Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Custom Shop That Created Hollywood’s Most Iconic Cars is Up for Sale
News
By News
Published 4 years ago on
August 5, 2021

Share

The North Hollywood birthplace of the Batmobile, the Munsters Koach and a thousand other custom cars — is up for sale.

The 10,000 square foot property that houses Barris Kustom Industries, including a showroom that still houses a Batmobile, has been put on the market for $3.995 million, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The garages where brothers George and Sam Barris did custom body work for Hollywood celebrities are also included in the package. The duo’s clients included Elvis Presley, Elton John and Cassandra Peterson, a.k.a. Elvira, Mistress of the Dark.

“George and Sam were the shop,” Ken Gross told the Times. Gross is a hot rod historian and former Petersen Automotive Museum executive director.

“That’s who you went to. They were very responsible for the whole custom car scene,” he said.

On a rushed three-week build in the 1960’s, the Barris team turned a Ford Futura concept car — bought by George for $1 — into the Batmobile. Later he forged three Model T bodies into the Munster Koach, turned a gold-plated coffin into the Munsters’ Drag-U-La, and built starring-role vehicles for “The Beverly Hillbillies” and “My Mother the Car.”

The original Batmobile was sold at auction decades later for $4.2 million.

When Sam left the business, George carried on.  He proclaimed himself “King of the Kustomizers,” and continued his work on projects for movies, TV, and other shows.

Barris died in 2015 at age 90, just after taking a top prize at the Pebble Beach Concours D’Elegance, the Times reported.

Read more at the Los Angeles Times

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

UP NEXT

A Former Aide Says Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Kidnapped Her in a Plot to Kill Kid Cudi

Why Did the California Senate Shunt a Cost-Cutting Housing Bill?

12 hours ago

Fresno Teachers Call for Probe After Superintendent Orders Up Dossier Against Union

12 hours ago

Elon Musk Exiting Trump’s Team After Criticizing the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’

WASHINGTON — Elon Musk is leaving his government role as a top adviser to President Donald Trump after spearheading efforts to reduce and ov...

11 hours ago

Elon Musk listens as President Donald Trump speaks with reporters in the Oval Office at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP/Alex Brandon)
11 hours ago

Elon Musk Exiting Trump’s Team After Criticizing the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’

12 hours ago

Tulare Student Will Compete in Scripps National Spelling Bee Finals

12 hours ago

Federal Trade Court Blocks Trump From Imposing Sweeping Tariffs Under Emergency Powers Law

12 hours ago

Why Did the California Senate Shunt a Cost-Cutting Housing Bill?

12 hours ago

Fresno Teachers Call for Probe After Superintendent Orders Up Dossier Against Union

President Donald Trump holds a chart next to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick as Trump delivers remarks on tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 2, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
12 hours ago

US Court Blocks Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ Tariffs

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio meets with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (not pictured) at the State Department in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 28, 2025. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
12 hours ago

Rubio Says US Will Start Revoking Visas for Chinese Students

13 hours ago

CA Man’s 378-Year Sentence Overturned After Judge Rules Accuser May Have Made Up Charges

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend