Mighty Car Mods

Mighty Car Mods is a YouTube channel that focuses on DIY car modifications and car culture. Created by Blair Joscelyne (known as MOOG) and Martin Mulholland the show is centred around the journey through buying, modifying and then testing or battling cars of various levels of modification and budget.

Mighty Car Mods
Mighty Car Mods Logo
Genre	Documentary, comedy, mini-series, cars
Created by	Blair Joscelyne Martin Mulholland
Theme music composer	Blair Joscelyne
Opening theme	Gavin Tyrell
Country of origin	Australia
Original language	English
No. of seasons	12
No. of episodes	565
Production
Production location	Sydney
Running time	20–40 mins
Original release
Release	December 14, 2007 (2007-12-14)

While typically based in Sydney, Marty and MOOG have travelled extensively to experience car culture all over the world and create movies from these experiences. They have filmed in locations including Japan, Cuba, Germany, the UAE, America, Switzerland, the UK and New Zealand. They also host The Unicorn Circuit on their MCMtv2 YouTube channel, which keeps fans up to date with automotive news and includes fan submissions.

History

Mighty Car Mods debuted on YouTube in January 2008, with the first video ("How to pimp your car for $500") showing basic modifications and upgrades on MOOG's 2001 Daihatsu Cuore that were typical of the period. The long-time friends started making videos showing people how to work on cars at an amateur level as they are typical of many car enthusiasts who like the feeling of satisfaction from doing modifications but do not hold a trade qualification.

Marty actually works in the music/audio production industry and is a sound engineer by trade, while MOOG is a composer and music producer whose work can be heard in commercials for Telstra, Arnotts, Optus, Amex, Ford, BMW, Coles Supermarkets, Loveable Lingerie, IBM, L’Oreal, Heinz, OPSM, Subaru, Origin, Lexus, Jetstar, Touchstone Pictures, Visa Inc, Mazda, Cascade Brewery, Discovery Channel, Renault, Wrigley Company, and Village Cinemas. He has released a number of solo albums and he has been involved with a variety of different bands and musical projects.

In 2022, Mighty Car Mods opened a Collaborative workspace named 'Super Garage' in Sydney, Australia

Format

Nissan Silvia S15 a.k.a. Mod Max

The general format for episodes involves buying different cars and modifying them in a particular style or for a particular purpose. Vehicles are typically from what is colloquially known as "late-model Japanese and European tuning" scene with cars ranging in age from the mid-1980s through the 2000s. However, MCM has also done builds on classic Australian cars (HQ Holden), as well as near-new Japanese (Subaru BRZ) and European (Audi RS3, VW Golf R, Lotus Exige S240) vehicles.

Episodes generally commence with a semi-animated introduction, created by Gavin Tyrell, followed by Marty and MOOG giving either an introduction to the project or a rundown of previous episode's highlights. Episodes vary in duration, from 15 to 60 minutes, but most will typically run about 20 minutes.

Sometimes Marty and MOOG will set a challenge to each buy a car with a particular constraint (budget or style of car), and build it independent of each other. The goal of these series is to then battle head-to-head in a series of challenges. Recently MCM has also participated in "Catch and Release" episodes where vehicles are brought in for only one or two episodes, then moved on. Other builds run for months due to the complexity and scale of the modifications being undertaken.

Typically, cars featured in builds will be given a name—often a pun such as Yaris Hilton or Taylor Drift—to build an identity with viewers. The show was originally filmed on Marty's mother's driveway and garage, but was moved to a private indoor location in Sydney in 2015, following issues with people posting spoilers or causing traffic issues in the suburban street.

The MCM duo have released several critically acclaimed feature-length films documenting automotive-focused travel, such as Turbos and Temples, Kei to the City, Chasing Midnight, Turbos and Temples II, The Cars of Cuba, and most recently; Turbos & Temples III. MCM are the first Australian-produced automotive show to be aired globally on Discovery Channel, and MCM also appears on Qantas in-flight entertainment.

Some vehicles that were featured in the films, such as the Daihatsu Mira TR-XX in 'Kei to the City', and the Nissan March Super Turbo in 'Turbos & Temples II' have eventually led to the duo making multiple extended series, after having them imported from Japan and remodified or retrofitted to comply with the safety regulations set by Australia's Road laws.

All music used in the show and associated films is composed and produced by MOOG, with editing and uploading handled by both he and Marty. The mix of technical content with irreverent humor and high production quality has found a fanbase among a wide demographic of people. This has led to Mighty Car Mods videos being viewed more than 780 million times, making MCM one of the most successful shows of its type on YouTube.

Cast

Marty typically shows more hands-on mechanical experience in videos, while MOOG will often handle creative tasks involving design or aesthetics. Due to their background as amateur mechanics Marty and MOOG will sometimes enlist the help of industry-qualified experts for complex builds.

Special guests include Miles "Dose Vader" Stinton, Scott "Tuning Fork" Hilzinger, Benny "Mechanical Stig" Neal, and Alan "Turbo Yoda" Butler. Typically, these guests are known by their nicknames, with Turbo Yoda (with his offsider, Ben "Woody" Wood) now hosting The Skid Factory from his home in Queensland, while Mechanical Stig fronts the Benny's Custom Works channel. Tuning Fork works at Haltech, while Dose Vader runs AM Auto in Noosaville in Queensland.

Project cars

The year shown is when the project began.

Project Year	Car Manufacturer	Model	Nickname/Information	First Appearance
2008	Nissan	March Super Turbo
2009	Ford	Laser	'TRDLZR'
	Mazda	323	Roof chopped to make a "Convertible"
2010	Nissan	Pathfinder	'Zombie Proof'
2011	Subaru	Liberty
	Nissan	Silvia (S15)		How To Buy a Japanese Car (In Japan)
	Subaru	Forester XT	'MOOGARU'	Subaru Forester XT
	Daihatsu	Cuore	Budget Show Car
	Subaru	Fiori	$50 DIY Stereo
	Daihatsu	Cuore	'The Blue Turd'
	Honda	Civic
2012	Mitsubishi	Galant	'The Off-Brand Takumi'
	Toyota	Cressida	'Old Man Sleeper'
	Daihatsu	Charade	Supercharged using Leaf Blowers
	Volkswagen	Golf (MK3)	'Budget Street Cred'
2013	Nissan	180SX	First iteration of what becomes 'Tay Tay'	Moog Buys Marty A Car
	Mazda	MX-5	1990 MX-5 NA
	Nissan	Figaro
2014	Subaru	Liberty (BG/BP)	'Supergramps': Revival of the first iteration of 'Gramps', a 2nd generation Liberty (Legacy) wagon (BG)/EZ36 H6-Turbo swap. Was colloquially known as "The 11 Second Car"	Gramps – the 11 Second Car (BG) Supergramps – Part 1 (BP)
2015	Nissan	Silvia (S15)	'Mod Max', General Motors LS engine swap
	Mini	Cooper	JDM model, with Honda B16B Engine Swap
	Volkswagen	Beetle	'Miss Daisy' Subaru EJ25 swap
2016	Mitsubishi	Lancer	'2SEXY'
	Nissan	180SX	'Tay Tay', 180SX project car from 2013 repurchased	MOOGS NEW CAR!
2017	Nissan	350Z	'3FIDDY'
	Daihatsu	Mira	The Main Feature for the film 'Kei to the City' – An Australian-market model, retrofitted with the then imported JDM Mira TR-XX X4 from the film to comply with Australia's Road laws.	Kei to the City [Drift Feature Film – Japan]
2018	Holden	Kingswood (HQ)	Police Car livery, General Motors LS engine swap
	Mitsubishi	Lancer	'2TWISTD', Mitsubishi 4G63 engine swap
	Nissan	240Z	Nissan RB26 engine swap
2019	Mitsubishi	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 9
	Subaru	Outback	'OUTFAP'
	Toyota	Yaris	'Yaris Hilton'	Introducing: YARIS HILTON
	Volkswagen	Golf R (Mk7)
2020	BMW	3 Series (E30)	'Black Ch-Ops', General Motors LS engine swap
	Lotus	Exige Sport 240
	Daihatsu	Hijet Tipper	Full Custom turbocharger install
	Subaru	Impreza WRX STi (2-door)
	Subaru	BRZ
	Toyota	MR2	'Mr. Poo'
2021	Honda	Civic (EP)
	Mazda	RX-7 (FB)
2022	Daihatsu	Midget
	Nissan	180SX		180SX – DREAM BUILD
	Nissan	March Super Turbo	The main feature for 'Turbos & Temples 2'. A successor of Martin's first March Super Turbo in 2008	Turbos & Temples 2
	Subaru	Levorg	Impreza WRX STi engine and manual drivetrain swap/upgraded with an EZ30 H6-Turbo swap (known by Martin as 'Hypergramps' in lieu of 'Supergramps' and 'Gramps' prior)
	Toyota	Hilux		We Bought the CHEAPEST HILUX in Australia (then fixed it in ONE DAY)
	Toyota	GR Yaris
	Volkswagen	Golf R (Mk8)
2023	Suzuki	Swift
	Peugeot	206
2024	Isuzu	Gemini	Building Marty's first ever car. The fastest pizza delivery car in Australia	My First Car (but better) Isuzu Gemini Build
	Volkswagen	Amarok		We Built The WORLDS BEST 4X4

Reception

Part of MCM's success stems from the hosts' relatability as everyman car enthusiast, as well as their humorous and laconic nature, and their desire to tackle complex tasks and learn new skills along the way. Their first feature-length film titled Turbos and Temples was well received by critics and motoring fans when it premiered at Hoyts Cinema, Fox Studios, in Sydney. So far their videos have garnered more than 780 million views on YouTube, with almost five billion impressions.

MCM used to publish a digital magazine, which is still available on their web store along with digital downloads of MOOG's music and show merchandise. In 2018, to celebrate their 10th anniversary, Mighty Car Mods released a limited-edition hardcover 128-page book titled The Cars of Mighty Car Mods, featuring illustrations of all the cars they worked on in their first 10 years. This was updated for 2019 with a further 30 cars added and The Cars of Mighty Car Mods: Modified Edition.

External links

• Official website
• Mighty Car Mods's channel on YouTube