Photo courtesy of Kathy Applebaum
You read that headline right, iWire helped build a movie car for the new Transformers movie coming out in December 2018 - Bumblebee. As a Subaru wiring company, you may ask how we got involved with a VW Bug movie?
Well, it all started with a simple phone call. Most calls at iWire start the same way, with our owner, Brian, answering, "iWire, this is Brian." But this was very special. We were asked by Trevor of MadMann Garage to help with their build for a movie, which he wouldn't tell us about at the time (we were thinking it was another Herbie reboot). MadMann Garage had been trying to figure out how to avoid the troubles they had run into in the past with the original air-cooled VW engine on other project cars. While researching Subaru options, they discovered that we specialize in this and reached out to us. Not only did we help with the wiring, but we also consulted on engine location and equipment placement/routing.
In the movie business, they build cars to suit the needs of specific shots. For our Bug build, the crew needed a car that looked original but had the horsepower to push a car with the additional weight of a driver on the roof and the safety equipment that goes with it. This way, it looks like Bumblebee is driving the car himself and not the actors, while in reality, the driver is in a cage on top. We're hoping to get some video of it driving since it must have looked pretty bizarre to see the driver on the roof!
For this harness, we used a stock OEM ECU from a 1999 Subaru Forester. We also wired the rest of the harness from scratch, so everything was plug-and-play. This included a custom fuse box with wiring for radiator fans, an OBD2 port, an alternator, and a fuel pump controller. It was a pretty standard build, with little fluff, since the camera can't see the AC or gauges working.
We're very proud of this harness, especially after we got a call a few months after filming from Trevor with rave reviews, telling us they had no issues even with the long workdays and the heat out in the desert. We hope we're able to tell when it's our car vs another movie car. Though the coolest part of the whole build was getting a check from Paramount Pictures in the mail (too bad it wasn't signed by Michael Bay ;D). We're excited to have been part of this project and can't wait to share more about the other secret projects we've been working on.
Photo courtesy of Kathy Applebaum
Need Subaru DIY Items? Check Out the Links Below:
