Munster Koach

So you like models with opening doors? Then you'll be in toy heaven with this car. It has six opening doors, all trimmed in red "velvet". The doors on this car all operate smoothly and have a "positive" feel when closed. They don't flip open when you turn the car over to inspect the underside. The coach lamps on the side of the main compartment feature a frosted glass look which certainly adds to the realism.



		The motor on the real Koach was powered by a bored and stroked Ford Cobra powerplant. And the folks at American Muscle didn't miss that fact. In addition to the 10 intake stacks feeding the 10 carburetors, the head covers are stamped "COBRA". A little trivia about the real Koach: fuel mileage was a whopping 3 MPG. The gold plated headlights are adorned with the familiar spiderweb design, and the coffin handles on either side of the engine are very good likenesses of the real thing. What were those for anyway?



The drivers compartment features an orange rimmed black steering wheel, a gold trimmed gauge pod, and that familiar "ape hanger" shifter. One thing that is missing on this model are pedal. There isn't and accelerator, brake, or clutch pedal. The high back bucket seats are trimmed in "velvet", but only to the bottom of the headrest. The smooth plastic on the seat backs is a striking contrast. They should have covered the backs as well.

Here's a good shot of that uncovered plastic on the back of the footman's seat. It's not a big detractor from the overall good looks of the car, but a completely covered seat, or even a wood grain pattern would have looked better. The single, center mounted coachlight in the rear is well designed and finished off with a jeweled red lens. The rear tires are a bit skinnier than a scale Mickey Thompson 18' wide racing slick should be, but the rims that they are mounted on are excellent reproductions.



		Speaking of the rims, here's a closeup of the gold spinner that was attached. It was strictly ornamental on the real Koach, as it is on this model. But it is nice to see this small detail wasn't overlooked.




Pretty good likeness if you ask me. The American Muscle folks did their homework on this one. Adjustments had to be made in the interest of mass production, and the small details that had to be changed don't change the coolness level of this car at all. And it's a bargain. At $29.99, it's a fraction of the $18,000 that the real Koach cost in 1965. That would be a much bigger price tag today. But the I'll bet the gas mileage would probably be better.