The cultural impact of Australia’s own Mighty Car Mods has been recognised with induction into the National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA). A curated selection of films and videos from the Sydney-based duo - Blair ‘Moog’ Joscelyne and Martin ‘Marty’ Mulholland - will be preserved as part of the NFSA’s audiovisual collection.
Mighty Car Mods (MCM) was one of ten Australian-based creators selected for the first ‘Creator Capsule,’ a partnership between the NFSA and YouTube to recognise and preserve material from Australian digital creators.
Known to most of the JUST CARS audience for tinkering with shitboxes and the fun they have doing it (see our 2021 feature interview HERE), Marty and Moog are musicians by profession, not mechanics. That’s never stopped them having a crack, with the channel that started out in 2008 modifying a Daihatsu Cuore on a driveway now boasting 3.9 million subscribers and over 960 million views.
Japanese cars are Marty and Moog’s loves, but the pair have put the spanners to Aussie, British and European cars. There’s usually a twist, though, like a Honda-engined Mini, a Mercedes powered by biofuel, or an Isuzu version of the classic Holden Gemini.
MCM’s annual Christmas Day feature film upload is a highlight of the festive season, involving a multi-day road trip in sketchy automotive nuggets, either here in Australia or overseas. Past overseas adventures have taken the pair to the USA, Cuba and Europe, as well as multiple trips to Japan.
Along with doing most of the filming and post-production themselves, Marty and Moog also record and produce the music in their videos – making them unique among automotive-themed content creators – with the music available to purchase.
"Marty and Moog have inspired countless people to pick up the tools, have a go and build confidence in their own skills,” said Louise Alley from the NFSA. “In the process, they’ve helped transform the way Australians share skills, passion and creativity with global audiences. Preserving their content in the Creator Capsule recognises their impact, plus the important place that digital creators now hold in Australia’s cultural memory.”
Look for Mighty Car Mods on YouTube, or go to: mightycarmods.com.
