Grandpa's wild ride

Radio Control Car Action, Dec 1999 by Conrad, Paul

MOST PEOPLE START AN RC project with a car, truck, or buggy vehicle and build on the existing chassis. One person might install a roll cage, another may decide to drop in two engines, and others may anodize every piece of metal on the vehicle. Well, I have two words for all you big-dollar-project freaks: coupon box!

My latest project started life as a plain, old coupon box that my wife was about to toss into the trash can. "Wait; this hunk o' plastic could come in handy some day," I thought. Hmm. Parts bin? No. Shock-oil storage? Uh-uh. Then, as the kitchen light caught the box just right, and the music in my head swelled gloriously, an idea was born! Why not build an RC coffin-mobile, similar to the one Grandpa had in the classic television series, "The Munsters"? The decision was made, and my version of the coffin-mobile went into production.

MEET GEORGE BARRIS, KING OF THE KUSTOMIZERS

Anyone who is a fan of wild

Hollywood custom cars is certainly familiar with the work of George Barris, creator of such memorable machines as the Batmobile, from the intentionally campy "Batman" of the 60s, and KITT, David Hasselhuff's talking Trans Am from the unintentionally campy "Knight Rider" program of the '80s. George was one of the earliest hot-rod pioneers and first took a torch to sheet metal in the '40s when he was still a high-school student. In an era of tacked-on foxtails and other gewgaws, George was a true craftsman who innovated many of the hot-rod conventions, such as chopping, channeling, louvering and recessing lights and accessories.

Although somewhat less well-known than the previously mentioned superhero cars, the blown drag racers Barris created in his Barris Kustoms shop for "The Munsters" program are probably more patent machines; whereas KITT and the Batmobile hid their engines from view [allowing stock powerplants to remain in place), Herman and Grandpa Munster both drove drag machines outfitted with fully visible, blown V-8 mills and suitably wide drag rubber. I admittedly recall little of the action from the "Hot Rod Herman" episode in which the vehicles appeared most prominently, but I do remember that Grandpa's brake 'chute was sabotaged by another racer, forcing Herman to stop the car by grabbing hold of the rear axle and dragging his heavy Franken4eet. Hey, it could happen ....

In addition to Grandpa Munster's ride and the Munster's Koach (Herman's "family" vehicle, best described as a Gothic minivan), Barris Kustoms created The Monkees'

Monkeemobile, The Green Hemet's automobile, the cars of "77 Sunset Strip," "Herbie, the Love Bug," and even the Beverly Hillbillies' jalopy. More recent work includes the vehicles from the live-action "Flintstones" films, the recent feature-film Batmobiles and the latest James Hand BMWs. If it's custom and an film, it's probably a Harris Kustom creation!

COFFIN FABRICATION 101

First I sanded the gloss coating off the coupon box so that the black paint would adhere properly and not chip off. I followed the instructions on the paint can and applied several light coats in 10minute intervals to allow the paint to cure. When the last coat had hit the box, the result was a nice, smooth, glossy black finish-perfect for a miniature casket.

I set the box in a warm place to dry and figured it was time to pick a chassis for this application. The Parma* HemiCoupe was just what I needed because of its narrow, all-purpose design. It fit perfectly under the casket-cockpit, and the Munster machine started to take shape.

I lined up the Parma motor-mount/pod inside the box and drilled four 4-40-size holes through the coffin box and installed four screws through the box, chassis and into the motor mount. Now the hard part: I drilled holes on each side of the "coffin" for the rear axle and spur gear to fit through. I used a Dremel* tool because I needed a hole large enough for the 96tooth spur gear to slide into so it fit inside the coffin.

CASKET CONTROL SYSTEM

TO steer my creation, I used an old-style Cheetah on-road front end. This adjustable-width system allowed me to narrow the car's track, and the front end's large aluminum-block mounts add to the mean look of the vehicle. To complete the steering setup, I made a steering rod of music wire, installed it to the bellcrank on the front end and then to the servo.

The hard part now over, I mounted the electronics inside the coffin. I used some old RC equipment that was lying around: a Futaba* receiver, an S148 servo and a Novak* T-4 ESC. OK; some of the stuff is really old! Newer gear was used in the motor department: I chose a Trinity* Midnight stock motor and built a 4cell battery pack for power.

DETAILS

The Parma Hemi motor supplied with the Hemi-Coupe kit was painted, assembled and installed on the chassis with a self-tapping screw. I bolted rims and tires from the Coupe to the axles and stood back to admire my creation. It looked suitably creepy, but I had a few more steps to complete.

First, I installed grab rails on the sides of the coffin. I used 4-40 threaded rod with Associated ball cups on each side and slid a brass tube over the rod to cover the threads. 'There; now if Grampa's jack breaks, a couple of pallbearers can just hoist the car off the ground!