[SabaSka109]

Right you are Loren...that's what I meant by the border between the windows and such...I have the trim for it all, just can't install it yet. It would definitely be very cool to have our cars together at some point too...but there's still quite a ways for me to go to get to that point.

[69428scj]

Gotcha. How long before the car is supposed to be complete? And to whoever gave me negative karma for that last post...thanks. Clearly you missed that I was pointing out that a part was missing, not bashing the progress.

[SabaSka109]

Loren, I think I'll have the car completed by the end of September. Starting in June I start making some serious cash which will allow me to really expedite the work on it...by that time the body work should be complete and all I'll need to do is get the interior to my liking and roof set up...BIG tasks I know, but still, not as time consuming as the body conversion. This is a legitimate money pit, but worth it!

[ChapterMasterTu'Shan]

I can't wait to drive this beast.

[drcaron]

Hey Adam
This is a looking real good on the car i dont know if you know but you are lucky to have the first serie of 1960 M+M the rooft line is same as the 59 .

Look a this 2 serie of 1960 you can see that the rooft line is not the same your car you can see by the top of doors


Loren was try to pointing the messing parts and not bashing the progress on the car , we are a small community with real 59/60 cadillac ambulance so we all have exchange information I know some time is can look strange but we all doing for help .

Martin
Cant waite to see this car in september til ther keep the good job running .

[Fifthrider]

That was me. I was bashing the fact that Loren was helping someone in need. I also bash on puppy dogs, sunshine and happiness. ( I have no idea who marked that as negative, wasn't me. )

Very interesting info about the 1960 2nd series having a different roofline. You're right, it does. An elevated roofline like that almost makes for a better "The Real Ghostbusters" version of the Ecto.

I like how those fins went on SabaSka109. I've only seen pics of a couple of people that tried that and while most were pretty good, yours are probably the best lined up that I've ever seen. Very impressive.


Could everyone please take a moment out of their day to downvote my post please? I don't want Loren thinking he's alone. Let's see if we can set a new record for downvoting on this site.

[69428scj]

So Adam, your car was an early '60 build...because halfway through the 60 model year, they got rid of the upper door pieces. They're junk and practically had to rebuild mine from scratch due to so much rust. If you'll be in posession of the car in September, then I have an interesting proposition for you that might happen in October. Hit me up on the facespace so we can discuss it more!

[AJ Quick]

How many 196x to 59 conversions are out there?

[69428scj]

There is the one Martin posted and this one are the only ones I know of. I think that's mainly due to the fabrication required to graft on the fins.

[AJ Quick]

And the 64?

[69428scj]

I wouldn't consider that 64 a conversion because it wasn't a complete job, it still retained its original front clip.

[SabaSka109]

Yeah, I realized the car was a good 1960 and not the one with the lower roof like on Ebay a few months ago. My conversion is pretty complete...the entire front end and rear are from a 1959, it's not just the fins that are changed - the whole rear quarter panels, bumper, front end, fender skirts...you name it, all from a 59. Loren, I'll definitely drop you a message on Facebook when I get on there later!

[Fifthrider]

How many 196x to 59 conversions are out there?

A couple are known here ( as Ectos ) but on the hearse owner forums there are a few more cases of people putting '59 fins on a '60. Naturally this makes them heroes to some and pariahs to others because of the beliefs of those in charge of those forums. There are many who don't want you altering an old hearse regardless the reason, but in the end it's not their car.

There are some more recent model hearses where adding '59 fins line up well ( Carthedral ) and some that don't. ( Hawaii ) You would expect them to just line up on a '60 with greater ease but I've seen more than a few where they didn't. I can't speculate as to why since it seems possible based on what's been seen here.

[lunchbox739]

This is a incredible build....at the end of the day i'm just a construction stooge and will never be able to afford to build an actual 59 mm caddy into an ecto. I do enjoy watching projects like this come together though and appreciate it being shared with the community. Try to get some extensive photos when you start lining up the gaps and filling the body of the car and getting it ready for paint. Those personally are my favorite steps....the conversion from a 60 to a 59 has been down right magical to witness in stills....perhaps a video or two could be posted at some point? You seem to have some top notch folks working on this thing.

Now if the Georgia GBs can just coerce one of you boys down to Dragon Con one year soon o.O

[jackdoud]

Now if the Georgia GBs can just coerce one of you boys down to Dragon Con one year soon o.O

I told Adam I'd drive it down, the problem is finding a place to park it.

[lunchbox739]

True....there is nothing in atlanta near the hotels....maybe a open air parking lot...there is one on peachtree center that is close. Id be paranoid as hell about leaving it unattended though if it were mine.

Ill happily donate my driveway....i live about 30 minutes from atlanta on the outskirts of Covington closer to Conyers. I'd charge you a couple of photos of me near it in my gear.... seems fair to me =] lets make this happen

[SabaSka109]

Jack is just trying to be funny...there is no way I'd let Jack drive it to Atlanta...let alone anywhere for that matter...haha. I find it amusing when someone says they're going to drive the car...the car that I spent $100K on (or possibly more) and went through an absolute nightmare to obtain everything I've got for it. Not only that, but the gas expense alone would be ridiculous.

[lunchbox739]

I caught the sarcasm....i figure though...if you got a 100k to throw at an ecto...you got gas money to drive it down to Atlanta so we can all drool over your investment.

You'd have a blast I assure you. Peeer presssureeee....bring this ecto to the ATL when its complete o.O

[jackdoud]

I'm not letting you turn her into a trailer queen Adam...

[SabaSka109]

Jack, it won't be refined to a trailer, but it sure as heck isn't being driven by just anyone and to just anywhere. I mean, if you want an Ecto to drive everywhere like the grocery store and such, build one out of your truck! There's a reason I'm not letting hardly anyone other than Burkit drive it - it's because if anything happens, it's going to costs thousands to fix (courtesy of 1959 Cadillac parts being in ridiculous demand and very hard to find). I can only imagine what insurance is going to cost me.

Lunch, the funny thing is, I don't have the money to put into it...that's what makes my dedication to getting this done right even more of a big deal. In due time I'll be making a nice living, but not for quite some time...it'll take me quite a while to recover from this money-consuming project. It is TOTALLY worth the money and the stress...but yeah, if it ever gets to Atlanta that will be after I buy a 100% custom enclosed trailer and a big-ass truck powerful enough to haul the beast (uh, and if Jack gives me half of the gas money).

[lunchbox739]

I'm just poking at you dude. You can't hate a brother for trying though .

[69428scj]

C'mon now...you can't put your car on a trailer! I drive mine for pleasure all the time, I have to in order to keep it from leaking like a sieve. People love seeing the car, but just remember this; it costs me $50 in gas/money/power steering fluid everytime I drive my car.

[Fifthrider]

Sean and I were talking about this one day and I think the figure we came to was $500. It cost about $500 every time we took the car out. Gas and insurance was a very small role in that figure. There's damage, new repairs to be done, recently repaired/replaced parts that suddenly need to be done again, prop parts that broke or needed repair, and a slew of other issues that you just wouldn't have on a modern cars ( or cars with props built onto them.) Take out your daily driver and yeah, maybe $50. You're doing better than he and I if you get away with only $50 per trip. Seems light to me.

[SabaSka109]

No no no...I will have every other week off...the car will be taken out quite a bit. I meant if I was going somewhere far (as in hundreds of miles away like Atlanta), it would be in a trailer for its safety. I've made the road trip to Atlanta once in my life with mburkit and nosllit and, well, BAD karma.

[SabaSka109]

Well, it's been a long week working in the ICU (in other words it SUCKED) but I'm off today which means it's time for an update!

The rear bumper has been fitted to the car with one of the rear quarter panels on to assure everything will line up. Pretty soon the other rear quarter panel will be on and they will be molded to the chassis.



The rear bumper will be modded to have the step that the Ecto has. I found one of the correct bumpers but it was in bad shape and the person selling it wasn't someone I could ever trust (nor would I want to do business with him anyway).

More pictures will follow...hopefully I'll have some cool ones to post when I'm off again in a week.

[ChapterMasterTu'Shan]

Looks good, but you're missing the fin on the left side

[SabaSka109]

Another update...and an awesome one at that...

I've officially gotten my transmission and at a great, great price (very pumped, I thought it was going to cost me twice as much).




Obviously, the last time I posted the rear-end was only half addressed, but that has changed...



Abra-cadabra! ...



Now it's really starting to look pretty...feast your eyes...





I am currently looking into going out to California on May 4th to see my baby in person for the first time. If that happens, I'll be going over the plan to complete the final aspects of the conversion with the super-talented guy working on the car. In the meantime, he will be using another 1959 M&M as reference to mold the insides of the rear quarter panels to the chassis. He can then also place the window trim and windows. I'll definitely visit the real Ecto-1 while I'm out there for emotional support .

[Ecto-1 fan]

Wow, that brought a tear to my eye. Car is looking beautiful. Time to buy the body pro some suds!

[Jake LeRoy]

Looking amazing! Can't wait to see paint on that beast!

[drcaron]

The best conversion I see, the car look very great and dont forget to give a good wine batle to the bodyman he deserved for all tha good job .
I imagine you with a big smile on the face wen you will see the car in person .

Martin