#4782868
we are going to revisit the car and identify the system which rotates the sniffer and the bubble radar. There is a metal bar that appears from underneath the wooden top that goes to a opening at the base of the sniffer tower. It rotates back and forth making the sniffer spin.
Sniffer doesn't spin it sweeps ...
910dohead liked this
#4786176
Get ready... this is going to be a big update.

Parts! Parts! Parts! We've searched the globe to find parts! Since our Ecto-1 isn't a '59 Caddy replica, we are allowing ourselves to take a few liberties with some of the parts. Mainly some stuff are modern replacements, which to us is alright. Anyways, here are some pictures of what we've been able to get our hands on so far. Going to start with some of the small stuff first.

16 Pin Connector that goes between the two oxygen tanks. I believe this part went missing after the Ecto-1 restoration.
Image

More pre-restoration parts; Correct rainbow ribbon cable that comes off the heatsinks on the front of the roof rack. This also connects to a mystery part on the back of the roof rack.
Image

The connectors that clip onto the ribbon cable:
Image

Driver's side heatsink (needs modification):
Image

More pre-restoration parts; the NMO antenna's that go on the raydome tower:
Image

The base (needs modification):
Image

We have purchased two of these antenna's (only one is pictured) along with the caps (not pictured). The rubber base piece on the antenna gets removed and a hole gets drilled into the cap (allowance for the antenna stem). The aluminum piece screws onto the anodized base to recreate the antennas.

Crix Ecto-1 Sound Kit:
Image

Blower Motor:
Image

Fan blade (this is going to be modified. Pretty close though...):
Image

102" Whip Antenna's x2 (We went with a close enough model; ASP-632). While I found only 1 ASP-633, it was just the whip part w/ no base. The real deal is very hard to get.
Image

Blue Hoses:
Image

Liqui-tite Grey hose:
Image

The Connectors:
Image

Mandrel (Base for the radar):
Image

Roof heatsink (close enough version):
Image

What's an Ecto without the Gentec Dummy antenna?
Image

drcaron's awesome 1:1 Ecto-1 Stickers:
Image

3 A-6 Oxygen tanks:
Image
Image

This one will be cut for our Raydome:
Image

Lights, let get into the lights!

Whelen Strobe:
Image

We bought a modern replacement lense cover for it:
Image

Unity Spotlamp:
Image

Replacement Blue Lense (Anyone know how this attaches? We are having problems with it):
Image

Propelloray Outer Red lense:
(The one pictured might be our replica. We found an original but a replica was also purchased along with it)
Image

The Federal Propelloray & Siren, along with the deck lights, have not been purchased yet. We have located sellers that have them reserved for us, but neither seller has given us invoices for them yet. We have also purchased the motor for the radar, but it has not arrived yet. We also have purchased the braided wire cable (goes from the TI box front to the back) but it is not pictured.

Last but not least;
I wonder what these go to?
Image

Oh, right! These:
Image

We were told finding 2 of these 48'' lightbars were going to be difficult, but we manage to pull it off. Obviously, the lenses need some TLC to get them to shine.

We still have more parts to find for the car like the plastic dome, louvers, the sniffer motor, passenger heatsink, split loom, etc. We also need to find power supplies for some of the lights, controls, etc. and get into some of the stuff that's under the hood. Stuff like buying a second battery, modulator, wiring, etc. Going to get a loud speaker to mount inside of the front lightbar behind the grill. It's going to be fun shouting at people to pay attention to the road while we drive this thing.

I believe the car will be coming next before we fully have everything. We're currently holding out for the right price and mileage since it will be used. All of the metal parts (going with aluminum) will be built soon after that as well as the fabricated pieces. We're going to be doing something different that comes out of the trunk for our packs. Sadly the car is too small for a gurney. We'll figure it all out and tackle it when we get there.

Everything will be test fitted, wired and then put together. We'll take it all apart again to have body work done to the car as well as painted. It will all get put back together and the last step will be adding the vinyl logos. This is just our tentative plan and might possibly change. We are looking to have the car out on the road as soon as we can.

EDIT: One last thing, we're holding off on the bumper strobes for now as its possible that our bumper wont be able to accommodate the real ones. Some of us in the group are going to a dealership to do more measurements on the car. We'll wait and see.
o0Ecto1A0o liked this
#4788434
Actually, his labels are going to be perfect. We are doing our rack 1:1 since we have the room on the roof. We went and measured the Flex and we have the room to do it full size. I have only just seen the parts our group found in person for the first time today. His labels are awesome and I highly recommend them for any Ecto.

As for our car, we haven't found the right deal yet to pull the trigger on buying it. We received some more parts for the car and still waiting for the sellers with the Federal parts to invoice us. I can post a few pictures later of some of the parts I assembled today. Also, if anyone has a good lead on the midway CB and the regency scanner, please send me a PM. While these parts aren't necessary, we'de like to have an honorable mention to the dash pieces.
o0Ecto1A0o liked this
#4788488
910dohead wrote:Actually, his labels are going to be perfect. We are doing our rack 1:1 since we have the room on the roof. We went and measured the Flex and we have the room to do it full size. I have only just seen the parts our group found in person for the first time today. His labels are awesome and I highly recommend them for any Ecto.

As for our car, we haven't found the right deal yet to pull the trigger on buying it. We received some more parts for the car and still waiting for the sellers with the Federal parts to invoice us. I can post a few pictures later of some of the parts I assembled today. Also, if anyone has a good lead on the midway CB and the regency scanner, please send me a PM. While these parts aren't necessary, we'de like to have an honorable mention to the dash pieces.
A Ford Flex is a big car, but I think a 59's rack will take up too much room. You will end up cramming everything really close together. You need room in back for the lightbar and the hatch to raise, if that's how they open on the Ford Flex.

My pals have a 1960 and their roof rack would take up my entire roof on the Jeep Grand Cherokee..
#4826587
It's been a while since we gave this thread any attention but we are really close now to realizing this. We are only looking for two more of the harder to find parts: The Dietz deck lights and the Federal siren. We have the money in hand for the car, but haven't pulled the trigger yet. We don't want the car to sit around while waiting on parts. We want to start the build immediately after the car is purchased. Here is what we have in mind:

Image

Can anyone point us in the right direction in locating these pieces?
o0Ecto1A0o liked this
#4826604
Boomerjinks wrote:Scale it. Scale it to fit. Always always always.

Absolutely. We've gone to the dealership and measured the roof of the models we are interested in. We seem to be in scale with the rack blueprints that exist. We've even measured the length of the roof on the screen used Ecto-1. However, if we need to scale down, it will only be a matter of a few inches. Probably take an inch or two off in a spot that wouldn't be noticeable. If it ends up being more, we will scale down. We look to be alright though.
o0Ecto1A0o liked this
User avatar
By 910dohead
#4864701
It's been well over a year since there was any kind of update with this thread. Buckle up because here comes one HUGE update with this project.

Image

The magnitude of this project is a first for all of us so we needed to make sure this was done right the first time. Therefore, a lot of planning had to be done before we could move forward. We put together sort of a build kit that would go to those who would have a hand in the car's creation. The kit included mock ups of the vehicle, blueprints, measurements, reference, part info, modifications, etc. It's sort of frightening but if the planning is done right the work should follow suit.

Image

Before we get into the the bulk of the update, I am going to recap a little from the beginning to catch those unfamiliar up to now. First, we spent several years collecting up accurate parts for the vehicle and wouldn't proceed beyond that point unless every part was accounted for.

Image
Image

As you can tell some of the parts are showing their age and are pretty beat up. We have plans to restore any parts that need a new lease of life. First, some clean up and work need to be done on the light bars.

Image
Image

Both the metal and plastic pieces are going to get a face lift. Currently, the metal parts for the light bars are in the shop being repaired and renewed. The rest of the work is going to be done by us. We also located and received the proper speaker for it. This will accommodate our sound effects and also act as an external loud speaker so we can yell at other drivers who get irresponsibly too close while driving.

Image

Once we had all of the parts, it was time to purchase the car. The whole time we were looking for a used Flex but for some reason we found a brand new one for thousands less? How does that happen? Well, here she is.

Image
Image

The car itself is going to get a make over. We aren't just going to slap logos and a roof rack on it. None of us are into the weird grooves in the doors and the roof itself needs to be cleared. Originally, we had more body work planned for the car including a suicide door on the back but we decided to simplify the work.

As for the original parts that were beat up, it was time to give them new life. We started with the Propello Ray and the Federal Siren. The Propello wasn't so bad but the siren was almost thrashed. We found a wizard who used magic and blew our minds. Here is what the Propello Ray looked like before restoration.

Image

Here is the same part but after restoration. Tested, working and polished to a shine!

Image
Image

As for the Federal Siren, here's what it looked like. This thing has seen some better days. It even had holes in the shell. It was busted!

Image
Image
Image
Image
Image

Now, here is where our minds were blown! After pictures:

Image
Image
Image
Image
Image

Not an imperfection. Pure sex.

Next, since the roof on the Flex is slightly smaller than a '59 Futura, we needed to make some changes to the roof rack and the build. We ended up having to cut 7" from the overall length of the rack so its not that bad. Unfortunately, we decide to loose the deck lights from the car since they take up too much space. We might go with smaller versions later in the build but we haven't reached that point yet. Anyways, here we are building a wooden mock up of the bottom portion of the rack and test fitting it with the light bars and other parts. We have done our measurements but we want to make sure those measurements are going to work. We are crossing our fingers that there's no major surprises in store for us.

Image
Image
Image
Image

Now it's time to take a look at the mock up and paint scheme. This was in our packet given to the body shop and its how the final car will look like after the modifications.

Image
Image

We find ourselves at the body shop. This is the start of the big stuff.

Image

No turning back.

Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image

Now, we had such a pain with these decals. A star car buddy of ours recommended a company to us who would actually make them. It's very hard to find a graphics place that will touch a copyrighted logo. There was a lot of going back and forth with the printing shop and even a lost set of decals later (thanks UPS), these FINALLY arrived. Before anyone asks or mentions it, yes this is not the accurate movie logo. It's the re-worked logo that's on Fifthrider's and Venkman71's Ecto's as well as the reboot vehicle. Brian gave us permission to use the file for our car. No particular reason why we used this logo except that we preferred it.

Image

The grooves on the doors have been removed and filled in. This puppy is ready for paint. Decals after that then clear coat.

Image
Image
Image

As I type this out, this is where we are at with the body work. I've got to stop here and start getting into the roof rack before I can reveal the finished body work.

The bubble dome acrylic arrived and is ready for fabrication. We've also got a wizard with aluminum working on our roof rack. For now I will just show you a storage tube ring because that's all i've been given at this point.

Image
Image

There's a snifer in the works as well.

Image

We also found more accurate parts in the wild. We found a swtching and balancing unit that is going to be gutted for parts. Taking it apart gives us a rough idea of what the actual Texas Instruments panel box would look like inside. The actual switches have a massive base on them. Since none of the rounded faces on these aren't stamped an aluminum wizard is hard at work stamping them with numbers.

Image
Image
Image
Image

We are going to do what other Ecto owners have to resort to by making our own Texas Instruments box.

Image

The Flex now has all of the logos in place and now it's time for some clear coat.

Image
Image
Image

Alright, here is where we are at with the body work. Take a look at that!

Image
Image

So, we took her out for the first time where she got to visit with the real deal. The screen used Ecto-1!

Image
Image
Image

The Ecto-1 had some work done to it since we last saw it. They have everything going on it except the strobes and deck lights. Even the sniffer was in motion. I can upload video of it if you guys want. Unfortunately, the front light bars have seized up and weren't spinning. I also don't think the bubble dome works anymore either. A Sony rep did tell us that they were working on it. I told them to turn around the raydome.

Anyways, our car isn't even done yet and already people are hanging out of their windows while driving trying to get pictures. The car has maybe traveled 100 miles since the body work/paint job and already almost caused 5 accidents. It's a little scary. Funny thing is with the reboot sticker on the back, some drivers actually keep a 500 foot distance. Haha!

More to come as we are trying to get this done before the Mass Hysteria party. I have my own doubts this will get done before that. All of our projects are way over their timeline and budget. Both our Ecto and Containment Unit projects look like they might be finished around the same time. Which would be both amazing and a relief. Until then...
Matty PKE Question...URGENT

Depending on the price, it might be worth snatchin[…]

I have a full sized spirit pack, and I have the gh[…]

If you need any clarification at all, PM me or […]

Proton Props UK

Good decision to lift the ban! By the way: I think[…]