YouTube channel Bad Obsession Motorsport has released the newest episode in their series of build videos titled Project Binky. It details the struggles of a pair of British race car drivers turned engineers, Nik Blackhurst and Richard Brunning, whose goal is to fit a rusted-through Austin Mini with the all-wheel-drive system and turbocharged engine from a Toyota Celica GT-Four sports coupe.
The best laid plans of mice and men, however, often go astray. They predicted the car would be complete within a matter of months, and that the car would be on a track by the end of 2014, a prediction made in August of 2013. As should be obvious by the state of the car in the above video, the project has not yet been finished as of March of 2017, and no end is in sight. Some of the menial work, such as bending custom aluminum fuel lines, installing an oversized fuel cell, and redesigning the car’s floor to accommodate the transmission, is done, but much still remains. The glamorous work, the stuff that magazines drool over, such as bigger turbochargers or paint choices, are still in the distant future.
What, aside from chuckles, can be gleaned from watching their tribulations? Well, we can take their project as a cautionary tale, that we ought to avoid project cars of our own, lest we find ourselves in over our heads. They are never completed on time, and on top of that, figuring out where to draw the finish line is a challenge for most of us who have ongoing projects. Or, of course, we can take inspiration from their work. They are still making progress, even if slow, and to be honest, the effort they are putting in to this car only gives me a desire to learn how to weld like them… and learn to enjoy tea.
