My own Ectomobile: the Ecto-84!

[Cbstudios]

Yea, they do. It's kinda crazy, but I feel like I get more people noticing the car since putting the stripes on. I think the stripes lead people's sight to the No Ghost logos.

I agree, it really leads the eye well.

 

[thundergod124]

I agree, it really leads the eye well.

I'm really looking forward to getting tanks on both sides, I think it'll *really* pop then.

 

[thundergod124]

Ok, here's a little update... I was inspired by some insulation foam I saw at Lowes over the weekend. As with the other parts, it's mostly magnetic, so I can easily remove it.




Also, does anyone know how magnets hold up on the highway?

 

[Jintosh]

Ok, here's a little update... I was inspired by some insulation foam I saw at Lowes over the weekend. As with the other parts, it's mostly magnetic, so I can easily remove it.

View attachment 1587400


Also, does anyone know how magnets hold up on the highway?

People have the business logo on a sheet magnet stuck to the side of their vehicle, and it doesn't come off. Something other than flat could be a problem though.

 

[Rogviler]

Yeah, I drove a hotel shuttle for awhile and when the van was in the shop (which was often), we had a magnetic sign to stick on the side of the rentals. It wasn't a strong magnet, but there was a lot of surface area. On the other hand, I have a small magnet for picking up debris on the ground and if you stuck it to the side of a car it would be hard to get off. So you either need surface area or a very strong magnet. In addition, it would be a good idea to ensure that there's no way the piece in question could come off the car completely if the magnetic part came loose.

 

[thundergod124]

Yeah, I drove a hotel shuttle for awhile and when the van was in the shop (which was often), we had a magnetic sign to stick on the side of the rentals. It wasn't a strong magnet, but there was a lot of surface area. On the other hand, I have a small magnet for picking up debris on the ground and if you stuck it to the side of a car it would be hard to get off. So you either need surface area or a very strong magnet. In addition, it would be a good idea to ensure that there's no way the piece in question could come off the car completely if the magnetic part came loose.

For the blue hoses, in have black vecro straps securing them to the roof rack and on the grey hose, I have a couple steel pipe clamps to hopd it to the roof rack. All magnets are sitting on flat, even surfaces. Thanks for the feedback, guys!

 

[thundergod124]

Ok... here's a big ol' update for y'all!!

 

[thundergod124]

Ok, here's a little sneak peek at the next part. Thankfully, I got a helper watching over it.

 

[thundergod124]

So, I wanted to include the Texas Instruments unit but no way could I find a legit one so I decided to fabricate one. The base is a junction box and I'm using a bunch of guitar speed knobs and other greeblies. I think once it's painted up with decals and the split loom, it's really going to look the part! Here it is mocked up.

 

[thundergod124]

So, I got my two paintball tanks in and I threw one up on the roof rack. I think it's looking really good! However, I can't get the clamps tight. Any suggestions? Maybe backing the tanks with something?

 

[Rogviler]

Smaller clamps for sure. Once you run out of the "threads" on the band there's nothing for the worm drive to grab onto to tighten it. Those look to have several inches of extra length that you wouldn't need anyway. For something on a car that's driving and stopping at high speeds you definitely want everything to be tightened fully and correctly. Those are gonna look great though.

 

[thundergod124]

Smaller clamps for sure. Once you run out of the "threads" on the band there's nothing for the worm drive to grab onto to tighten it. Those look to have several inches of extra length that you wouldn't need anyway. For something on a car that's driving and stopping at high speeds you definitely want everything to be tightened fully and correctly. Those are gonna look great though.

Yes, I was thinking that last night about the hose clamps. I had bought those a while ago when I was planning to fabricate the tanks. So I'm going to get small ones, I was also thinking about grabbing rubber furniture blocks to put in between the roof rack and the tanks to increase the friction.

 

[thundergod124]

Ok, I have a pretty substantial update today for all three of you who have checked out my thread! I finally got the "freeon" tanks up and running! I think, all in all, they look great. One of the decals got a little wonky and there is some scratched-off paint but I guess that is all natural weathering, right?

I also added magnetic vents to the hood. I think it looks really good. I'd like to start thinking about making more of these things permanent.

 

[Jintosh]

Ok, I have a pretty substantial update today for all three of you who have checked out my thread! I finally got the "freon" tanks up and running! I think, all in all, they look great. One of the decals got a little wonky and there is some scratched-off paint but I guess that is all natural weathering, right?

I also added magnetic vents to the hood. I think it looks really good. I'd like to start thinking about making more of these things permanent.
View attachment 1593805View attachment 1593806

<hehe>
Actually, although only 3 of us have responded, you can see by hovering over the picture in post #30, that it has 24 views.

Love the progress, keep it up.

 

[thundergod124]

<hehe>
Actually, although only 3 of us have responded, you can see by hovering over the picture in post #30, that it has 24 views.

Love the progress, keep it up.

Lmao thanks for the accurate count. I appreciate the community support! And genuinely, thanks for the kind words on the progress. I feel like it is becoming a recognizable object now and really reads as an Ectomobile. I threw the light bar on it today for a few and it looked awesome.

 

[thundergod124]

Hello, fellow GB lovers. I have a pretty good update for y'all. With the help of halliwax, a ton of progress has been made on the Ecto-84. We got a temporary radome up, but the plastic is too brittle, to I'm going to rethink it. But halliwax designed and assembled an amazing PKE sniffer. However, it was crazy hot and very muggy today, so no painting yet.

Also, a couple weeks ago, my girlfriend and I dressed up for a birthday party and I figured I'd share. Ignore my goofy expression. We went into a local Starbucks and everyone in it was so pumped. The whole store came out and posed for a picture with us and the Ecto-84.

 

[thundergod124]

Here's a tiny update. It's been crazy humid around here lately, so I haven't been able to paint. Finally today, it was dry enough to do a quick coat of primer on the PKE sniffer. I'm hoping tomorrow will be dry enough to paint it up fully.

 

[thundergod124]

It was dry enough today that I managed to paint the sniffer block. It needs a second coat, especially on the white, before I hit it with clear coat but it's looking pretty sharp.

 

[thundergod124]

Hi, all! I'm in a little bit of a holding pattern while I wait for the material for the box that will drop into the roof rack but I am getting more parts here and there. One of parts I really wanted was the big heat sink. I talked with Halliwax about fabricating one and after considering the cost associated with it, he made the *wild* suggestion of just looking for one on Ebay. He ended up finding one that had a fantastic look. While not accurate to the film, it looks great and it was really affordable. So behold, the Ecto-84's aluminum heat sink!

I think it'll be an awesome addition, as it really suits the look of the car. You know, it's juuust weird enough. It's obviously two separate heat sinks but they look great bumped up together, so it should work out perfectly.

 

[Jintosh]

Creativity is the Mother of invention.