Dragula
Encyclopedia
DRAG-U-LA, along with The Munster Koach, was one of two cars designed by Tom Daniel while working for George Barris
and Barris Kustom Industries for the TV show The Munsters
.
body of DRAG-U-LA was built from a real fiberglass coffin that Richard "Korky" Korkes was able to purchase out the back door of a funeral home in North Hollywood. It featured a 350HP
289CI Ford Mustang
V-8 engine, with a four-speed stick shift. It had two four-barrel carburetor
s.
The two rear tires were 11-inch Firestone
racing slicks, mounted on custom 10-inch Radir aluminum wheels. Each hubcap was decorated with a large silver spider
. The front tires were 4-inch Italian tires on Speedsport English buggy wire wheels. To extend the Gothic motif further, Barris installed four Zoomie style organ pipes
on each side of the car in lieu of standard exhaust pipe, and mounted antique lamps on the front and rear.
The front of the vehicle sported a marble gravestone with the legend: "Born 1367, Died ?". The radiator was formed to look like a small brass coffin. The driver sat in the rear of the vehicle behind the engine, under a plastic bubble.
The original car was housed in a Planet Hollywood
in Atlantic City, New Jersey
, where it hung from the ceiling. This Planet Hollywood location is now closed according to Planet Hollywood's website. The car is now housed at the Volo Auto museum in the town of Volo,IL. 1 hour north of Chicago. Volo Auto Museum had the car completely restored in 2011.
While the car came from George Barris' shop, the car was constructed by Richard "Korky" Korkes and others who worked under Korky's direction while he managed the Barris facility.
TV series the car was created by Grandpa Munster so he could win back The Munster Koach, which Herman
had lost in a drag race in the episode Hot Rod Herman.
The 1966 movie Munster, Go Home features Herman driving DRAG-U-LA in a cross-country race.
titled a song on his Hellbilly Deluxe
album "Dragula
". Episode footage of the drag race was included in Zombie's horror film House of 1,000 Corpses.
The DRAG-U-LA is a playable vehicle in the car combat video game Twisted Metal 4
.
----
George Barris (auto customizer)
George Barris is a designer of custom cars.-Early history:George and his brother Sam were born in Chicago in the 1920s. After the deaths of their parents, they moved to Roseville, California as children to live with relatives. Both were good students, interested in drama, music, and design...
and Barris Kustom Industries for the TV show The Munsters
The Munsters
The Munsters is a 1960s American family television sitcom depicting the home life of a family of monsters. It starred Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster and Yvonne De Carlo as his wife, Lily Munster. The series was a satire of both traditional monster movies and popular family entertainment of the era,...
.
The car
The fiberglassFiberglass
Glass fiber is a material consisting of numerous extremely fine fibers of glass.Glassmakers throughout history have experimented with glass fibers, but mass manufacture of glass fiber was only made possible with the invention of finer machine tooling...
body of DRAG-U-LA was built from a real fiberglass coffin that Richard "Korky" Korkes was able to purchase out the back door of a funeral home in North Hollywood. It featured a 350HP
Horsepower
Horsepower is the name of several units of measurement of power. The most common definitions equal between 735.5 and 750 watts.Horsepower was originally defined to compare the output of steam engines with the power of draft horses in continuous operation. The unit was widely adopted to measure the...
289CI Ford Mustang
Ford Mustang
The Ford Mustang is an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company. It was initially based on the second generation North American Ford Falcon, a compact car. Introduced early on April 17, 1964, as a "1964½" model, the 1965 Mustang was the automaker's most successful launch since the Model A...
V-8 engine, with a four-speed stick shift. It had two four-barrel carburetor
Carburetor
A carburetor , carburettor, or carburetter is a device that blends air and fuel for an internal combustion engine. It is sometimes shortened to carb in North America and the United Kingdom....
s.
The two rear tires were 11-inch Firestone
Firestone Tire and Rubber Company
The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company is an American tire company founded by Harvey Firestone in 1900 to supply pneumatic tires for wagons, buggies, and other forms of wheeled transportation common in the era. Firestone soon saw the huge potential for marketing tires for automobiles. The company...
racing slicks, mounted on custom 10-inch Radir aluminum wheels. Each hubcap was decorated with a large silver spider
Spider
Spiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
. The front tires were 4-inch Italian tires on Speedsport English buggy wire wheels. To extend the Gothic motif further, Barris installed four Zoomie style organ pipes
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
on each side of the car in lieu of standard exhaust pipe, and mounted antique lamps on the front and rear.
The front of the vehicle sported a marble gravestone with the legend: "Born 1367, Died ?". The radiator was formed to look like a small brass coffin. The driver sat in the rear of the vehicle behind the engine, under a plastic bubble.
The original car was housed in a Planet Hollywood
Planet Hollywood
Planet Hollywood, a restaurant inspired by the popular portrayal of Hollywood, was launched in New York on October 22, 1991, with the backing of Hollywood stars Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, Demi Moore, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.-History:...
in Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...
, where it hung from the ceiling. This Planet Hollywood location is now closed according to Planet Hollywood's website. The car is now housed at the Volo Auto museum in the town of Volo,IL. 1 hour north of Chicago. Volo Auto Museum had the car completely restored in 2011.
While the car came from George Barris' shop, the car was constructed by Richard "Korky" Korkes and others who worked under Korky's direction while he managed the Barris facility.
In The Munsters
On The MunstersThe Munsters
The Munsters is a 1960s American family television sitcom depicting the home life of a family of monsters. It starred Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster and Yvonne De Carlo as his wife, Lily Munster. The series was a satire of both traditional monster movies and popular family entertainment of the era,...
TV series the car was created by Grandpa Munster so he could win back The Munster Koach, which Herman
Herman Munster
Herman Munster, 5th Earl of Shroudshire, is a fictional character in the CBS sitcom The Munsters, originally played by Fred Gwynne. The patriarch of the Munster household, Herman is an entity much like Frankenstein's monster along with Lurch on the show's competitor The Addams Family.Due to the...
had lost in a drag race in the episode Hot Rod Herman.
The 1966 movie Munster, Go Home features Herman driving DRAG-U-LA in a cross-country race.
In culture
Rob ZombieRob Zombie
Rob Zombie is an American musician, film director, screenwriter and film producer. He founded the heavy metal band White Zombie and has been nominated three times as a solo artist for the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance.Zombie has also established a career as a film director, creating the...
titled a song on his Hellbilly Deluxe
Hellbilly Deluxe
* Danny Lohner - Additional Guitar on Meet the Creeper.* Tommy Lee - Drums on Meet the Creeper.-Chart positions:AlbumSingles...
album "Dragula
Dragula (song)
-Covers:The song was covered by gothic metalcore band Motionless in White in 2009. It was also covered by Transient for The Electro-Industrial Tribute to Rob Zombie in 2002.-Personnel:* Tom Baker - Mastering* Paul DeCarli - Additional Programming...
". Episode footage of the drag race was included in Zombie's horror film House of 1,000 Corpses.
The DRAG-U-LA is a playable vehicle in the car combat video game Twisted Metal 4
Twisted Metal 4
Twisted Metal 4 is a vehicular combat video game developed by 989 Studios and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation...
.
External links
- Pictures of Grandpa's Dragula
- George Barris' RAT-ULA page (a remake the original DRAG-U-LA)
----