The Show: The Munsters
The Cast: Fred Gwynne, Yvonne De Carlo, Al Lewis, Beverly Owen, Pat Priest, Butch Patrick
Number Of Episodes: 70
Years It Aired: 1964 to 1966

"Herman! Herman, please! How many times do I have to tell you not to pound stakes while I'm around? You know it gives me heartburn!" — Grandpa Munster

The Munsters debuted a fresh interpretation of the family sitcom in September 1964. The family is straight out of B-grade horror films: Herman, the Frankenstein-like dad (Fred Gwyne); his wife Lily, a vampire (Yvonne De Carlo);  their son Eddie, a boy werewolf (Butch Patrick); and Grandpa, who is Dracula (Al Lewis). The only normal-looking character on the show, niece Marilyn (Beverly Owen/Pat Priest), is considered the ugly duckling.

Like the Munsters themselves, their car is a real character: An 18-foot-long monstrosity called the Koach. It is a mad combination of a hearse and a hot rod. This unique car star is born when Lily goes shopping for a new car and, torn between the two cars she likes most, has them combined into one vehicle.

The Koach is another one of Barris' creations. Working a lot like Frankenstein himself, Barris used at least four different Fords to make this car: three Model T bodies and an engine from a 1966 Mustang GT. The fanciful result is black with red velvet interior and ornate steel details.

Barris outfitted  the car with coffin-shaped handles, gold radiators and spider-web headlights. The interior features a tape recorder, Sony TVs, an electric shoe polisher, two antique French phones, and ermine rugs.

Barris also made Drag-U-La, Grandpa's coffin-on-wheels. "Al Lewis had to have his own car," Barris says.

Although memorable, the car appears in only one episode, when Herman loses the Koach in a drag race, and Grandpa has to win it back by building a dragster of his own.



This dragster is completely original, pairing an Owens-Corning fiberglass casket with a 350-horsepower Ford Mustang engine. A parachute is used for the brakes. A stickler for the details, Barris reinterprets a marble gravestone as the grille. It even has an inscription: "Born 1367, Died?"

Photos courtesy of Barris.com

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