FROM GT TO V6 & BACK TO GT AGAIN...
1999
I was oh so excited when my parents FINALLY said I could get a Mustang; I'd been pouring through Auto Traders and Summit catalogs for a year. I specifically wanted 94-95 5.0L. Went to look at a 94 Yellow GT, bone stock and clean as could be, and bought it on the spot. Three weeks later I'm headin down I-10 when the car in front of me swerves to miss road debris, as do I, however I hit the road debris and swerve out of control. Yes, at the time I had no idea how to handle a RWD V8. Hit two walls, car was totalled. Didn't even have enough time to take a pic. So parents play hard ball with me, tell me I can't have another Mustang, tell me to start shopping for old civics. I don't blame them, but that doesn't mean I feel good about totalling one of the cleanest "last of the 5.0's" that 1999 (that was a good year) had to offer. My dad buys my car back from insurance to use the drivetrain and power train in a Shelby Cobra kit car he's decided to build. As time winds on dad decides to put off the Shelby project, now he's stuck with my totalled car. This was a great opportunity for me 2 pitch him the, "Let's buy another body and just swap everything." And he went for it! Thanks to my dad and all my friends for sticking this through with me.
2000
(Not my actual picture, the V6 I bought was in nowhere as good of shape as this one, picture purple tint, lots of dents, and a V6 spoiler.)
Bought the red car and bought the GT back from insurance, drove the V6 around for 4 months.
Red car after the engine, drivetrain swap - before the rest of the paint job.
We painted the engine compartment before the engine swap
So we bought the straightest, cheapest red 94 V6 car we could find, swapped all the 5.0L stuff into it, painted it canary yellow in 'honor' of the one I had totalled. And boom, I basically had my original car for half the price.
Paint Process
Painting the bumpers, letting the body sun dry
Once I moved away from my dad's he was no longer my crutch to lean on incase there was something I needed to know about the car; I had the performance knowledge part down, all that was left was the mechanical part. Luckily I had learned the basics from my dad, now I just needed to hone in on certain areas. All the work done on the car was by me except for setting up the gear, I truely believe setting up a gear perfectly is an art, and was honored to have my old axle tech offer to do the install. I didn't assemble the motor either since the guy who did the engine work was willing to do it for free.
The original look I went for with the Banana; influenced by the SA-15 Saleen
After several years, I felt the car had too much of a long and lean look, not the look I was lookin for in a Mustang. I sold/traded some body parts in order to give the banana a more staunchy, simple, down-to business look.
Taken 02/26/06
Working on cars has led me down many roads; I've been a diesel tech line helper for Ford, and I can't seem to get away from the automotive business no matter what I do. But my job pays for the rather expensive upkeep of my now 171K mile 94 car (which trust me is a chore all it's own), so going to work everyday is never a drag.
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The History of the Banana
