The ECTO-1D / AKA: Vera
In May 2011, the Twin Cities Ghostbusters got a new car. Cory M. Deveney (GB911's Dr. Tyler Martin) came across a fully restored 1963 Cadillac Superior ambulance on eBay. His wife, Jen, told him they should get it & "live their dream while they're young". (He obviously married the right woman!) Cory & Jason Skoby (GB911's Vincent Gehin) flew out to Washington DC to pick it up & make the 18 hour drive home.
The car was originally from a small town in Virginia that only had the budget for one car to pull double duty as both an ambulance & a hearse. When Cory & Jason picked it up, it looked like this...
Below is a slideshow of the car before the build.
Click on a pic
to read more
 Pre ECTO-BuildThe car before it's complete restoration. |  Pre ECTO-BuildBefore previous owner restored the original paint job. |  Pre ECTO-BuildAfter restored original paint job. |
|---|---|---|
 Pre ECTO-BuildThe car was put on ebay. |  Pre ECTO-BuildThe owner offered to put all chrome trim back on. |  Pre ECTO-BuildWe opted to keep trim off for the white paint job that was needed for the ECTO-fication. |
 Pre ECTO-BuildThe original seat and upholstery. |  Pre ECTO-BuildThe original engine had been 100% restored & in perfect running condition. |  Pre ECTO-BuildThe car was stripped down, but was complete with all trim, interior & parts. |
 Pre ECTO-BuildInterior of the car. |
Cory & Jen really lucked out with this eBay find. She ran beautifully, but had an exhaust leak due to damage the exhaust line took when a shop drove it onto a lift the wrong way. Cory & Jason made the 18 hour drive from Washington DC to the Twin Cities with exhaust leaking into the car & all the windows rolled down. They got a little loopy upon their return.
Once they got her home, the first step in the ECTO-fication process was to have her painted white. They had already begun collecting the necessary items for putting the roof rack together, but nothing could be done on the car before an all white paint job. After a trip to MAACO, she looked like this...
Below is a slideshow of the car during the build.
Click on a pic
to read more
 The BuildThe ECTO-1D license plate arrives. |  The BuildTesting where to place the lightbars. |  The BuildWe unfortunately only had red domes to start with. |
|---|---|---|
 The BuildJason preps for painting the fins red. |  The BuildIt's amazing what a can of red spray paint can do. |  The BuildPainting fin #2. |
 The BuildOur at-home spray paint job turned out better than we had hoped. |  The BuildClean lines & no paint came up with the tape. Whew! |  The BuildJason's "chrome" liner job. |
 The BuildCompleted fins. |  The BuildThe 1C & the 1D. |  The BuildJason gets ready to mount the roof rack. |
 The BuildTesting where to place the rack frame. |  The BuildMarking where to drill the holes. |  The BuildGetting creative to climb up and work on the rack. |
 The BuildAttaching the individual parts to the roof rack. |  The BuildGetting closer to looking like an ECTO. |  The BuildGotta switch those red light bar domes to blue ones. |
 The BuildMost of the pieces are together at this point. |  The BuildThe blue hoses are attached. |  The BuildHmm...needs the door logos. |
 The BuildThe door logos are applied. |  The BuildShe's 22 ft. long & 8.5 ft. tall! |  The BuildVera's ready! |
After the white paint job was done, the roof rack, elements that make up the roof rack & other hallmark "Ghostbusters" touches could finally be added. Many of them had to be custom built, such as the sniffer antenna, white radome, large yellow storage tube, A/C fan box, directional dome antenna & aircraft beacon. Others had to be modified, like the original siren that came with the car (Jason fabricated a new shell) & the red "gumball" light (Jason took a scoop headlight from an old car & crafted a new casing). Then there were a handful that had to be hunted down online, like Force 4 XL police lightbars, ambulance lights & more. The hardest to find were two World War II bomber pilot oxygen tanks with regulators. It took a lot of research, but we got 'em! Jason had cut and welded a custom roof rack frame, which were the bones of the entire assembly. This is what it looked like when we had it powder coated...
Below is a slideshow of the parts that made up the roof rack & more. Read the captions to find out what part is what.
Click on a pic
to read more
 ECTO PartsThe welded roof rack frame before powder coating. |  ECTO PartsThe aluminum sides for the roof rack frame. |  ECTO PartsThe assembly of the sniffer antenna. |
|---|---|---|
 ECTO PartsA closer look at Jason's custom fabricated sniffer antenna. |  ECTO PartsThe fully painted sniffer antenna. |  ECTO PartsOriginal WWII bomber pilot oxygen tanks. |
 ECTO PartsThe oxygen tanks even came with regulators. |  ECTO PartsThe oxygen tanks mounted on the roof rack. |  ECTO PartsThe long yellow storage tube. |
 ECTO PartsThe long yellow storage tube installed. |  ECTO PartsAssembling the "bubble" directional antenna. |  ECTO PartsThe completed "bubble" directional antenna. |
 ECTO PartsThe custom made marine radome. |  ECTO PartsThe A/C fan box. Custom fabricated by a friend of Jason's. |  ECTO PartsWhat Jason used for the red "gumball" light. |
 ECTO PartsFabricating the new casing for the "gumball" light. |  ECTO PartsThe completed "gumball" light. |  ECTO PartsInstalling the loudspeaker for the PA system. |
 ECTO PartsWe installed a CB radio for the PA system. |  ECTO PartsJason drills the hole for the front whip antenna. Cory cringes. |  ECTO PartsThe front whip antenna goes on. |
 ECTO PartsJason installing the rear whip antenna base. |  ECTO PartsThe blue side hoses. Minivan A/C hoses from the junkyard painted blue. |  ECTO PartsBlue side hoses are added to the car. |
 ECTO PartsThe mismatched front light bar domes. |  ECTO PartsMismatched rear light bar domes. |  ECTO PartsGetting the blue domes together for the light bars. |
 ECTO PartsReplacing the light bar domes & bulbs. |  ECTO PartsBoth whip antenna & blue light bar domes installed. |  ECTO PartsA collapsible gurney was added for the proton pack rack. |
For a more detailed account of this ECTO build, info on where we found parts & what we used, & tons of additional photos...click here to see our build thread in the forum at gbfans.com.
The ECTO-1D made it's on-screen debut in episode 7 of Ghostbustin' 911. Tyler Martin used to drive it while working at a different branch & named it "Vera" (for those who were wondering...yes, that is a Firefly reference). It has since been our main vehicle, giving the ECTO-1C a well deserved rest.
We're proud to add the ECTO-1D to the list of fantastic fan-made ECTO replicas on roads all over the world! Contact us if we can help you with your build. Check our events calendar to find out where you can see the ECTO-1D in person, & keep an eye on our YouTube channel to see it in action!
The finished product,
Check it out!
 ECTO-1DAside from a few tweaks down the road, she's done! |  ECTO-1DGhostbusters screening at Marcus Theater. |  ECTO-1DShined up for Springcon. |
|---|---|---|
 ECTO-1DOutside the Roseville AMC theater for the Ghostbusters Halloween rerelease. |  ECTO-1DHalloween 2014. Interior LED lights added. |  ECTO-1DSpringcon 2013. |
 ECTO-1DNew tires with thin whitewalls. |  ECTO-1DThe cast of GB911 at the Mounds Theater GB911 screening. |  ECTO-1DAll lit up! |
 ECTO-1DCory & his wife, Jen, with the car at Springcon 2014. |  ECTO-1DAt a car show with proton pack rack out. |  ECTO-1DThe 1D hanging' with the Batmobile at Springcon 2014. |
