Project Binky / Escargot update video

Video from Richard Brunning with an update on Project Binky, Escargot and other stuff:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlZNR4dRHdo

Aaaaahhhh.

I predict that car will never be done. 

Too much perfection getting in the way of what is already a great car. 

Toyman! said:

I predict that car will never be done. 

Too much perfection getting in the way of what is already a great car. 

 

^This. My social theory is that most of YT is contrived drama. I could see a surprise announcement that the car is being sold when the view counts drop off. When YT introduced monetized videos, I feel that their content quality suffered.

kb58 said:

Toyman! said:

I predict that car will never be done. 

Too much perfection getting in the way of what is already a great car. 

 

^This. My social theory is that YT presenters present stuff with contrived drama, and/or, drag out a video series in order to maximize income. Wouldn't be surprised if they have a surprise announcement that the car is being sold when the view counts drop off.

When YT made it possible to monetize posting videos, the content quality took a serious downturn, effectively turning presenters into... what... prostitutes? There's probably a more PC term for it.

That is quite incorrect. If the content is not watchable, no one will watch. YouTube is free enterprise at its finest.

Oh I agree with you; it says more about viewers than presenters, that for many, contrived drama is the only thing that keeps their attention.

kb58 said:

Oh I agree with you; it says more about viewers than presenters, that for many, contrived drama is the only thing that keeps their attention.

You are making a judgment about the intelligence and viewing decisions of others. Personally I have a few Youtube channels I quite enjoy, and I can decide for myself whether the content is entertaining. Not your call.

Well, getting back to Binky et al, Nick is a definite perfectionist, look how many times he re-engineered the front bonnet removal lift and tilt arrangement!

Not to mention brackets on everything! 

I'm disappointed that it takes so long between episodes, but I still think it's worth it.....I've learned a bunch on how to/not to build a car from almost scratch.

You all have to remember, this a part time, weekends only endeavor, not their paying job. IIRC, the shed is a good 30-60 minute drive from their homebase.

And Richard has a family to look after too. His girls are coming up on 10 years old now!

There are a couple YouTube channels I watch that will only get 20-50 comments , 

I am so happy they spend the time to make these videos knowing the time it takes and these guys have day jobs , 

I am happy Binky is still alive and look forward to the dash setup they are working on it, 

I enjoy the series, but the car is not for me.  Too much extraneous garbage.

But that's just my opinion,  and Nic thinks I'm wrong.

californiamilleghia said:

I am happy Binky is still alive and look forward to the dash setup they are working on it, 

Me too.  I'm also looking forward to what they're going to do with the Escargo van.

I have been watching the Binky build since the start and lost track of how long ago that was.

I don't watch because I want to see a finished car. I knew long ago that it was not going to be to my taste.

I watch because every show is an exercise in problem solving executed to the nth degree, yet done in a manner I can relate to. Most of their solutions to a problem are doable by the average enthusiast with a reasonably well equipped shop. It might require a stretch of talents, but its not CNC shop level with SolidWorks modeling. 

As a whole, I don't think the car is going to work out that well. Some of the solutions built into it are going to be less than what they need to be, and there will be little room to maneuver and fix them. They will become bored with the car and move on to something else. Besides, the internet has seen plenty of quick cars and what else does this have to offer once "done"?  The need for content will bring on the next project and Binky can get sold to some poor sucker who wont have a clue how to maintain it.

In reply to NOHOME :

Not a CNC shop with SolidWorks modeling, but in the video, Richard stated that they were using a 3D printer to make their own instrument cluster circuit board.

Which A) is not a thing I realized one could do with a 3D printer, and B) really what is the difference between a CNC mill and a 3D printer?  One adds material to nothing and the other takes material off of something, but they are both robotic fabrication working from a model.

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

The big "difference" between a CNC milling machine and a 3D printer is that the printer enablers have captured the hobbiest market with cheap entry and addictive inexpensive (in the beginning) technical growth. The cutter tooling alone price the beginners out of the lathe and mill markets.

In reply to TurnerX19 :

They  have and use a small CNC mill... so I'm not sure how your argument applies.  Plus, they've also made use of a $50,000 3d scanner and large format 3d printer (flares...) granted it wasn't their equipment, but still.

Besides, for relatively cheap in the grand scheme of things.... these days you can get a 3018 or 6012 Chinese CNC router and use that for some pretty basic machining... sure you're limited by size as well as how much material can be removed in a single pass... but it still opens up a world of possibilities. For extremely cheap.. nothing says you have to drop 10k on a tormach 770 or the like to start playing around and making small CNC brackets. Hell, you can get into a 2.5d cnc converted Bridgeport for cheap and get into some "real" machining there as well. 

Being said, I love the show. I definitely noticed a change through the years but it wasn't enough to put me off watching. The times, they are a changing... as they say.  Some of their solutions are overly complex and I have a feeling won't be nearly as durable as they would like them to be... but its still a neat car with a ton of interesting solutions applied throughout. 

In reply to GaryC83 :

I definitely see a lot of issues in the future with the flexishaft.  Engine harmonics are transmitted right to it.  Putting the one way clutch on the alternator was a step in the right direction but I have a feeling they only kicked the can down the road.

At least they have a way of making spares.  Not sure if replacing it requires removing the drivetrain, though, which puts a new dimension of suck to the process.

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

World of difference. You are up and running with a 3D printer for what a few cutting tools would cost for your mill. 

I also think the flexishaft will be an issue going forward, I can't see it being durable. I do wonder what they could do to replace it tho......you'd think if there was a mechanical solution they would have already found it.

Remember, this is to be Nick's daily - it's not a race car  and that's why the power windows, locks and banging tunes were done - plus - no roll cage.

I mean sure, there is going to be an extended punch list of things going forward. They mostly engineered their own car, and this is the test mule, as well as the final product. But this is Blackhurst's own personal climbing of Mt. Everest. Those guys lost noses and appendages to frostbite, but they climbed the mountain. I'm just glad I get to come along for the ride.

Questions:

1.)  What is the Escargo?

2.)  Why do I like it so much?

3.)  Fugzamaddawid me?

In reply to 914Driver :

Escargot, the old library van that they bought to turn into a tow vehicle/camper thing.

It is a good watch if you like watching two people take apart a couple of trucks.  They even started putting it back together, with the drivetrain from a DAF.

This is the "rear drive 6 liter Ford" they were talking about in the one video.

Bad Obsession Motorsport is a real, functioning shop that does race and rally prep.

Binky did not come into being to be fodder for YouTube content. Binky was something that was going to happen anyhow, it's a personal project of Nick's. The mistake they made was that Richard apparently is as good at video production as Nick is at fabrication, so they accidentally created an excellent build series and got themselves a massive following. It's probably been great publicity for the shop while allowing more time to work on Binky, but BOM is a very different critter than Roadkill.

Keith Tanner said:

...they accidentally created an excellent build series and got themselves a massive following. It's probably been great publicity for the shop...

Right, the whole endeavor likely generated more income than expected, so it was too good to let it end. So while it demonstrates their shop's abilities, it's also gone on longer than if it hadn't made said income. Sort of a tail-wagging-the-dog thing. One possible negative of the series is someone seeing it, and asking themselves, "Do I want to have them working on my car, where they never finish due to trying to make it perfect?" Oh well, their shop, their rules - heck, maybe I'm just jealous.

I genuinely loved their series on building and racing a budget car. It is where I send people to learn about what is possible with a normal car in actual racing organizations. Too many enthusiasts think you need a corvette or GTR to do trackdays.

YoursTruly said:

... Too many enthusiasts think you need a corvette or GTR to do trackdays.

This is one thing that took some of the fun out of trackday events. "Back when I did them", everyone brought older cars that they fixed up themselves. Now, it's much more, what, impersonal, when people can just show up with a new Porsche, Corvette, etc, and be very fast, yes, but something's been lost.