Project Binky - Episode 43 - Austin Mini GT-Four - Turbocharged 4WD Mini

Opening titles, episode preview and a recap of the previous episode's interior reassembly and finishing touches before getting the car out of the shed.

The flexi-shaft alternator drive failed again so it was replaced with a completely redesigned belt-and-pulley system, covered in a separate video.

Explains why classic Minis rust at the sills and A-posts and begins fabricating a stainless bracket to hang a wheel arch liner from.

A cardboard template is transferred to 6mm closed-cell polyethylene foam, holes are punched, 3D-printed washers fitted and the liner screwed to the stainless frame, with a second overlapping section for the flip front.

Corroded mild steel flip-front sliders are replaced by combining the slider and arch liner support into a single TIG-welded stainless construction.

Front mud flaps are laser cut from 4mm material using a DXF from a cardboard template, clamped in place, holes marked with a step drill and fitted with self-tappers.

Rear arch liners are cut from foam with a scalpel and held with Velcro pads for easy removal, and discreet rear mud flaps are fitted the same way as the fronts.

After noting the car has been off the road longer than it was ever on it, the Mini is finally driven out of the shed and straight into another shed.

At a local MOT station the front, rear and handbrake are tested on brake rollers, showing under 2% imbalance across the front and an even rear result.

The car goes up on a ramp for an underside inspection and a laser alignment check, but the clamps didn't fit the wheels so they relied on their earlier string alignment.

The Mini is taken to a private lane where, with 20 litres of fuel in for the first time, they look and sniff for leaks and check fluid levels.

The car is driven off the trailer for short runs in first and second gear to bring temperatures up slowly, check brakes and look for leaks with tools close by.

Using the Link ECU logs, they walk through engine speed, coolant temperature, lambda/AFR, manifold gauge pressure and oil pressure traces from a gentle run up through the gears.

Loss of gear selection is traced to a leaking clutch slave cylinder, which is rebuilt with a genuine Toyota seal kit after cleaning the bore, then primed with DOT4, bled via a relocated banjo bleed nipple and refitted.

Back on the road they log 4th gear pulls under load to adjust fuelling, then switch the electronic throttle from a conservative pedal map to a linear one for the open road with boost cut at about 7 PSI.

Findings from the shakedown include a forgotten radiator fan connection, surprisingly good ride quality and damping, and the plan to cover a few hundred road miles before a proper tune.

A closing gag clip where the differentials get an enthusiastic test, replayed in slow motion.