Munster Koach -
Combination stretch fiberglass drag racer and touring car (a.k.a. "The Munster
Mobile") especially designed
by George Barris (in only twenty-one days) for
the occult comedy THE MUNSTERS/CBS/1964-66.
Owned by
Herman Munster, the Munster Koach's power train
has a
30-inch Posi-Shift stick, four-on-the-floor 300
H.P. 289 Ford Cobra V-8 engine (from a 1966
Mustang GT) with Isky Cams, Jahns
high-compression pistons, a Mickey Thompson long
ram thrust manifold supplying 10 chrome-dipped
Stromberg carburetors and Bobby Barr funnel
racing headers.
Mounted on a 133-inch frame
is a 6-door touring roadster with a 1927 Model-T bucket grafted to the rear end. Both were
covered with 40 coats of high gloss black pearl
paint.
The steering/suspension system includes
a
direct vertical steering, front dropped axles,
split radius bars held by "T" spring (rear Z
frame with Model "A" spring), master stabilizers
and Mickey Thompson 11-inch wide rear racing
slicks (Ansen Astro wheels trimmed with knock
off hubs and walnut wood inserts and Pirelli
snow donut tires on the front).
Exterior accents
feature gold radiators, ornamental coffin
handles on the hood, and spider web headlights
with gas side lanterns. The coach's interior was
decorated with diamond-shaped tufts and buttons,
red velvet coffin liner and ermine rugs. One of
the car's three compartments house a stereo
tape recorder, Sony TV sets, an electric shoe
polisher, a blender and two antique French
phones.
The Munster Mobile, which reached a top speed of 150 M.P.H. (0-45 in
7.2 seconds, 0-60 in 10 seconds, 0-80 in 15.4
seconds), was created as a surprise birthday
present for the character Herman Munster (Fred
Gwynne).
Buying two cars (a roadster for $795;
and a Hearse car for $943) from Diamond Jim's
Used cars, Herman's wife, Lily Munster (Yvonne DeCarlo), had mechanics convert the two vehicles
into the customized Munster Koach.
The nearly 20-foot car was once lost as the spoils of a racing
competition until Grandpa Munster (Al Lewis)
built his own drag racer called the "Drag-u-la"
and won back the Munster Koach.
TRIVIA NOTE:
Both the Munster Koach and the Drag-u-la were featured in the
theatrical release Munster, Go Home
(1966) wherein the Munster family inherited an
English estate.
Once when Herman became a private investigator
for the Kempner Detective Agency (Agent 702), he
drove a hot rod with license plate HAJ-302 (on
"Follow That Munster" episode).
A 1984 Car and Driver magazine article reported
"Butch Patrick fondly remembers the time Fred
Gwynne hijacked and drove it (the Munster Koach)
down the freeway into the heart of Hollywood
with the whole cast on board." See also -
"The
Drag-u-la"
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