In the spirit of the holidays we wanted to spotlight two iconic classics with a ghoulish twist – Drag-U-La and the Munster Koach both of which are from the American classic TV Series The Munsters.

The video clip above is from the famous “Hot Rod Herman” episode of the series over dubbed with Rob Zombie’s song track titled “Drag-U-La,” it’s only fitting.

The Family Hearse

The Munster Koach was the Munster’s family car. The show’s producers had contracted George Barris to see the concept come to life. Barris had employed the skills of Tom Daniel to design the concept while Tex Smith and Dick Dean worked on the build process. In the show’s two year run the Munster Koach made appearances in over 20 episodes and it quickly became a household icon amongst fans at the time.

There was only one Koach made for the entire television series as well as the Munster’s feature film. Fun fact, an unauthorized reproduction was created and presented to George Barris, but Barris declined to buy it. Eventually a second authorized Koach was built, again with the help of Dick Dean and Dean’s son.

The original was made from three Model T bodies and is 18 feet long, talk about land boats, here’s a yacht.

The powerplant features a 289ci Ford V8 originally configured for installation in an AC Cobra. The engine was built with Jahns high compression pistons, ten chrome plated Carter carbs, an Isky cam, and a set of Bobby Barr racing headers and featured a three speed manual transmission.

The Speed Demon

Everything about Grandpa Munster’s Drag-U-La is rooted in the ghoulish and grim. In a 2013 interview, Richard “Korky” Korkes, George Barris’s project engineer at the time, explained how the team had been able to obtain a real fiberglass coffin. “It was illegal to sell a coffin without a death certificate. Korky made a deal with the funeral director, paid in cash, and it was agreed the coffin would be left outside the rear door of the funeral parlor where the Barris crew would ‘lift’ the coffin, during dark, from the rear of the facility to complete the transaction.” Nothing like a good old fashioned coffin robbing! 

Drag-U-La featured a 350 hp, 289ci Ford Mustang V8 with a four-speed manual transmission. The rear tires were 10.50-inch Firestone racing slicks, mounted on custom 10-inch Rader aluminum and steel wheels. The hubcaps were stylized with large silver spiders. The front tires were 4-inch Italian tires on Speedsport English buggy wire wheels.

The front of Drag-U-La was fitted with a marble gravestone with the inscription, “Born 1367, Died ?”

Which of the two hell rods do you like more? Rod Authority wishes all our readers a happy and safe Halloween!  Now let’s hop in those pine boxes and scare some kids.