after 13 years of entertaining us with upgrading the engineering and design of, while building an Austin Mini, Nik and Richard have gotten Project Binky out of the shed and onto the blacktop for shakedown runs! And of course, found that many things needed to be fixed

Started in 2013, this has been one of the most entertaining series on You Tube for gear heads, I learned of it and posted about it in 2018, with a follow up in 2020 https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/search?q=binky

https://www.youtube.com/@BadObsessionMotorsport/videos for all the Binky build videos

a very small pop up camper, for a mini!

https://newatlas.com/pickup-campers/ovrlnd-tiny-mini-pickup-camper/

hand painted Mini pick up, inspired by the 303 squadron, the most successful fighter squadron, consisting of 95% Polish pilots, in the Battle of Britain (thank you Shas!)

Shas corrected my post, with some accurate facts (thank you Shas!) 

the non polish  members of the 303 were flight commander John Kent, a Canadian from Winnipeg serving in the RAF, and Josef František a bit eccentric Czech pilot that entered Polish service after the III Reich annexed Czechoslovakia and he fought with the 303rd to his end in a crash near Cuddington Way. At that time he was number 4 top ace pilot in all allied forces.

https://www.facebook.com/pawelekkalinowski/posts/pfbid02oDzCQdLeq84bU2d4GWFLCpmAX6Ca5qMKNH7oC4pGgfFKkpbW2aXZMQuNC7uDyKj9l

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._303_Squadron_RAF

the coolest thing I saw on tonight's walk was this Mini-Minor, and VW Bug on the same trailer!

just my opinion, but anyone that lets a Mini sit parked so long that it sinks into the ground to the rims, doesn't deserve to own a Mini

these were an unusual surprise to find on the walk... I'm finally getting into a better neighborhood for cool cars

It's RARE to see a cool old mini. I don't know if I've seen one on walkabout before

MG Midget, I'm pretty sure

 Nissan 300 ZX, once the big dog. I bet a properly sorted out example would be a good competitor for a Corvette. Based on the area being Mira Mesa, central area of all the fans of rice rockets, and ground zero of Fast and Furious fandom from day 1. Plus based on the looks of this, I'm guessing this was put into a permanent time out by the cops, and maybe the owner has some nutty idea about hanging onto this instead of selling it, in order to fix it up... like every nutter without a plan does. 

Cool mini on the street in Ecuador! Thank you Gary!

a Bugatti mini 2 seater with an aluminum body and 4 cylinder, in 1927/28

This is a photo by Jacques-Henri Lartigue, of a rally check point in 1927

https://forums.aaca.org/topic/369374-hispano-suiza-and-bugatti-1928-october

https://www.facebook.com/groups/367705281099658/posts/1315538869649623/

https://www.abebooks.com/signed/LADIES-RALLY-CHECKPOINT-1927-Lartigue-Jacques/22656596929/bd

Bugatti Type 37 Coach 2 door « La Cage à Mouche » by Million Guiet, cabriolet 1927 (cn 37125) with 1460-W1 (F), #189 Concours d’Elegance Femina au Bois de Boulogne, Paris (fr), June 1927 with Odette Renou

a lot of Minis on the 1964 RAC Rally

 

it's a MIni, built by BMW, to look like a Porsche, so they call it a "Mini Ferrari" concept. What were they drinking?

 
The MINI Superleggera — or, “Minarri” as it’s sometimes called, was originally scheduled as an “i4,” to slot below the i8.

The car was unveiled at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este in 2014  

https://www.bmwblog.com/2025/12/01/mini-superleggera-mini-ferrari-drives-porsche/

https://www.bmwblog.com/2023/12/28/mini-planned-to-build-the-superlegerra-concept/

why would anyone destroy a cool little vintage Mini by tossing it in a trebuchet? From the June 1992 issue of Car and Driver.

Not the only one of its kind and scale, it cost Kennedy, 53, and his equally eccen­tric neighbor, Richard Barr, 47, a year's time and the equivalent of $18,000 to build it. Then they built one more, which fulfilled a quirky script requirement for the 1990s tv show Northern Exposure, 

It is 60 feet high and weighs some 30 tons. Its main beam, made of laminated wood, is 57 feet long. It's weight box is filled with six tons of steel

https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a69154007/trebuchet-launches-mini-cooper/

I imagine driving a Mini without doors would be more exciting. But then, driving anything without doors is probably more interesting

the Islands of Japan rally

Mini worked with clothing brand Deus Ex Machina to design a pair of concept cars

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a65970221/mini-deus-ex-machina-jcw-hatchback-concepts-details/

Austin made a couple more 59 minis to race at the Goodwood Revival.

For 2025, Goodwood’s St Mary’s Trophy will be opened to pre-1960s cars, and Burlen, which owns the Austin nameplate has seized the opportunity to add some full-size Austins to its cute J40 pedal cars.

Lining up on the grid of the classic touring car race at the Revival will be two newly-built Austin Minis that are detailed recreations of the 1959 specification. The bodyshells and safety cages were supplied by Owens Fabrications in Wales, with Swiftune in Kent providing race-ready A-Series engines.

https://www.hagerty.com/media/news/austin-is-making-minis-again/

"ain't nothing gonna break my stride, ain't nothing going to slow me down, oh no, I got to keep moving!" "Break My Stride" by Matthew Wilder

If that put the song in your head, and you're thinking.... huh, that was a good song I haven't heard in decades, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4c_SkROzzo

https://genius.com/Matthew-wilder-break-my-stride-lyrics

https://dailytimewaster.blogspot.com/2025/06/will-not-be-deterred.html

'61 Mini Cooper dragster

https://www.dragzine.com/features/this-radical-1961-mini-cooper-is-door-car-meets-dragster

Ursula Andress getting a new Cooper S in August 1966

John Sprinzel Racing Ltd in Bayswater London, next to three brothels, the Stables drinking club and two Members of Parliament.

The brothels closed quite soon after Sprinzel Racing opened and the house of one, which was bought by a stockbroker, still had a cupboard full of whips and chains. 

Gulio Ramponi tuned Alfa Romeos with skills learned as race car driver Tazio Nuvolari’s riding mechanic, and Bill Moss roared up and down the Mews in one or other of his ex Prince Bira’s vintage ERA racers.

Among other celeb visitors were the ‘Girl from Uncle’ star, Stefanie Powers, Susannah York, Sarah Lawson, Isobel Black, Patrick Allen and ‘Deadwood’ star Ian McShane.

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1096411235843941&set=a.407758768042528

Richard Hammonds, and his daughter, hit the track to see who was faster.... old age, or young reflexes?

https://www.hotcars.com/hanmond-and-his-daughter-go-head-to-head-on-the-track/

the top 10 of the Hot Wheels international search for the next coolest car has finally got it's crazy fun and cool cars

you might recall this from 2021 https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2021/07/making-delorean-way-he-wanted-it-with.html 

https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2024/09/a-1983-austin-mini-built-to-resemble.html

https://www.hagerty.com/media/lists/one-of-these-10-badass-builds-will-get-a-hot-wheels-mini-me/

https://creations.mattel.com/pages/hw-legends-tour