NickD
Dork
12/26/16 5:51 a.m.
As the best Christmas gift ever, we got the long-awaited Roadkill/MCM crossover episodes. The Roadkill episode covers the build of the Roadkill Impala and the actual competition.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/y5ssRbr4bO0
The MCM episode covers just the buildup of the Subarute.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/NoBnwKu5g5U
I have to say, it was an absolutely amazing collaboration. They seemed to be having a riot. Both cars were awesome (I personally prefer the Impala for how unbalanced and violent it was and the fact that it could blaze the tire for as long as you wanted) and the Roadkill guys really respected the Subarute (and have come around to Japanese cars in general, as ep. 59 will attest). Was pretty surprised to see the Roadkill guys win in the autocross, as that really hasn't been their schtick. And watching Moog wheel the Impala in anger is hilarious, especially when Marty's leg goes out the window.
I've been waiting for this for so long.
That was great. I love how the Impala scared the MCM guys every time they cranked it. The look on the tall ones face when Freiberger punched it on the test drive was pure gold.
NickD
Dork
12/26/16 9:52 a.m.
ultraclyde wrote:
That was great. I love how the Impala scared the MCM guys every time they cranked it. The look on the tall ones face when Freiberger punched it on the test drive was pure gold.
Yeah, Moog was definitely frightened of it at first. But then on the autocross he had that car completely sideways out of the last turning boiling the tires. I think the Impala may be one of the greatest things they have ever created. Rewire it, toss an alternator on, put a spool in the rear axle and I would rock it.
It has me reconsidering the "proper" way to build cars.
stroker
SuperDork
12/26/16 10:18 a.m.
I was puzzled about one thing, being they never mentioned sourcing a big block K frame for the Impala... Nitpicking detail?
The Ozzies seem like really cool guys, now that I've watched their video. There was a lot more work done on the WRX than first met the eye.
NickD
Dork
12/26/16 10:42 a.m.
stroker wrote:
I was puzzled about one thing, being they never mentioned sourcing a big block K frame for the Impala... Nitpicking detail?
Big block K-frame? That's Mopar speak. Impalas are full frame and used the same frame with different mounts for the I6, small block and big block.
stroker
SuperDork
12/26/16 11:20 a.m.
In reply to NickD:
I'd figured that was a universal design feature... Guess my ignorance is showing...
I do not approve of Finnegan's hackery on the frame. Pretty sure he's better than that. But then he did the same thing to the muscle truck's fenders.
NickD
Dork
12/26/16 12:59 p.m.
In reply to Carro Atrezzi:
He is better than that normally, I mean have you seen his jet boat with the twin turbo 712ci Sonny Leonard bullet. But when you only have a 2 or 3 days to get a car thrown together for a challenge that cannot be rescheduled because your competitors flew in from Australia, you do what you think will work. He said that if they had had time, there were brackets that put the alternator in the right spot but they didn't have time to get one,.
I loved it, although i wish they would have tossed a mini spool or lincoln locker in the impala. Something about spinning one tire dissapoints me.
EvanR
SuperDork
12/26/16 4:02 p.m.
HUGE MCM fan here. I'd never seen Roadkill before, but if that's their usual M.O., I don't feel bad for not having watched before, and I won't watch again.
that's really inspirational - even if a bit half-baked. I've been thinking of doing that to a WRX (sans the exposed turbo) for a while - and they do it in 3 days!
EvanR wrote:
HUGE MCM fan here. I'd never seen Roadkill before, but if that's their usual M.O., I don't feel bad for not having watched before, and I won't watch again.
I'm the opposite. I just can't do MCM. I've tried and tried but nope. RK is by far a huge fave of mine.
I've watched them all. I liked the MCM stuff when they went to Turbo Yoda's shop and did that big 6 cylinder Subaru buildup.
But, for Pete's sake, why does Moog have to yell everything ? It wears on my last nerve.
NickD
Dork
12/26/16 7:57 p.m.
Bobzilla wrote:
EvanR wrote:
HUGE MCM fan here. I'd never seen Roadkill before, but if that's their usual M.O., I don't feel bad for not having watched before, and I won't watch again.
I'm the opposite. I just can't do MCM. I've tried and tried but nope. RK is by far a huge fave of mine.
Used to like Mighty Car Mods when they did more DIY stuff, but then they went through a phase where it was "We took our car to this shop and they put an exhaust on for us, then we took it to this shop and they put a set of coilovers on for us and then we took it to a dyno shop and they tuned it for us." Plus it seems like, especially in more recent episodes, they get hung up on a joke that was mildly funny the first time and then ride it into the ground. And then Roadkill came out and MCM seemed kind of boring in comparison.
Been watching both for years. Loved thsee episodes! It's been a little while since they've made a roadkill episode as good as this one.
I like both Roadkill and MCM equally. They both have episodes that I have absolutely no interest in and they have ones that I really like.
To be honest, RK is too "Hack It Together To Make It Work" type stuff for my liking. Some of it is interesting, like the Monte Carlo dropped on a Stock Car chassis, but stuff like the mid engined REPU doesn't interest me.
MCM is more planned out for my liking, but still has episodes I have no interest with like the recent MX-5 comparison, but I loved the 2SEXY transformation.
That being said, I enjoyed the colaboration.
So I just watched both episodes in their entirety.
Two things came to mind...
1) In the MCMs video, when they are introducing the purchase of the WRX, in the background of the entire scene is a Gen1, white Infiniti Q45 which happens to be wearing a black front clip from the Japanese version, the Nissan President. About 1 min 50 secs into the video.
Seeing the Q45, all I could think was "opportunity missed."
2) Surprised to see a flag off the back like the GRM Ghettocet, I could not shake the thoughts that though only built in one day, the $2016 Ghettocet could have out performed the WRX build.
I love both shows, and appreciate BOTH shows for what they are. I've always been a Japanese car fan, everything from hondas to Datsun and ae86's. But I'm also not a guy that does things to "perfection". "Good enough? That'll hold...". That's my motto. Both shows speak to me. If I had a dollar for every time I've been stranded by an American car, I could buy a new vette. Like I said, both shows speak to me. The only gripe I have is the RK boys didn't weld that diff. 700hp and an open diff is a CRUEL JOKE!
Raze
UltraDork
12/26/16 10:35 p.m.
I for one enjoyed them for what they are, entertainment.
MCM has always had more normal ideas with ok execution, more like how most people learn to work on cars in fact I'd say they're still learning which is evident because they have a crew of about 8 guys with different basic skills.
RK is insane ideas with two guys who have some real skill but only care about the result not the execution.
Both are hugely fun!
This is entirely my anecdotal analysis...
NickD
Dork
12/27/16 5:29 a.m.
Trackmouse wrote:
The only gripe I have is the RK boys didn't weld that diff. 700hp and an open diff is a CRUEL JOKE!
At one point when they are building it, Freiburger says that he wishes they could weld the diff but that they are out of time and they didn't have a good enough welder
Now I feel like all my ideas for my challenge ute will be seen as copies of MCM.
NickD
SuperDork
12/27/16 8:15 a.m.
In reply to Andy Neuman:
I'm hoping that this video doesn't start a rash of people cutting up good WRXs because Mighty Car Mods did it. Going to make my goal of finding a well-treated, unmodified, not-driven-in-winter WRX even harder
Shows like this have a fundamental problem in that most viewers simply aren't interested in a detailed "real world" build. And if your producer is expecting 20 episodes to fill a season.... well the only ways to really pull it off is to do speed builds or use a lot of outside vendors.