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So i the new proud owner of a 1961 M&M three way. I bought it with the indention of building to look like a 59. But the more i look at it the more i like the way it looks. So i still want to build an ecto 1. Do you guys think it would still look good as a 1961 ecto or do u think everyone is just going to turn up their nose and walk away? I dont know how to post pics yet.

Turn it into a ecto!

Depends... do you have a photo? If it's a junker, I say YES, Ecto-fy it! If it's still sleek and brand new, don't do it! Make it all nice and pretty, like all shiny black and chromed up! Of course, just personal opinion on my part, but I could never bring myself to Ecto-fy a beautiful M+M that's still in great condition...

Ecto it up.

No it's tired all of the glass is good and it has a few dings and dents. I won't feel bad turning it into an ecto i just want to make sure keeping it a 61 is cool. If u guys tell me how to post a pic I will.

Some enthusiasts are against it (primarily the hearse collectors), but you shouldn't get any slack from the GB community...

Personal opinion only-

By all means, I think it can make a wonderful Ecto. There have been some great builds on here of just about any year.
But should you modify it to look like a 59? I would say no. My 2 favorite years of Cadillacs are 1959 & 1961, but their styles are completely different.
I assume you have seen SabaSka109's build of turning a 60 into a 59? It's not for the faint of heart! Finding the correct parts is going to be costly, difficult, and take a lot of time.

If you are determined to do it anyway, then do it all the way, and take lots of pictures!
If you decide to build a great '61, then take lots of pictures! Make a well thought-out plan, and jump in. Ask questions when needed, and someone here will be able to help.

Congratulations on a neat car, best of luck, and again- post pictures!

I'm not too proud to admit I'm green with envy. Ecto the hell out of that car immediately!!

Oof, she's kinda rough... yeah, definitely Ecto it up

She looks like fun. Nice find.

Now that I see her - Ecto-fy that baby! She looks great!

Whoa! Whoa! You can't park that here!


In other words.....DOOOOO IIIIIIT!!!

Thank u all yeah I have been looking for several years. I am excited that I will be able to build an ecto 1. Now the long and hard task of collecting all the stuff I need to build her. I wish there was updated websites to find this stuff all the links on the front page are bad or out of date. Oh and I am going to be taking a welding class because the crud welding job I do now will not work for this build.

Good luck! If you need reference to the parts needed, you will find a lot of stuff amongst my thread but you may have to dig through (sorry). Most of the screen accurate parts have become VERY hard to find. If you need help figuring out what you do need just PM me.

It still has fins, I'd go for it! I would also not be too worried about getting all 100% screen accurate pieces for the roof rack.

Can you even fit 59 sheetmetal on that car? If you shaved off the lower fin, I don't know how close the door contour would be. One option would be a fiberglass fender, if anyone makes them. But you would be buying parts that are in demand versus selling 1961 parts that are not so much in demand. I honestly wouldn't go there unless that lower fin is rusted like heck in the quarters. I am kinda digging the Ecto-1A look for that body style...

Personally, I've never liked cars that put '59 fins on a car that isn't a '59. I say embrace the look of the year and model you've purchased.

zombielucas wrote:Personally, I've never liked cars that put '59 fins on a car that isn't a '59. I say embrace the look of the year and model you've purchased.

I agree... I think it looks fine with the fins it already has... Plus, that will save you a good bit of money...

Agreed...grafting 59 fins on a car alone is incredibly lackluster. If you're doing that, the back of the car still will not look correct. Also, 61 parts are in denand...your car does have value if left as a 61.

Wow thanks ghosthead that looks fantastic. I am not to worried about movie Accurate stuff but i am going to try to get some pieces right. My friends are excited to. They want to come over and work on it. I think its becasue they want to eventually drive it. I think my game plan is saftey first, running stopping, fix the floor rot, then paint it white. The whole time i am doing that collect parts for the roof.

So update. She runs!!! I am working on getting it to be mechanically sound. I bought some mx7000 lightbars and have been collecting other parts. Threw the mx7000s on her and turned them on......heck yea man i am excited. I will keep updating as i progress

Video of her running.

So i have decided to buy some msa air tanks instead of the original air tanks. I cant find any original air tanks for sale and if they are they are expensive. I am going to build the green tank out of pvc pipe. I bought a stobe light for the top tht looks pretty close but i am having trouble locating the front grill beacons. I have two blue deck lights and one spotlight. I want a propello ray bad but i cant find any anywhere. I have found sirens but they are spendy.

So anyone know where i can get front beacons, a propello ray and a siren?

Check with local fire departments, they may have some old air tanks that can not be hydro tested anymore because they are too old. Usually they throw them away, but many just stack them in a back room until they finally get cleaned out. I scored my tanks for free that way, mine were even yellow and only slightly larger than screen accurate. If you find some for free, you can take a smaller diameter tank, chop the top off to make into a Radome pretty easily...

As for the siren, you can buy just the Feniex Storm Pro 100w siren by itself without the switch panel or the speaker for about $110 on ebay and you can find a used siren speaker on ebay for under $50, mine was $36. You might not even need a speaker, there might be one in the center housing of your lightbar already.

Update years later. I have rebuilt the entire suspension, steering and brakes. She has awesome oil pressure and decent compression. I even drove her. Forward ten feet and back. But hey first time she has moved under her own power in 37 years. I have been motivated by the new movie to finish the ecto before afterlife comes out. So i have 5 months to go. Wish me luck.

I am wishing you the absolute best of luck. Please share lots of pictures!