Ghostbusters Ecto-1 Project: The Largest Ever

[Ultimate Badass]

Hey all!

I will update photos soon...the car is being taken apart in places and perfected further...lots of technical stuff that I will explain once I have the photos to do so. And yes, my car does not have curved door bottoms because of the suicide doors. My Ecto can't be 100% accurate, but this discrepancy is totally worth it to me...I just love suicide doors! My buddies will look like absolute rockstars getting out of the car with the suicide doors!

 

[Lt Washburn]

Oh, so the movie car is the one without suicide doors? Okay, that makes sense. But technically, is it something that you could do, if you wanted?

 

[Lunajammer]

It's been said before, but what an epic Replica Prop. Even as she sits it looks pretty cool. Wish I had that kind of fun money, I want your job .

 

[Ultimate Badass]

Hey guys,

A couple of weeks ago I paid a visit to the Ecto and met with the guy who is going to do my interior upholstery and seat restoration. He does amazing work. We decided on a color scheme that wasn't initially what I had planned, but I realized that what I had in mind just wasn't going to work as it would have clashed significantly with the dash/steering wheel as well as the exterior of the car. That said, there will some really awesome customized touches that I can't wait to reveal when they are complete. For now, here are some photos of the car and the interior pieces that we are using as guides for what will come.

This awesome vintage badge is on the front bench seat's lower trim and will be used on the restored bench seat's trim...

As for the rear "jump" seats...

I have since learned that these jump seats came out of a 1959 Cadillac Superior rather than a Miller Meteor. In all honesty, I don't really care. These are in very good shape and will be restored and be perfect. The Miller Meteors apparently had jump seats with back rests that were a bit taller than the Superior jump seats.

This little step actually appears to be a latched door to cover a spare tire compartment. We will use it in the interior design after it is restored and upholstered in the color chosen...

And remember...

 

[68Brick]

Updates! I need Updates! opcorn Any Updates?

 

[Ultimate Badass]

The current process is very slow and I do not intend to post pictures until it is done (the interior)...

That said, the roof rack process will begin soon, but tragedy struck the family of a dear friend who is going to be instrumental in that process and I am letting him try to cope with it before I even attempt to make it seem like this car is of any importance (it's really not, and I can't imagine being in his position).

Trust me though, everyone, this badass behemoth of a vehicle is coming to fruition!

 

[joberg]

Good to know and sorry for your friend...must be a difficult time for him. Keep us posted.

 

[back]

Old topic, but I Just got back... All I can say is... WOAH! Thats Dedication my friend! Here I thought Ive seen it all... Just wow.

 

[Ultimate Badass]

It has been WAY too long and for that I apologize. Without directly explaining why (and no, my car is not directly involved), the recently-announced Ghostbusters III has delayed my ability to have a roof rack fabricated, and I need that to really get things going on the car both outside (obviously) and inside. That said, I have been up to plenty...

First of all, the front of the hood needed to be smoothed out a bit to allow flawless attachment of the 1959 Cadillac trim pieces. Check it out:

I managed to snag some reproduction Miller Meteor emblems for my inner door panels.

In addition, I have been sourcing some accessories for the interior. Some of them are ID'd in the movie car and others are pieces that I saw and thought looked great. I am not trying to replicate the interior of the car because it is impossible - nobody really knows what was in the car when they filmed the movie (some of the stuff in the car now is likely donated from the Ecto-1a). Up first, we'll take a look at the real ID'd pieces:

RT-695/PRC-41 Military Radio

The item you see sitting next to the jump seat is this old military radio. The outer housing has been removed. I managed to find a functional one and will not be removing the housing. I also managed to find new, never-used handsets that match the one in the movie car.

Here's mine:

R-125/GRC-10 Military Radio

This radio sits a bit further back, behind the other jump seat. I don't have a good photo of it on hand. The outer housing is removed from the one in the movie car as well. Again, mine is functional, and I'm not removing the outer housing.



Now for some random pieces I have found during my searches that I had to have because they looked really cool and should look great on the inside of the car, giving it some ghost-hunting character...

The project continues...here's a little something that I was inspired to make in honor of this insanity:

 

[joberg]

Wow! Another home-run with that project...who cares about the price-tag with such a project when you know that, at the end, it's going to be fire-trucking great

 

[Ultimate Badass]

I figured I'd stop back in to show a few more pictures, as I forgot some...

First of all, here is the radio with the accurate handset:

I also forgot to share photos of another interior item that is in the car, a new old-stock Polynoid Linear Actuator, which sits on the back cabinet of the car's interior divider (the partition the separates the front bench seat from the rest of the interior of the car). Here it is:

When maintaining an Ecto-1 proves to be tiring, one can always take a break to have a little bit of fun too...

 

[stung65]

Thank you so much for sharing, please keep it up!!

 

[back]

SWEET *****! Its... Its... Its Beautiful! *wipes tear from eye*

 

[The Searcher]

Any news on the car?

 

[cdporche]

Great project, and outstanding documentation. I'm working on a scale model aged for the 2020 release. Do you have any reference on how the whip antennas are tied down?

 

[Michael Bergeron]

Good God, you're WAY more patient than I am. I've been following this thread for almost 6 YEARS NOW and still you're doing body work! Lmao

I think you're the patron saint of perfection.

 

[Krest]

That's totally awesome! Love it!

 

[Starwoid]

Any news?

 

[jackdoud]

Last I heard Covid shut the project down even harder but there's some work being done on the upholstery and Adam was looking into a shop to finally build his roof rack.

 

[Ultimate Badass]

With a heavy heart I am posting to share that Roger, the man who took the skeleton of a 1960 Miller Meteor Landau hearse to the lively 1959 M-M ambulance that you all saw come to life, died today. He collapsed suddenly in his kitchen this morning while getting ready to go see Ghostbusters Afterlife. I'll never get over the fact that he didn't get to see my Ecto-1 completed.

The pandemic has been an awful thing for those of us in the medical profession, but I'm turning my attention to getting this car done in time for my 40th birthday in August. If I can make that happen, it'll be in Roger's honor. I really wish he had gotten to see Ghostbusters Afterlife too, because as I'm sure you all know by now, it is an awesome love letter to the original film.

Stay alive and well, my friends, and please stay tuned for progress on this project - updates should be coming soon.