MUNSTER KOACH
The
Munster Koach is an impressive vehicle indeed! Parked outside the
Munsters' home on Mockingbird Lane since the early 1960's, this 18ft
long / 7ft high hotrod gets a lot of attention with its spooky visage
and blood red velvet interior. Referred
to as "the hearse" on MT (and in the cartoon one off Mini-Munsters),
the Koach gets Herman to and from work, Lily to market to buy in her
ghoulish food and Grandpa to his bloodsuckers anonymous meetings.
In
The Munster's Today series the Koach was raced in a motor-cross (see
season one episode, "Say Ahh"), was painted 'chartreuse' for
the Ms. Mockingbird Heights parade (also see epispde "Say Ahh"),
and suffered serious damage in the season three episode "Breaking
The Chain".
Above:
Herman is pulled over by a police officer in "The Bet" sent to test Herman's honesty
by Grandpa.
A
family car indeed - the Koach has a place for each family member and
fine detailing such as spider-web style antique headlamps, a coffin
shaped body with handles, racing slicks, and a wild intake system on the
engine. The rear seats are elevated (rather dangerously), but the snug
interior in the center is the place where Grandpa can be found hiding
from the sunlight. Herman and Lily prefer to ride up front to “catch
the bugs in their teeth”.
Although
the Koach was used by the family regularly on "The Munsters
Today", it only appeared once visually on screen, (see episode
"The Bet") when in a hilarious driving scene back from the
funeral parlour Herman sings the theme to the show!
The
Munster Koach also appeared in the 1995 TV movie "Here Come The
Munsters".
HISTORY
The
Munster Koach first appeared on the original Munsters show in 1964. The
Koach was a custom built car from two vehicles picked out by Lily at a
local dealership in Mockingbird Heights, put together as a present for
Herman’s birthday.
The
Koach in reality was built by custom car king George Barris for the
original series over a period of 21 days. The car has a four
speed manual transmission, brass radiator and fenders formed by hand.
The cost to build the Koach was $18,000.00 reportedly and it took almost
500 hours to hand form the ornate rolled steel scrollwork. It sports
Gloss Black Pearl paint. The front end had a dropped axle, split radius
rods and T springs. It is powered by a 289 Ford Cobra engine from a 1966
Mustang GT, built with Jahns high compression pistons, ten chrome plated
Stromberg carburettors, an Isky cam, and had a set of Bobby Barr racing
headers. What a mode of transportation!
FASCINATION
Munster
enthusiasts Sandra and Charles McKee, who own the Munster’s house in
Texas, have recently hired the services of automotive creator Mark Towle
to create their very own Munster Koach to sit outside their home! They
are holding a series of open day’s at the house where admission is a
rather affordable $10 which will go towards the creation of the costly
recreation of the Koach.
For more details on the McKee's Koach visit www.munstermansion.com.
For more information and a terrific set of pictures of the original
Koach be sure to check out www.munsterkoach.com
and www.barris.com.
For YOUR
chance to win your very own MUNSTER KOACH click here
for details of our excellent competition.
For
details on Mark Towle’s re-creation of the Koach visit www.marketowle.com.
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