The Amazing Munster Koach

The Amazing Munster Koach

Growing up as the "weird kid" in my family, I loved The Munsters. The Addams Family was always first in my my heart, but I never missed the opportunity to catch an episode of either. Along with the gothic look and feel to the show, I really loved the strange car they rode through town in, the Munster Koach. As fans of classic cars (no matter how strange,) we at Toyota Of North Hollywood here in North Hollywood, CA we just had to take a deeper look at this "munsterous" thing of beauty. 

Made from three Model-T's and a hearse body, it suited the show well. By adding a brass radiator and fenders with its dropped axle and split radius rods and T-springs, it became something delightfully alien. It even had a blood red interior and black pearl paint to complete the look. The engine was from a 289 cc Ford V8 from an AC Cobra with high compression pistons, ten chrome plated Stromberg carburetors, an Isky cam, and had a set of Bobby Barr racing headers. What you ended up with is something that married two very different periods in time cemented together with a faint undercurrent of menace. 

The creator of this beautiful 18 foot long monstrosity was George Barris, who also gave us the Batmobile from the 1966 Batman TV show.

His creations were not only beautiful to look at, though.

They really hauled. Barris put form and function side-by-side and came out with some of the best vehicles in television history.

With a master like him at the helm, it's no surprise that he came up with the perfect car for a show that is so fondly remembered more than fifty years after its first run.

Written By: Todd Hendrickson
Source: Wikipedia