Sweet man that sounds awesome
The R154 is a GREAT tranny, as long as you keep it mantained. They can handle quite a bit of power, plus make a great matchup for a clutch upgrade. "My" slightly worn one in the '92 has a twin-disk carbon clutch infront of it, makes street driving a little more interesting
As for LFS, it really is an amazing game. All the tracks are very unique, but symbolize different 'areas'. You might enjoy Fern Bay if you end up getting S2, it's a very happy bright area, with lots of fun combos. Get S2 as soon as you can, you won't regret it. I used to play the Grand Turismo and GTR series games, and (imo) LFS blows them out of the water.
~Bryan~