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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.

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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

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

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!

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