like to not hit double digits, but we'll see

how this year goes.

Yeah.

I mean, for sure.

And, and, you know, as a business person, you know, I

can relate just in the sense of, like, you know, business

is coming and it's, business isn't like super easy to

come by, right?

So it's like, when people are coming to you and

especially for handmade titanium parts, like they're not

super cheap, like, don't get me wrong.

Your products are actually like really good price, but

it's not a super cheap thing.

So I get where you're coming from as, as far as just

trying to make sure that that customer is coming first

instead of yourself, you know, and, and that's why

people will continue to come back, right?

Yeah, there's a, you know, if I want to scratch the

fabrication itch for like fully custom road racing

vehicles, I've got a, I've got a 34 GTR here that's

like a, a fully built, fully caged air jack.

It'll be dry sump RV call.

Like I will be able to get my fix by finishing that car

and that has been kind of like work in progress between

me and the customer for a while, but it's back off

the storage lift and it's back on the fabrication lift.

So like, I'll get to really cut my teeth on that and

that will, that will keep me happy.

Nice.

I mean, that is a perk of your job, right?

It's like, well, I can't work on my skyline, but

I'm getting paid to work on this one.

Yeah, that, that sounds good.

There are worse problems to have.

Yeah, that's for sure.

Yeah, so I got a question like, how did you, how did

you get from drifting to, you know, building GTR parts

and, you know, working on GTRs because they're kind

of parallel, but they're definitely different worlds,

I would assume, right?

For sure.

I think so I got into drifting just because it was

something new and exciting to me coming out of

high school.

I tried the competition thing and I'll be like

a really honest, some people are built for it.

Some people can really rip and that wasn't me.

I tried, I had some, well, I had some fun moments

under my belt.

I had some decent competition finishes.

I got licensed.

I did all the things, but like, I was never really

going to make it as far into driving as a lot

of my friends were.

And I actually just found that I really enjoyed

building the cars more than I enjoyed driving

them.

Like I could go to an event and get third place

and not really care that I didn't win as long as

it was like, Hey, I just did this whole slew of

revisions and I went on track and it worked and

it just absolutely killed it.

Like that was my reward system.

So I realized, all right, well, that's kind of

what I gravitate more towards anyways.

Then I started doing drifting at like a very

non serious level.

I got a JZX 100 and I just kind of started

doing it for fun.

And then when that car, I guess eventually the

fact that it was a gray market car that kind

of wore on me and ate away at me and I

really wasn't ready to get my car taken

because at the time that was kind of like a fear.

And so I bought the GTR because it was legal.

I had always enjoyed GTRs.

They were just now starting to come over.

It was one of the first wave of R 32s.

I did one track day and I remember I was

toying back and forth with the Porsche GT3.

And I don't know if the guy just wasn't the

fastest or not, but my car was able to kind

of hold its own against this car.

And I just I enjoyed it because like that is

30 minutes of tandem level adrenaline rush

versus like 15 or 20 seconds.

And like you're changing tires every three laps.

And it was just a different level.

I could see that, especially enthusiasts in

like hobbyist wise, right?

Like, like, yeah, you don't want to be changing

tire, like that expense starts to wear on you

too, if you're not sponsored or whatnot.

Whereas right a track day, like you go out

like in at the end, you can still drive home.

Exactly. Yeah, you just go out there.

If you want, bring some semi slicks or

whatever, they're going to last all weekend.

Take something you want to drive home on.

Or just like you said, drive there on some

200 treadwear drive back.

But the fact that I was getting my car built up

and with enough longevity that I could go do

like 30 minute hot sessions, that 30 minutes

was like the most enjoyable nonstop fun

I've ever had in a car.

And I was like, this is this is a lot more

worth the effort than drifting, in my opinion.

That doesn't mean I don't like drift, but

it just clicked for me a little more.

That makes sense.

And, you know, if you're talking about like

time on track, it's hard to get 30 minutes

straight drifting, you know what I mean?

So that definitely makes more sense.

You know, if you're if you're looking for

the seat time and just, you know, driving

to the limit behind the wheel, like track

days are where it's at for sure.

Exactly. Yeah.

And like you said, you get that, that

fulfillment of whatever it is that, you

know, guys like us need, you know,

whatever that is that we need.

And we get it by being behind the

wheel, full throttle, like focused on the

turn. I don't know what it is, but but

it fulfills it and that feeling is hard

to replicate, you know, with anything

else, like for sure, for sure.

Okay. Another little off the wall

question, right? So well, actually

this this would help people understand

what type of services you offer, I

guess. So do you offer

so this titanium exhaust here I have

for 34, I know you make them for all

three, right?

Correct. Yes. And is this something

that let's just say I wanted to

I'm not like a sport muffler guy, I'm

a can muffler guy. Is that an option

or are these this is the model?

It is I do the can mufflers relatively

actually I say relatively often

sometimes I get the request and I'm

more than happy to do it. I can do

the canister exit with like the midway

resonator. I've even done some valve

systems or like open it's completely

loud and then closed it's it's as

quiet as you can talk to the guy

next to you in your seat with no

issues whatsoever. I kind of do a lot

of different variations and I've been

having trouble kind of narrowing

down exactly what I want to offer as

my completely fixed like no changes

product. And what you have is

probably as close to what I would

like to offer as a standard option

as possible. I see. Yeah, that's I

mean and yeah, no, this is this is

awesome. I was just thinking about I

was like I hadn't really seen a canned

version and I was like man, I wonder

if that's like something he does.

But on the valve note, yeah, we

wrote at GTR Festival Colapo

brought us for a ride in his 33

and yeah, he like surprised us

with the with the valve and I'm

like we're like dude, what is

going on? And he's like

so quiet. Yeah. Yeah, it seemed

you know, like a typical, you know,

sport exhaust or whatever. And then

he opened that valve and then that

thing was just screaming and we're

like, dude, what is wrong with your

car? He's like, no, Stuart, put

a valve in it for me. And I was like,

that is that's like a valve and

then a completely separate suitcase

muffler that sits right underneath

the trunk. And I calculated it or

rather I built it with just enough

room so that like the V-spec

diffuser can fit underneath whenever

he's ready. So like when he's done

with the car and it's like his final

vision, he'll have like the V-spec

diffuser completely hiding the

separate valve portion of the system

that we built. Dang, man, you're

you're smart. You're smart guys,

Stuart. That is cool.

Like just to think of something

like that, you know, is just so

like so next level, you know, a

lot of guys would have just put

it out.

Yeah.

So OK.

So besides exhaust, like run us

through a few of the different

products that, you know, you're

currently offering that you're

excited about.

There. So essentially, a lot of my

products are things that I built

out of necessity as I was tracking

my car. And if I found that there

was like an area where I felt like

no other product was on the market

to achieve something I wanted to

achieve, that was when I tried to

build something. So that will kind

of start items as simple as like

oil coolers.

I sell oil cooler kits mainly

because there's a there is a little

bit of a space on the market for

one. Everybody kind of sticks to

like the old school Japanese

ones were like the 13 row bar and

plates. Yeah. And then there's

the like 19 row Nizmos.

I actually found that when I ran

my car for those 30 minute

sessions with 19 row, it wasn't

enough to keep up with

temperatures. So I actually offer

25 row setups for all of the

cars. And I kind of haven't

narrowed down exactly like one

particular model as far as how

you want me to build it. But I've

done them with ducting inlet

ducting outlet to suit Z tune

bumpers. I have a lot of different

options for those oil cooler

setups. Additionally, I also

specialize in ducting more

so than just the upper panel

where a lot of companies will

stop. I also fully encapsulate

all of the space between the

intercooler and the radiator

itself. So my ducting kits are

a top panel for like a

finisher. And then it's a

fully enclosed side and lower

portion so that every bit of

air that goes through the

intercooler is forced to go

through the radiator. I did that

because the cars inherently have

kind of like a lazy pressure

zone behind the intercooler. I

found that that's like a problem

that happens with cars where

the front mounts are so tight to

the front bumper. Additionally, I

do a lot of custom radiator

modifications. I can do triple

pass radiators as far as the

vertical configuration. I can

do many different bleeder

applications. I have adapters

where I can run like the top

bleed bolt to a remote

bleeder tank with as many

inlets or an outlet

configuration of your

preference. Again, that's one of

those things where like there's

so many options on the market

that it's hard for me to offer

just one. And I guess ultimately

that's that's kind of been my

fuss with these cars all along.

There are so many ways to

build a GTR. If you're in

England, it's most likely

going to get built one way.

If you're in Japan, it's

most likely getting built

another. And if you're in

Australia, it is going to be

all billet. And there's not

a wrong way about it. But when

you're offering products to

people and they're buying parts

from all over the world, like

my ducting kit is a great fit

for people with like an ARC

front mount intercooler, the

three inch standard one,

because it fits almost like

stock. Somebody will

inevitably buy that ducting

kit and they'll have like the

five inch old school

intercooler and it's like it

won't fit. No, it's impossible

to work around all that stuff

because otherwise you'd have

like seven revisions of

every single thing that you

offer. So again, I try to

offer these these options and

these modifications. But

unfortunately, I always have to

kind of lean towards a chassis

that's not so overly built

because that product is most

likely to fit the most cars.

That makes sense.

Yeah, that does make sense.

And you know, I guess

that's a good point.

Like how how do you feel

because like you said, there's

there's different companies

making all of these different

products in all of these

different countries, right?

They aimed at like these, I

guess, this one model of car.

How difficult is it for you to

stand out in all of that?

It's it's tough. But I'll

be I'll be completely honest

with you. I don't really focus

so much on standing out.

I just focus on kind of doing

what's true to me and how I

want to modify my cars.

I have been very lucky with

the fact that there's kind of

an audience to that and that

there are other people that

appreciate my style and my

approach in the parts that I

offer. But I try not to stand

out and I try not to compete

with other companies because

comparison is kind of like the

thief of joy.

There are a lot of there are

a lot of people out there

that are offering variations

of what I offer either before

or after. And I think they're

all great. It's not a one

size fits all products.

Yeah, for sure. And and the

big thing is like, you know,

taste, right? Like everybody

has a different taste and you

bring it back to even just

the sport muffler versus the

can muffler, right? Like that's

just a very simple comparison.

But everybody has a different

taste, which which is great,

right? Like one guy would not

do anything besides the Nismo

exhaust, right? But another

guy is like, oh, no, dude, I'd

rather try out this American

stuff like we're in America.

These cars are in America now,

buddy. Like, you know what I

mean? So that is one good

thing about the culture is

like we're all into the same

car. But, you know, for the

most part, we all have our

individual taste, which allows,

you know, smaller companies

like you to thrive in a world

of HKS and Nismo and in, you

know, all of these other big

banner companies.

Yeah.

Yeah, that that that is cool.

And so do you get much

business from Texas itself

itself?

I, um, I get a decent

amount, namely because I work

hand in hand with a local company

called Art of Assembly, and we

end up kind of going

co-op on a lot of projects.

So a lot of my parts and or

custom fabrication will end up

on those cars. Other than that,

I kind of ship stuff all across

the world, which is a really

cool thing that is cool.

Your wife must be like, dude,

Abu Dhabi again.

Come on.

I will tell you, she does not

like shipping international.

We have had so much issues

with FedEx and shipping full

size oil pans.

It has been a nightmare.

But, you know, we've come up

with a really good method as

far as like packing and stuff.

But yeah, the shipping thing,

it can get overwhelming.

And that is another, you know,

kind of thing to point out

about small businesses, right?

Like, so it's you and with

some assistance from your wife.

But, you know, you're not

only creating being the

creative, you're and then

also being the fabricator,

but you're you're being,

you know, packaging and, you

know, all of these different

things that these other

companies have different

divisions for.

And it's like you guys, you

know, which, which is awesome

because that does feel the best

because if everybody was just

doing everything for you,

you know, you kind of become

disconnected from it.

But the fact that you guys

are so in it is just like,

I love that feeling in that

part of a business, you know,

like, yeah, it's on you guys.

So what what's one of your

parts that is your favorite

to make that's like most

satisfying, you know, whenever

you get done welding it up,

you're just like, I love that.

Which one of your when I get

to look at those,

when I get to look at those

downpipes and they're all

complete and like all of the

all the tension springs are

up on it and everything.

I love that product.

So I'm very, very proud of it.

Unfortunately, it's one of

those things where like there

is next to no profit margin

on it.

And I actually do terrible

making them and selling them.

That's more of just like a

passion thing for me.

I'm truly proud of it.

I think it's something cool and

unique.

It stands out on the market.

It flows more horsepower than

most of them.

It has great ground clearance.

I'm just really, really pleased

with how it turned out.

So what what is different

about your downpipes for the

people that don't know?

Sure, I'm the only one on the

market that they true twin

three inch inlet with a three

and a half inch outlet.

I've designed it so that it's

as close to equal link as

possible.

Companies like Mines I think

are just going to be a touch

closer to like a true equal

link.

But mine is as close as I could

possibly be with the space

space constraints given.

And because it's a three and a

half inch outlet, it bolts right

up into my three and a half

inch exhaust.

And the reason I built that was

kind of out of necessity.

Me and Roman at Art of Assembly

had a big R34 project going

through where he wanted to just

absolutely maximize whatever

he could get out of a stock

location T2 based twin turbo

setup.

So Chris from Spectrum kind

of punched out these these

old 25 30s, made them

flow a whole lot more.

And then out of necessity, we

had to come up with a real big

downpipe and a real big exhaust

to kind of flow and handle all

the power.

And so that was kind of how

the downpipe came to life.

And that was how the exhaust

came to life.

And yeah, basically it was just

a product of necessity.

So OK, I have a few questions

on that real quick since I

have the exhaust.

So OK, first of all,

if you take this exhaust

and you put it on a stock

turbo car.

OK, what what I mean?

We all know, right?

If it's too much flow, it'll be

a little laggy maybe.

I don't think you'll really come

up with that issue on on a stock

twin turbo car.

The biggest issue that you're

going to have trying to run

my exhaust on a car that

has like just light bolt-ons

or maybe you're just bolting

on to a factory car is the

fact that it's a three and a

half inch inlet and won't

physically bolt up to any other

downpipe on the market.

So it's in the exact same

location and it's clocked

the exact same way.

It even uses the same style

of mounts that goes to the

transmission.

I'm not sure if you've seen

yours yet, but I just made a

custom one that accommodates

the bigger tubing.

But it won't actually bolt up

to a factory downpipe

because nothing above three

inch is meant to work with

anything off the shelf.

And so that's why I made my

product the way I made it

because like I don't know

if you follow like Mark 4

super stuff very in depth

or anything, but like those

cars had aftermarket four inch

exhausts and stuff that

supported big horsepower and

like the biggest thing on the

market, I think for our chassis

that isn't like an older kind

of like ancient Japanese exhaust

from like a big tuning shop

like, I don't know, like a muse

I think had a three and a half

inch at one point, but it

wasn't there like commonly

sold models.

And so I kind of wanted to

fill that gap because much

like the Mark 4 Supra is like

the older, the older higher

horsepower cars we were used

to seeing in magazines, et cetera.

I thought that there was like a

gap there for our chassis.

And so

if you buy your downpipe and

your exhaust, those are both

three and a half inch.

Does that remove the

catalytic converter?

Yes, none of my products

support the catalytic converter

anymore. That makes sense.

I can make special, but

my stuff does not support it

anymore. No, yeah, makes sense.

That's cool. Yeah. So I

mean, wow.

Yeah, that'd be crazy.

We have three and a half inch

exhaust on, you know,

from the turbo back on a stock

turbo car.

That'll sound crazy with no cat.

That's that's sweet, man.

I'm excited to to get it on

and and check it out and wipe

it down with acetone before I

started up.

Stuart, before before we let

you get back to your evening,

what can we expect,

you know, in twenty twenty

six from Stuart Lees?

I think the biggest thing that's

coming up is going to be that

thirty four GTR that I was talking

about, that track project.

That's going to be one of the

cooler things that comes out of

my shop.

That's more of like a passion

project. I love the owner

that I'm working with.

I love his vision.

I love where he's going with it.

And I think you see the best

results when you really line up

with somebody who you want to do

like an in depth project like

that with. So I have

all of my bets on that car,

as far as that being the cooler

thing that comes out of my garage.

Other than that, a lot of my products

will kind of consistently stay the

same.

As always, I offer still like my

catch can, my cooling modifications

like I spoke about earlier.

I can do custom oil cooler stuff.

But yeah, basically, that's going

to be kind of what I lean into

really hard this year is our thirty

four, because that's the thing

that I would say I'm most excited

about.

Yeah, that's awesome.

And so do you have anything else?

OK, the last question

you have a thirty three, right?

And you have a thirty two.

You have both.

Which do you like better?

Oh, so OK,

if it's going to be GTR, for me,

it's always thirty three.

But I think thirty threes

on street slash highway duty

is like pinnacle GTR.

Like if I'm watching old

animes or whatever else, like the

thirty three and like when gain

trim is what I just absolutely

froth over.

But if you're on it, if you're

on a racetrack and you want that

real mechanical connected feeling,

you want to feel like you're on

like this batshit crazy drive

of your life.

Nothing will ever touch

a track prepped R thirty two.

Unfortunately, I had to cheat on mine

a little bit. Mine is a GTST.

That's just kind of wearing GTR

body panels.

But I still say that the R thirty

two is like the best driver

to foot connect or driver to car

connection out of all three of

them.

And then if it's talking about

like the the otter

variants, I have my thirty four

sedan.

And in my opinion, I know that a

lot of people will disagree with

me. I am a huge fan of the thirty

four sedans.

But that is it's it's one of my

lame or like more boring cars,

but it's one of my favorite just

because I think it's so cool.

Yeah, that's that big four door

guy over. Yeah, he's a big four

door guy.

So that his next thing

it has to be a thirty four four

door. So when you said that,

I'm like, hmm, you know, like

yeah, dude, see, this is a sign.

I have I've got a lot of influence

from that shop.

I they were a little less known

before, but now they're kind of

entering the scene a lot bigger.

But Occubo factory 34s

that come out of there are second

to none. They are insane.

They are like next level.

They look they look so good.

Yeah, I was so motivated by all

of their builds that before

everything got extremely like

Nissan heritage program and

discontinued. I got a full

R thirty four GTR front end from

Shea when he was up at the Pacific

Northwest spot.

And I still have that just sitting

waiting. But, you know, like I said

with my thirty two, none of my stuff

can really take priority now until

I'm really happy with where my

business is.

Yeah, yeah, which is good because

the the parts, the cars,

you know, they'll wait for you,

right? The business won't

wait for you.

Like the business literally will not.

So yeah, I mean, it's

necessity, right?

But shout out to you for

understanding that.

Thank you very much.

OK, so if our listeners

want one of these beautiful

titanium exhausts or a catch

can or some cooling pieces,

like tell us where to find you on

the Internet on on socials,

where can we find Stuart?

Absolutely.

So TF works is going to be the

best place to get any of my

cooling products. They carry all

of my catch cans, my ducting

kits, oil pan extensions, which

you can purchase with or without

templates. If you're interested in

the oil pan modifications direct,

you can contact me or I can get

you set up with with a list of

other fabricators across the

United States that are also very

capable of doing the job.

Titanium stuff is going to be built

to order. I don't pre pre build

any titanium.

So if you're interested in any

exhausts or downpipes or if you

want to talk about custom

projects, I also do titanium

intakes, titanium merge pipes,

et cetera.

The best way to contact me is

actually just to Instagram at

Stuart Leesk and then just

shoot me a message about your

product or what you're looking

for. I specialize in

Skylines, but it's not all that I

do. I kind of have a soft spot

for I guess you would say most

JDM cars.

And there's not a lot of products

that I'll say no to.

Damn. Okay. Yeah.

That's where it's at.

I mean, for sure.

Recommend this guy.

If you if you need anything,

just sitting here in real life

looking at this, if you need

anything, just ask this guy,

Hey, is this the one from

GTR festival?

That's the one.

Yep. Wow.

I have the GT.

Dude, come on.

You spoiled me, man.

No, we appreciate you coming on

for sure, Stuart.

It's it's good to hear from,

you know, hardworking guys that

are a part of our culture and

helping continue to push it

forward for sure.

Absolutely. I love to being

here. Thank you guys so much

for having me.

It was great chatting.

All right, man.

Have a good night.

You guys too.

You'll take care.

See you.

Yeah.

Dude, love hardworking American

dudes in our culture.

It's sweet.

Dude, you know what I see after

this after talking to Stuart

and I hope it's it's him

and you know, whatever.

But okay, dude, hear me out

and we've already seen it a

little bit, but I don't think

we've actually seen it.

Check it out.

So Japan, right?

Where the cars start.

Obviously the shops come out

the fabricators, the shops,

the things, they become big,

right?

Yeah.

Boom.

Now Australia can get them.

Those tuners, those shops,

they become big, right?

And now we're coming into the

part where Americans actually

have the cars in their hands.

Right.

We've had, you know, of course

32s for a long time for sure.

But now with the 34s coming

out and mainstream attention

coming to the culture more

and more money outside of just

us broke JDM dudes.

Yeah.

More wealth is coming into it.

Now our opportunity,

Americans opportunity to really

slate themselves as like the

skyline places.

And we're seeing it.

We're literally seeing it

on this podcast.

We're seeing them emerging

and like coming out.

Coming out with like new cool

stuff that like makes sense

for these cars, you know,

where no knocking on HKS

or anything, you know,

they're just still putting

out the silent high power exhaust

and, you know, the same stuff

they've been doing.

I mean, they've had a few new

things, but like they're

not innovating like somebody

like Stuart, who is so close to

it, right?

He's so close to the culture

for so long.

Yes, as well.

And they're disconnected.

Right.

And, you know, with these

American shops and builders

and everything, they're able

to like finally express

themselves with the cars

and, you know, making these parts

where, you know, what would

have happened if there was

no 25 year rule?

Like what would be seen from

America from like way back?

You know what I mean?

Like and would we play it out

or burnt out on it?

Kind of like Japan kind of is.

Maybe.

I mean, it's probably a good

thing because like there's

some technology and some things

that are around now that

weren't around back then

that we can utilize

to make it cool.

Whereas these other

countries are already

going to the next.

Yes, right.

Because that's what I'll show you

did to Japan.

That's what we'll do to them,

you know, and we'll take it

to that next level where,

yeah, for sure.

So, you know, I'm happy to hear

that Stuart's doing well

and he's too busy to work

on his cars, you know,

like that's a good thing,

right?

If he had time to work

on the cars, I mean,

he didn't have orders.

And if he doesn't have orders,

can't work on the car.

So, no, I'm happy to hear

he's busy and we definitely

appreciate him being on.

Hit him up if you need anything.

I'm pumped to get this exhaust

on the car.

I know that.

But for this episode,

oh, actually hit us up

at our HD GUIS.

Check out the description.

Find our Facebook group.

Join, say what's up.

But for this episode,

I am Bobby.

This is Aaron.

See ya.

Peace.

Everyone's Favorite Fabricator Stewart Leask - Ep.172

About this episode

Nissan GT-R

Nissan S14

drifting

motorsports

front cut

Nissan S13

MIG welder

tube bender

Zilvia

Formula D

chassis

adjustable sway bars

titanium exhaust

K swap

Nissan R32

TF works

brake master cylinder

fabrication

Nissan Skyline GT-R

JZX 100

gray market car

Volkswagen R32

Porsche GT3

track day

diffuser

oil cooler

ducting

intercooler

radiator

HKS

Toyota Supra

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