#4803281
A quick update guys...

Well, remember this?

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Well, I wanted it to be a two-tone black and gray. The steering wheel was in great shape to begin with (probably why it cost me a fortune), so the job wasn't too hard compared to the other work that's been done.

Check it out...

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And now...the FINISHED product:

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Such a beautiful steering wheel...should look pretty with the restored dash.
mburkit, Carpeteria, Kingpin liked this
#4803588
First off, awesome conversion. Second, how hard has it been to get parts for a vehicle this old? Not that I'll ever have the money to do something this freaken awesome but I've seen on a few rebuild shows that they sometimes end up putting in the rear axle of a truck because the rear end for the vehicle wasn't available.
#4803603
Everything from the cowl forward is standard Cadillac so those parts aren't too terribly hard to find. The rear axles and suspension set up ARE from a truck so that isn't all that difficult to source parts either. It's the MM-specific parts that are made of unobtanium.
zeta otaku liked this
#4805744
Hello everyone...

As always, the Ecto restoration roars on.

The rear brakes are rebuilt! Check out these progress photos (obviously I'm only showing the best ones to make a point):

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And then they were cleaned up (I don't have any photos of that process to share)...and then the rebuild:

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YES.


Obviously, rear brakes don't mean squat if the car doesn't move in the first place. Well, one piece of the puzzle of making it move has been restored...

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That's the gas pedal in case you didn't figure that out. Well, it was rough, so it needed a little love...

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RESTORED:

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More things are happening. I probably won't have any photos to post until after Dragon Con concludes. I am very much looking forward to the trip to Atlanta to see those of you whose friendship I value so much. Those of you who can't make it will be missed.

Oh, and I know it's a bit off-topic, but I'm working on another MAJOR movie prop project...one that nobody has embarked on before me. I'll give you a hint...

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If you want to check that out, please go here:
http://forum.alienslegacy.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=14382
zeta otaku, Kingpin, mburkit and 1 others liked this
User avatar
By SabaSka109
#4811246
Oh there are a number of things coming to fruition that photos won't really explain. Power steering being rigged, air conditioning being installed, carrier bearing replaced. On another note, I hope to have a BIG update within the next few weeks.
#4812945
For a lot of people it would be hard I'm sure...I have no ordinary team of people working on the Cadillac though...they are doing all sorts of things that people say aren't possible. The real x-factor with a lot of car projects is money of course. I'm insane and don't care what it costs, while most people aren't as fortunate as I am to have such financial flexibility (and that's disappointing to me because I know that means that few will be able to gain much help from this particular project). My entire engine has been built from scratch essentially...all new, often customized/modified parts being used with the intent of making it powerful, reliable, and significantly upgraded from what it would have been as stock (I did not have the stock engine anyway).
#4812947
QUICK UPDATE:

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What's this truck doing here? Well, that truck donated its power steering and air conditioning to the Ecto! It's basically being stripped of all things useful. Nothing will be wasted though...whatever is left is sure to be used towards some future car project.

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Installation has been going smoothly, but has truly been a "nightmare" as the team in California has called it. My Ecto had essentially nothing in terms of a front end when I acquired it...the entire engine had to be built. Being that we are using newer, bigger, more powerful stuff, a lot of modifications have been necessary. I can't express how complicated of a process it's been, but I know that 4 very smart, experienced people have been involved.

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And now...I HAVE THE POWER!!!!!

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So menacing...so appropriate...so much better than what it would have been if I had used the 1963 Cadillac motor I acquired with the car.

I realize I don't have many photos these days...a lot of things are happening (fine details if you will) that are so time consuming. Mix that in with the 105+ degree temperatures they had been having out in California for a while, and it seems like things haven't gone far the past month or so...but they have. And a GIANT step is on the horizon. As of October 10, 2014, it will be exactly 3 and a half years since I purchased this car...such a long journey...so detailed and complex...yet so very much worth it.
jackdoud, Havoc0213 liked this
#4817641
I am hoping for more updates shortly!

By the way, yes, I am a real doctor in real life (believe me, it's not anything to brag about). Well, I worked the ER admissions shift on Halloween day, and we got approval to dress up and I did...

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I am officially the first medical doctor (and most likely the last) to dress up in gear to work! They wouldn't let me take my proton pack, but I wouldn't have wanted to anyway. Needless to say, the patients that I saw loved it, and I even went to see a lady on the floor who was not doing well - she perked up when I came by and ended up being stabilized right then and there by yours truly and is doing great.

Who ya gonna call? Dr. Adam!
Ecto-1 fan, Grimmy GB, mburkit and 4 others liked this
By drcaron
#4820570
SabaSka109 wrote:I am hoping for more updates shortly!

By the way, yes, I am a real doctor in real life (believe me, it's not anything to brag about). Well, I worked the ER admissions shift on Halloween day, and we got approval to dress up and I did...

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I am officially the first medical doctor (and most likely the last) to dress up in gear to work! They wouldn't let me take my proton pack, but I wouldn't have wanted to anyway. Needless to say, the patients that I saw loved it, and I even went to see a lady on the floor who was not doing well - she perked up when I came by and ended up being stabilized right then and there by yours truly and is doing great.

Who ya gonna call? Dr. Adam!
You looking good Dr ,.one day you goin drive the ambulance to the hospital with flshing light and sirene.
By pwright
#4820575
This is a fantastic restoration. I am actually a physician as well and I wore my suit in on Halloween ( minus the pack). I'm a radiologist though so I had to change into scrubs for procedures. I did keep on the flight suit and gear when meeting patients in the RADU though and everyone thought it was great. Awesome to see I wasn't the only one.
User avatar
By SabaSka109
#4822831
Hey everyone,

I hope those of you that celebrate Christmas had very awesome times with your families and friends. I was working and, well, it sucked. Softening the blow was an assortment of Ecto pictures that Santa made sure got to me. I'm only showing some of them because there's too many.

The brakes needed a final going-over to make sure there were no leaks and that process has been completed...

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The wiring harness needed to be replaced, but it's been obtained and installed...

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The air conditioning installation is purely custom, as this car wasn't offered with air conditioning to begin with.

The brackets after they were bead-blasted:

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There was a little problem with the upper AC bracket...it didn't fit:
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It was modded to fit:
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IT FITS:
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In due time I will have the car of my dreams...

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(That was drawn on a cell phone screen by Carpeteria...quite impressive.)
jackdoud, Carpeteria liked this
#4824957
The progress continues, and this time with some big steps forward.

First, a friend of mine managed to track down another Ferno-Washington model 22 cot, which is needed for the proton pack rack...

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This one is in better shape than the one I already have, so it'll be the primary pack rack.


Next, here's a look at the exhaust headers in their finalized state...SHINY!

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Now on to the BIG progress steps...


First, the rear bumper fit the car decently, but there was just a slightly larger gap than there should have been between the chassis/rear quarter panels and the bumper chrome. The mounting bracket required modification, a trial-and-error process until the fit was correct. As with everything before it, MISSION ACCOMPLISHED:

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There is supposed to be a little gap as pictured...so psyched!

The BIGGEST step of all for this update is what has me the most excited. The drip rails for the car were not originally on my car as it was a Landau hearse without any of the side windows behind the suicide doors. I had acquired the window moldings and window glass from a super nice guy and he brought me the drip rails from the parts car he was pulling the stuff from. I pictured them previously - they did not fit perfectly as they were a NIGHTMARE to get off of the car and bent in certain places. So, they had to be built...

Cutting the drip rails...

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Shaping the drip rails...

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INSTALLING THE DRIP RAILS... (YES!!!)

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The best part about this step: the rear window moldings and windows can now be installed!


And with that, I am off to start planning another trip to California to see my baby before she comes to Pennsylvania...it shouldn't be long now!
jackdoud, Jake LeRoy, Daniel liked this
#4825698
Another update...

The passenger side drip rails are now installed! Check it out:

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Now that they're installed, it's time for the window installation process to begin (very exciting!). Just for giggles, a test-fitting was performed without the rubber etc. in place just to be sure it will fit...surely enough:

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HELL YES!!!

It's been almost 4 years since I bought the car...finally it's becoming an ambulance with the correct windows. The wait has been well worth it.
jackdoud, Kingpin, zeta otaku and 2 others liked this
User avatar
By SabaSka109
#4826765
Hey again everyone!

I've got some more photos for you. First, the lower trim pieces along the bottom of the windows from the rear passenger doors to the back of the car have been fully restored and finalized for installation.

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I know they're hard to see...but here's a close up of one installed...

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Now that those are done, the window installation process continues, now on the driver side. Take a look at these...

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Now, imagine that you were a proton pack mounted in place on top of the proton pack rack gurney. Why do I propose such a ridiculous thing? Well, because this is the view you'd have:

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Oh, and as you noticed in the one photo, if you're as obsessive compulsive as I am, there is a little bit of a gap between the window molding and the rear of the car, which I have labeled for those of you who missed it.

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That will be fixed, of course. When I brought it up with my friend who is working on it, he said:

"These kind of issues don't happen with a normal 'restoration'. Your car seems to have one-of-a-kind problems."

In regards to the quote, I LOVE IT. He has never gone this far with a car in all of his years of experience, and he says he is just really happy that I'm so excited and committed to it.

The project is really coming along now. I will post more epic photos as I get them and have time to pick out the highlights. Thanks for following this project!
jackdoud, Jake LeRoy, Daniel liked this
#4830690
Hey guys...back again. Well, in 1 month I'll be all packed up and excited as hell because I'll be going back to California to see the car. The team is frantically working on various things to have her looking pretty when I get there.

I had to find a set of 1959 Cadillac rims because the ones that were on the car were being borrowed. I was set on finding 1959 commercial rims, but those are hard to come by, and every time I found some, they were in horrible shape. I found a set of regular 1959 rims that were in good shape and I jumped all over them (it's hard to find a full set). The regular rims are the same exact size as the commercial rims. The only major difference that I can discern is that the regular rims have the two pieces that construct the rim welded together, while the commercial rims have these two pieces riveted together. I would have found pictures to explain, but you guys all should know how to use Google to see what I'm talking about if you really care.

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The most important thing? These actually fit with the disc brakes and small spacers that were added!

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Obviously, these will be cleaned up, and once my 59 Cadillac hubcaps are on, nobody will know they're not true commercial rims. Honestly, given my car is not entirely stock, I would rather the few commercial rims left out there go to people who have fully-original commercial chassis.

This past weekend, it became apparent that my window moldings, though not in bad shape by any means, needed to be re-anodized to truly look new, and not detract from what will be the finished product. I was going to leave them go, but a little bit of polishing and stuff won't harm them in any way. The moldings were removed (if you have no idea what I mean, it's the metallic borders of the windows), and this allowed for my friend to touch up a few rough spots on the roof, as well as around the rear window areas, and then re-primer them.

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Not surprisingly, he said he had addressed the roof before, but it was real difficult to get the entire thing just right. In other words, the roof is huge (duh).

Oh, and I don't know if I posted photos of these before...

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That is a GE 4001B new old-stock par 46 bulb. These are exceedingly rare. To my knowledge (and believe me, I would know), I've gotten the last 16 of these that have been listed for sale anywhere over the past four years (I already had twelve but just found another set of four). Why do I need 16 you ask? Well, why not 16? These are the "deck lights" that are found on the corners of the roof. They flash on and off while the lightbar lights are rotating...making for an added 'please turn your goddamn lights off!' effect. God, I wish it were legal for me to run the lights whenever I wanted.

I CAN'T WAIT TO GO TO CALIFORNIA!!!!
jackdoud, mburkit, zeta otaku and 1 others liked this
#4833475
Hey everyone,

I know it's been a while, but I've got a lot of Ecto updates coming...well, more like Ghostbusters-related updates coming with lots of Ecto. I just returned from California. My friends and I had an absolutely amazing trip, of which I will post about once I have gone through all of the photos from the trip. For now, I'll post a few photos that I had before we left but never got around to posting.

First, I know I showed the 1959 Cadillac rims previously, but they still looked their age. They have since been cleaned up and powder coated...

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I have also been fortunate enough to ID the driver-side fender mirror! Take a look at this:

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That is a 1960's Ford Rotunda mirror. This is the exact same kind of mirror that was on the Ecto's driver side front door.

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I know it's impossible to tell from this shot, but I assure you with 100% certainty that this is the mirror. The car has since been 'restored' as I've mentioned before, and that mirror has been changed (I have one of the same mirrors that is on the car now). Obviously, I'm going for screen accuracy, so I'm thrilled to have ID'd this.


As if things weren't awesome enough, I have managed to find two brand new old stock mirrors!

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As you can see, the top mirror is the 1960's Ford Rotunda mirror for the driver door, and the bottom mirror is the Yankee Scout mirror for the passenger front fender. I figured I'd post one photo from the California trip now...

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There you can see the Yankee Scout mirror on the actual movie car...this mirror was never changed from the time they filmed it until now.


OK, I know it's not Ecto related, but this is a Ghostbusters thread in spirit, so I'm going to be posting a lot of non-Ecto things. Anyone who truly loves Ghostbusters knows who Michael C. Gross is. I'll be repeating this in upcoming posts, but he was an associate producer of Ghostbusters and an executive producer of Ghostbusters II. He actually designed the Ghostbusters logo that we all love. Sadly, his health is not the best, and he has realized that some of his rare possessions should find their way into loving hands. Some of these rare possessions are Ghostbusters-related of course. Before the California trip, he had posted about a set of film chromes...these are basically film transfers pulled from the actual movie film and enlarged for the purpose of showing special effects and also for high-quality photo production. I was fortunate enough to be the one who acquired these...

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They're very difficult to photograph, but the shots are as follows:

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These things are so freaking cool, and I am so excited to have them. According to Mr. Gross, only three sets exist. He had a set made while Columbia Pictures had a set produced for their archives, and the special effects house, Boss Film Studios, had the other.


Alright, I'll be back with California updates...so much to post over the next few days!
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