V8 Banana Mustang
Discussion
So before I start waffling on about how great it is spending all my money on a massive banana with a V8 in it I might as well start from the...start
So I passed in 2014 and was told I wasn't getting a car but after years of motocross riding and mine recently being stolen
I thought ill get a road bike then... I think that changed things as when went out and bought my first car..I say I but anyway.. a mighty 1.4 citroen C2 which I did my best to make it look s
t.

I put 16' wheels on, cat back exhaust and diffuser
I kept that while I went to uni locally so drove in blah blah boring wasn't for me left and sat at home for a year working in a kitchen/worked for my dad and playing with my willy.
Started to get itchy feet and went on ebay looking at something cooler, decided a seat leon would fit so looked at one was silver, standard, boring and already sold, on the way home in browsing ebay spotted the perfect one on bids but already close to my top budget of around 3k because I'm sting. Bid on it last minute and won think it was around 3.5k but ah well drove all the way to London to buy my mystery car, luckily I turned up to a Land Rover dealership in Croydon and it was one of the salesman personal car phew and obviously I was slightly nervous as when he introduced himself I introduced myself as him??? anyway after a blank stare went to see the lil banana Id bought.


this was a proper spec'd car Seat Leon TFSI 2.0 turbo was on 80k had full BTCC kit 19" rotiform wheels, APR map about 280hp, downpipe, Miltek exhaust, MTC intake, coilovers and loads of service history with major work done in the last year not that I ever even looked at any of the history because I like to live dangerously.
I was around 21 when I bought that and had a proper job now so just ragged it about for 2 faultless years but if youre a OCD detailer Id look away now as it goes down hill from here as I made a seemingly reoccurring decision to park under a tree


Obviously I washed it and why was it parked under a tree you ask! well I made a childhood fantasy come true and I bought a..
Subaru WRX SL sunroof and heated seats

And obviously i parked under a tree like you do and tbh I didnt like it at all, it was standard, silver, loud road noise on the motorway like the window was always open and really boring

Paid around 3.5k Only had it about 6 months started working further away like 50mile round trip for 12hr shift so the WRX had to go regardless and a diesel was bought took ages to sell the wrx even being standard and mint condition now theyre around 6k and fly out oh well.
Volvo C30 D3
Really nice car! It was standard when I got it or so I thought! turned up to view it had a cobra exhaust and tinted front windows and only 80k which was a nice surprise all for £2.5k I think it was

I put wheels on straight away which looked daft on standard suspension

but quickly resolved with a pair of seized ebay specials


Put the Drive-E spoiler on debadged it and had it mapped, made about 210hp

Drove all through winter etc then noticed it was in need of a wash



I opted to rub the plate with my hand because Im lazy, had no issues other than a intercooler pipe came off but new clamp and all was dandy!
I washed it eventually, sold the wheels and put it up for sale as the drive to work was now 10 miles

So I could get something cool, loud and petrol for reference its now March 2020..
I was FB marketplace and knew It was what I wanted and needed in my life to be coolest kid on the block
2005 Nissan 350z
this was a very well spec'd car again with HSD coilovers, bucket seats, harnesses, ARK exhaust, 19x10 Work CR2P wheels all for 5k



I wasted no time putting it back to the correct and only height hahaha

Covid then happened so I just basically drove it to work and made a lot of noise.. then I came home one day pulled into my road and steam everywhere..oh no



Radiator went bang think the thermostat had failed put an ebay one in and that was also s
t so ran no thermostat forever after also if you need hose cutting tips, wear glasses thanks for listening

so all was happy days but i wanted to make it a bit more pizazz in ya face but I didnt
until I did....


Yep I put a MASSIVE big country labs wing on it which is arguably the best decision I made with it
I havent gone into it yet but Id been involved in drifting since the start pretty much but none have been road cars just cheap £500 E36/E46s etc so i wanted to use this properly, so I got the diff welded, spare rays 18s and off I went to Stafford drift day

All was well ..unitl it was not.. when a silly billy in a MX5 decided to target fixed on to my rear end

But thats part of it so i wasnt that bothered luckily it was the rear quarter missed the wheel and lights although the drive home felt very like I was steering a victorian sailing ship ready to attack the spanish or something so to fix this I ignored it 👌


then I had a last minute invite to driftland up in Fife... Scotland ...I am in Liverpool.. So i put a set of wheels in the car and drove all the way there


Once again drifted all day no issues had to be in work the next day so set off home happ it went well...inevitably until it did not go well lost all power car shuts off manage to glide onto a slip road sticking into traffic, Ah brilliant my dad was in the Navara with the trailer but that had another car on so couldn't take it but suddenly it randomly started but spluttered and cut off kept doing this and I made it to a petrol station thinking the fuel pump had starved being sloshed about all day but no joy

left it at a petrol station and hopped in the pickup as a passenger and had a nice nap all the way home, got it recovered a few days later and the driver said started no problem and drove onto the trailer ..wow how annoying,

alas my old friend is home battered and bruised and looks like its had a bender and shat all over itself..

technically it has but anywayyy had it diagnosed tried a few thing like cam sensors etc but turns out the fuel pump was failing but only once it was warm?? so that was a long winded process, in the mean time I had bought another car because I wasn't going to be caught out a third time at the side of the road, subtle foreshadowing but moving on.. something Ive always had a soft spot for pickups especially off road styled ones
2008 Mitsubishi L200 animal

This was soo good had a 2" lift kit 33" tyres and obviously a lightbar otherwise id get stuck off roading every one knows that. all for 3.5k sep 2020
so it didnt take me long for me to join a load of groups and go off roading

had a good laugh so a month or so later I went again..


as you can see i had fun because this is my happy face

made for some cool photos when I got home as well



As you can see I did my best at lowering the house prices for other to move into the area but i did need to wash it so I could actually see out the windscreen, It was around christmas 2020 I think so got a few bits for it

enjoyed being the king of the road with 2 cars rocking about like a loony




had to rescue my brother in Rivington with a flat tyre on a date no less and well when in Rome, be rude not to!

Then I borrowed a twin turbo 350z for a competition and i did really well this time like went from pro 2 to pro class top 8



realised very quickly if I wanted to do that another round I needed a better job spent £1000 in semi slick that weekend
so October 2021 new job meant more miles 25 each way and one of these 2 cars have to go! I had more attachment to the 350z so the L200 went on its merry way to make way for a diesel again.
So I passed in 2014 and was told I wasn't getting a car but after years of motocross riding and mine recently being stolen


I put 16' wheels on, cat back exhaust and diffuser
I kept that while I went to uni locally so drove in blah blah boring wasn't for me left and sat at home for a year working in a kitchen/worked for my dad and playing with my willy.
Started to get itchy feet and went on ebay looking at something cooler, decided a seat leon would fit so looked at one was silver, standard, boring and already sold, on the way home in browsing ebay spotted the perfect one on bids but already close to my top budget of around 3k because I'm sting. Bid on it last minute and won think it was around 3.5k but ah well drove all the way to London to buy my mystery car, luckily I turned up to a Land Rover dealership in Croydon and it was one of the salesman personal car phew and obviously I was slightly nervous as when he introduced himself I introduced myself as him??? anyway after a blank stare went to see the lil banana Id bought.
this was a proper spec'd car Seat Leon TFSI 2.0 turbo was on 80k had full BTCC kit 19" rotiform wheels, APR map about 280hp, downpipe, Miltek exhaust, MTC intake, coilovers and loads of service history with major work done in the last year not that I ever even looked at any of the history because I like to live dangerously.
I was around 21 when I bought that and had a proper job now so just ragged it about for 2 faultless years but if youre a OCD detailer Id look away now as it goes down hill from here as I made a seemingly reoccurring decision to park under a tree
Obviously I washed it and why was it parked under a tree you ask! well I made a childhood fantasy come true and I bought a..
Subaru WRX SL sunroof and heated seats
And obviously i parked under a tree like you do and tbh I didnt like it at all, it was standard, silver, loud road noise on the motorway like the window was always open and really boring
Paid around 3.5k Only had it about 6 months started working further away like 50mile round trip for 12hr shift so the WRX had to go regardless and a diesel was bought took ages to sell the wrx even being standard and mint condition now theyre around 6k and fly out oh well.
Volvo C30 D3
Really nice car! It was standard when I got it or so I thought! turned up to view it had a cobra exhaust and tinted front windows and only 80k which was a nice surprise all for £2.5k I think it was
I put wheels on straight away which looked daft on standard suspension
but quickly resolved with a pair of seized ebay specials
Put the Drive-E spoiler on debadged it and had it mapped, made about 210hp
Drove all through winter etc then noticed it was in need of a wash
I opted to rub the plate with my hand because Im lazy, had no issues other than a intercooler pipe came off but new clamp and all was dandy!
I washed it eventually, sold the wheels and put it up for sale as the drive to work was now 10 miles
So I could get something cool, loud and petrol for reference its now March 2020..
I was FB marketplace and knew It was what I wanted and needed in my life to be coolest kid on the block
2005 Nissan 350z
this was a very well spec'd car again with HSD coilovers, bucket seats, harnesses, ARK exhaust, 19x10 Work CR2P wheels all for 5k
I wasted no time putting it back to the correct and only height hahaha
Covid then happened so I just basically drove it to work and made a lot of noise.. then I came home one day pulled into my road and steam everywhere..oh no
Radiator went bang think the thermostat had failed put an ebay one in and that was also s

so all was happy days but i wanted to make it a bit more pizazz in ya face but I didnt
until I did....
Yep I put a MASSIVE big country labs wing on it which is arguably the best decision I made with it
I havent gone into it yet but Id been involved in drifting since the start pretty much but none have been road cars just cheap £500 E36/E46s etc so i wanted to use this properly, so I got the diff welded, spare rays 18s and off I went to Stafford drift day
All was well ..unitl it was not.. when a silly billy in a MX5 decided to target fixed on to my rear end
But thats part of it so i wasnt that bothered luckily it was the rear quarter missed the wheel and lights although the drive home felt very like I was steering a victorian sailing ship ready to attack the spanish or something so to fix this I ignored it 👌
then I had a last minute invite to driftland up in Fife... Scotland ...I am in Liverpool.. So i put a set of wheels in the car and drove all the way there
Once again drifted all day no issues had to be in work the next day so set off home happ it went well...inevitably until it did not go well lost all power car shuts off manage to glide onto a slip road sticking into traffic, Ah brilliant my dad was in the Navara with the trailer but that had another car on so couldn't take it but suddenly it randomly started but spluttered and cut off kept doing this and I made it to a petrol station thinking the fuel pump had starved being sloshed about all day but no joy
left it at a petrol station and hopped in the pickup as a passenger and had a nice nap all the way home, got it recovered a few days later and the driver said started no problem and drove onto the trailer ..wow how annoying,
alas my old friend is home battered and bruised and looks like its had a bender and shat all over itself..
technically it has but anywayyy had it diagnosed tried a few thing like cam sensors etc but turns out the fuel pump was failing but only once it was warm?? so that was a long winded process, in the mean time I had bought another car because I wasn't going to be caught out a third time at the side of the road, subtle foreshadowing but moving on.. something Ive always had a soft spot for pickups especially off road styled ones
2008 Mitsubishi L200 animal
This was soo good had a 2" lift kit 33" tyres and obviously a lightbar otherwise id get stuck off roading every one knows that. all for 3.5k sep 2020
so it didnt take me long for me to join a load of groups and go off roading
had a good laugh so a month or so later I went again..
as you can see i had fun because this is my happy face
made for some cool photos when I got home as well
As you can see I did my best at lowering the house prices for other to move into the area but i did need to wash it so I could actually see out the windscreen, It was around christmas 2020 I think so got a few bits for it
enjoyed being the king of the road with 2 cars rocking about like a loony
had to rescue my brother in Rivington with a flat tyre on a date no less and well when in Rome, be rude not to!
Then I borrowed a twin turbo 350z for a competition and i did really well this time like went from pro 2 to pro class top 8
realised very quickly if I wanted to do that another round I needed a better job spent £1000 in semi slick that weekend
so October 2021 new job meant more miles 25 each way and one of these 2 cars have to go! I had more attachment to the 350z so the L200 went on its merry way to make way for a diesel again.
2008 Audi A5 3.0 tdi Quattro
amazing car for the money again 3.5k 150k miles but you wouldnt know at all but pretty much all standard

I did my very best at modifying or ruining it depending who you ask tbh but I loved it. drove it for a while standard then.. a set of coilovers arrived, a set of 19" wheels and it was set at a suitable..ly not very functional ride height. Lovely

then an RS5 bumper came up 10 mins away! couldnt do the bumper without the main attraction to these cars.. the exhaust!!



Full 3" from the turbo back! sounded immense. Ive seen the videos of the GTR sounding diesels but its crazy how good it was in person

so at this point I was just laying on the miles when as you guessed it I let it get rather dirty and if you couldnt tell I enjoy driving cars not washing them although it it satisfying to wash a dirty car not bad for 180k miles


So I did wash It a few times and it came up really well

Heres my cat appreciating my efforts

I did also raise the car to a normal height after a few police encounters mainly for tinted windows and lack of mot oops

By this point my dad had unexpectedly passed away and I basically lost the love for anything car related as we did everything together so no drifting, cars shows, nothing... for a fair while as it just made me upset and most of it was sold off
This meant the 350z wasnt being used more than a couple days a month because the Audi was faster, comfier, better on fuel, sounded better, and all round a nicer drive so I was looking at trading it with a diesel bmw I was offered as a swap which ...went well mid summer 2023

crank sensor and a few other issues Id lost all love for it, Kept the wheels and sold it for I think 4.5k in the end which wasn't bad really to a girl who set it up properly for drifting and the headgasket failed almost immediately on her... so lucky escape although I felt really bad
so with one car for a few months I got bored spotted this get reduced quite heavily and threw a offer for it, next thing Im on the train to Kent on a chilly December 2023
2015 Mitsubishi L200 barbarian
2" Lift kit with springs n shocks, 33" tyres, winch, lightbar, decat etc basically a messed about with bag of poop metaphorically and literally in colour and I loved it. Paid 6.5k 65k miles if you believe that

It wasnt without its issues gauges all over the place, he said yeah just pull the dash out and move the needles back..ok..that made me run out of fuel lucky for me outside the petrol station didnt make that mistake again, oh and the heaters didnt work ..at all yay for buying blind!

I quickly made the most of the dirt in work

took it off road and learnt.. nothing clearly until it was too late


Replaced the lights as although they looked cool but literally lit up nothing as the bulbs were loose like not attached other than the wires

Used it for taking stuff to the tip

Went off road again



but on the way there the temp rose above what was normal for the cross eyed gauge, went down thought nothing of it but next day on the way to work it definitely overheated coolant and steam pouring out in the car park. Bled the system as best as I could in the car park no joy head gasket had gone, it had been replaced by the last owner at 60k so obviously a bodged job. the cat helped as the tie made him a supervisor of course!


sold on for 5k to be exported to who knows where it'll be sold for a million pound
I had also swapped the Audi and some cash summer 2024 for something a little more refined as the clutch started making a slight noise when pressed and with a dual mass replacement cost close to 2k I took the opportunity has very similar miles actually
2010 BMW F10 535d
This is my first auto and moon miles at 170k but nearly 400hp loads of carbon parts and other bits, its awesome


Ive still got his and basically put loads of miles on it and was faultless

until on night I was coming home from a night shift while it was snowing and as I came out a side road it stalled like a manual.. very strange started up drove a few feet cut out then just cranked endlessly, right in the middle of the road no less!

Got it to the side of the road after a lot of messing about then walked the last 5 mins home and went to bed obviously. the next day I was off work to transfer back to days so I set about getting the car home walked up nothing again..just checked the boot to jump start it if it was battery related and to my surprise a small lake had formed around the battery and electrics.. fantastic!

Emptied the water out and it started straight away, sealed up what I could and its not filled up since touch wood.
After the last pickup I fancied somthing a bit more refined as a 2nd car when I say refined I mean a off road pickup that not a bag of spanners and a chore to drive.
welcome the 2016 Nissan Navara NP300


this was a nice example for the money 7.5k few scratches etc but it was set up as an overlander so had 2" lift blocks, modular wheels, LED rear lights and a few other things
once again i made sure to add a few parts to make it look a bit meaner and got it dirty as you'd expect




Chat GPT became a thing and I did what anyone would do..
Put my cat in and on top of the car


but there was a reason I bought this which was to get back into the drifting and getting a trailer enter the cheap E46 325i which I set up with no brain cells working that day

Then the trailer

Heres the masterpiece




Ive only used it a handful of times this year as I was accepted on a house and basically the pickup moved everything in like 5 trips


If you can tell I accidently drove over the wall in the pickup which saved me a job so 2 can comfortably get on the drive
Ive been here a few months thinking of getting something more fun instead of the bmw until some one posted a photo of a car on facebook that Ive always wanted since I was in nappies, a few messages later he agreed he'd sell it and take the pickup as a cheap px and I got a loan because Ive learnt you only get one life so might as well enjoy it
2018 V8 Ford Mustang S550



I took it to Tunerfest at Oulton Park which was cool

Police seemed to disagree

apparently the 4th brake light flashes like F1 light
I cant see it so didnt know tbh


My dad also had a yellow Ford Mustang Boss 302 back in the late 70s I think it was
So he wouldve loved mine but it is what it is

And there we are a mustang and a bmw and a drift car I cant tow anywhere so will likely sell the bmw and get another navara or ranger maybe for the daily 50 mile commute
If youve made it this far without suffering an aneurism from my tragic typing skills congratulations!
amazing car for the money again 3.5k 150k miles but you wouldnt know at all but pretty much all standard
I did my very best at modifying or ruining it depending who you ask tbh but I loved it. drove it for a while standard then.. a set of coilovers arrived, a set of 19" wheels and it was set at a suitable..ly not very functional ride height. Lovely
then an RS5 bumper came up 10 mins away! couldnt do the bumper without the main attraction to these cars.. the exhaust!!
Full 3" from the turbo back! sounded immense. Ive seen the videos of the GTR sounding diesels but its crazy how good it was in person
so at this point I was just laying on the miles when as you guessed it I let it get rather dirty and if you couldnt tell I enjoy driving cars not washing them although it it satisfying to wash a dirty car not bad for 180k miles
So I did wash It a few times and it came up really well
Heres my cat appreciating my efforts
I did also raise the car to a normal height after a few police encounters mainly for tinted windows and lack of mot oops
By this point my dad had unexpectedly passed away and I basically lost the love for anything car related as we did everything together so no drifting, cars shows, nothing... for a fair while as it just made me upset and most of it was sold off
This meant the 350z wasnt being used more than a couple days a month because the Audi was faster, comfier, better on fuel, sounded better, and all round a nicer drive so I was looking at trading it with a diesel bmw I was offered as a swap which ...went well mid summer 2023
crank sensor and a few other issues Id lost all love for it, Kept the wheels and sold it for I think 4.5k in the end which wasn't bad really to a girl who set it up properly for drifting and the headgasket failed almost immediately on her... so lucky escape although I felt really bad
so with one car for a few months I got bored spotted this get reduced quite heavily and threw a offer for it, next thing Im on the train to Kent on a chilly December 2023
2015 Mitsubishi L200 barbarian
2" Lift kit with springs n shocks, 33" tyres, winch, lightbar, decat etc basically a messed about with bag of poop metaphorically and literally in colour and I loved it. Paid 6.5k 65k miles if you believe that
It wasnt without its issues gauges all over the place, he said yeah just pull the dash out and move the needles back..ok..that made me run out of fuel lucky for me outside the petrol station didnt make that mistake again, oh and the heaters didnt work ..at all yay for buying blind!
I quickly made the most of the dirt in work
took it off road and learnt.. nothing clearly until it was too late
Replaced the lights as although they looked cool but literally lit up nothing as the bulbs were loose like not attached other than the wires
Used it for taking stuff to the tip
Went off road again
but on the way there the temp rose above what was normal for the cross eyed gauge, went down thought nothing of it but next day on the way to work it definitely overheated coolant and steam pouring out in the car park. Bled the system as best as I could in the car park no joy head gasket had gone, it had been replaced by the last owner at 60k so obviously a bodged job. the cat helped as the tie made him a supervisor of course!
sold on for 5k to be exported to who knows where it'll be sold for a million pound
I had also swapped the Audi and some cash summer 2024 for something a little more refined as the clutch started making a slight noise when pressed and with a dual mass replacement cost close to 2k I took the opportunity has very similar miles actually
2010 BMW F10 535d
This is my first auto and moon miles at 170k but nearly 400hp loads of carbon parts and other bits, its awesome
Ive still got his and basically put loads of miles on it and was faultless
until on night I was coming home from a night shift while it was snowing and as I came out a side road it stalled like a manual.. very strange started up drove a few feet cut out then just cranked endlessly, right in the middle of the road no less!
Got it to the side of the road after a lot of messing about then walked the last 5 mins home and went to bed obviously. the next day I was off work to transfer back to days so I set about getting the car home walked up nothing again..just checked the boot to jump start it if it was battery related and to my surprise a small lake had formed around the battery and electrics.. fantastic!
Emptied the water out and it started straight away, sealed up what I could and its not filled up since touch wood.
After the last pickup I fancied somthing a bit more refined as a 2nd car when I say refined I mean a off road pickup that not a bag of spanners and a chore to drive.
welcome the 2016 Nissan Navara NP300
this was a nice example for the money 7.5k few scratches etc but it was set up as an overlander so had 2" lift blocks, modular wheels, LED rear lights and a few other things
once again i made sure to add a few parts to make it look a bit meaner and got it dirty as you'd expect
Chat GPT became a thing and I did what anyone would do..
Put my cat in and on top of the car
but there was a reason I bought this which was to get back into the drifting and getting a trailer enter the cheap E46 325i which I set up with no brain cells working that day
Then the trailer
Heres the masterpiece
Ive only used it a handful of times this year as I was accepted on a house and basically the pickup moved everything in like 5 trips
If you can tell I accidently drove over the wall in the pickup which saved me a job so 2 can comfortably get on the drive
Ive been here a few months thinking of getting something more fun instead of the bmw until some one posted a photo of a car on facebook that Ive always wanted since I was in nappies, a few messages later he agreed he'd sell it and take the pickup as a cheap px and I got a loan because Ive learnt you only get one life so might as well enjoy it
2018 V8 Ford Mustang S550
I took it to Tunerfest at Oulton Park which was cool
Police seemed to disagree
apparently the 4th brake light flashes like F1 light

My dad also had a yellow Ford Mustang Boss 302 back in the late 70s I think it was
So he wouldve loved mine but it is what it is
And there we are a mustang and a bmw and a drift car I cant tow anywhere so will likely sell the bmw and get another navara or ranger maybe for the daily 50 mile commute
If youve made it this far without suffering an aneurism from my tragic typing skills congratulations!
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff