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This topic was created to discuss the "Ectomobile Lightbars" page located here:

http://www.gbfans.com/equipment/ectomobile/lightbars/

Does anyone know what happend to the original lightbar that was on the front of ecto 1? When ecto 1 was restored the front lightbar was missing and was replaced with a lightbar that is a little bit wider than the original. If you look at the chrome center piece in the middle of the lightbar on the front you'll notice the difference compared with the lightbar on the rear. The rotators in the replaced lightbar are also different than the missing original. The rear lightbar is the original rear lightbar. I'm just curious what happend to the original one.....

The rumor is that it was "donated" to the promotional car that is discussed in this thread.

That is definitely not the lightbar that came the ecto 1 in the movie. The lightbar on the promo car is most definitely the right width and has the correct mounting brackets however the rotators inside the lenses are different than the ones in the ecto 1 from the movie. The rotators on the promo car are what they call sealed beams and not halogen bulbs. Definitely a beautiful car but the question still remains, what happend to the lightbar from the original car....

Who cares?

It probably got ripped off and used on some random emergency vehicle for another movie, or was thrown out, or was removed for any number of reasons, or even stolen.

Like I said, rumor...who knows, maybe I have the original lightbar on my 59? You're more than welcome to drive up montgomery road to look at it if you'd like.

do you have photos of your ecto 1 posted?

I have old ones in my Ecto build thread...I haven't posted new ones for quite some time.

cincypd wrote:That is definitely not the lightbar that came the ecto 1 in the movie. The lightbar on the promo car is most definitely the right width and has the correct mounting brackets however the rotators inside the lenses are different than the ones in the ecto 1 from the movie. The rotators on the promo car are what they call sealed beams and not halogen bulbs. Definitely a beautiful car but the question still remains, what happend to the lightbar from the original car....

I've been cruising around the forums looking at lightbar threads since I just saw a pic of the new Elite diecast model that incorrectly replicated the "new" lightbar post refurbishment.

Anyways, you are totally correct about the lightbars cincypd. The original lightbar and the newer one aren't even the same model. This explains why the lights inside are different. The old lightbar is a Force 4 XL, the new lightbar is a Code 3 XL. I think the Force 4 was a model that replaced the regular XL.

It's funny, but I also instantly noticed how they changed the lightbar after the first refurbishment in 2005 or so when they released the "slime" DVD set of GB1&2. The lights in the new bar are sealed and rotate much slower. IIRC, the new bar has rotators that are open at both ends, similar to a lighthouse light. The Force 4s just have the light infront of the reflector that spins so it's more of a flashing effect than scanning effect.

I thought I was the only one that cared about this crap!

Also notice how they replaced the "Propello Ray" red light on the roof rack with a different model?

I also don't believe the explanation about the lightbar being donated to the promo car. As I understand it, the promo car was made in 1984. Ecto 1 reappeared in GB2 5 years later with the same lightbar. So it doesn't seem logical to me. If they really did take it off for that purpose in 1984, Sony wouldn't have gone to the trouble of taking it back off the promo car and putting it on the original.

Also, if the point of the promo car was to protect the original from damage/theft, why would they have desecrated the original by swiping bits and pieces off it?

Sony doesn't care very much about the cars.

They were almost sold for scrap in about 2008.

I think they are starting to see the benefit of having them tthough.

I can't believe they'd sell them for scrap. I emailed the people who restored ecto 1 and they were suppose to restore ecto 1a also but sony pulled the plug on that. They apparently decided they didn't want to spend the money to restore both cars. The guys restoring ecto 1 said they tried to buy ecto 1a from sony but sony refused to sell it, does anyone know where it is now or what the future plans are for it?

Stayinpuft you are not alone wondering what actually happend to the front lightbar on ecto 1.... to some people it's not a big deal but i'm a curious person and i'm still left with no explanation as to what happend to it. There is a photo floating around of ecto 1 and ecto 1a parked next to each other in a building and ecto 1a looks brand new in the photo. ecto 1 doesn't have the front lightbar in that photo so it must have been removed shortly after filming ghostbusters 2. Talking about Force 4 and Code 3.... It is my understanding that Code 3 bought out Force 4 and so on the older XL lenses the sticker says Force 4 and If you bought new lenses today they would say Code 3. I did not notice a difference with the red light on the roof rack... I will have to check that out!

It was probably used on a different vehicle all together for some reason or another.

cincypd wrote:I can't believe they'd sell them for scrap. I emailed the people who restored ecto 1 and they were suppose to restore ecto 1a also but sony pulled the plug on that. They apparently decided they didn't want to spend the money to restore both cars. The guys restoring ecto 1 said they tried to buy ecto 1a from sony but sony refused to sell it, does anyone know where it is now or what the future plans are for it?

Stayinpuft you are not alone wondering what actually happend to the front lightbar on ecto 1.... to some people it's not a big deal but i'm a curious person and i'm still left with no explanation as to what happend to it. There is a photo floating around of ecto 1 and ecto 1a parked next to each other in a building and ecto 1a looks brand new in the photo. ecto 1 doesn't have the front lightbar in that photo so it must have been removed shortly after filming ghostbusters 2. Talking about Force 4 and Code 3.... It is my understanding that Code 3 bought out Force 4 and so on the older XL lenses the sticker says Force 4 and If you bought new lenses today they would say Code 3. I did not notice a difference with the red light on the roof rack... I will have to check that out!

You worry too much

You could be right

stayinpuft wrote: Also notice how they replaced the "Propello Ray" red light on the roof rack with a different model?

No, just no. The red lens was either removed or broken when they did a quick refurbishment for the back lot tour. Also, Code 3 XL and Force 4 XLs are the same, so let's finally put this to rest...the old 48" bar is long gone, nowhere to be found and the new 54" replacement isn't too long and has different rotators.

cincypd wrote:I can't believe they'd sell them for scrap. I emailed the people who restored ecto 1 and they were suppose to restore ecto 1a also but sony pulled the plug on that. They apparently decided they didn't want to spend the money to restore both cars. The guys restoring ecto 1 said they tried to buy ecto 1a from sony but sony refused to sell it, does anyone know where it is now or what the future plans are for it?

Stayinpuft you are not alone wondering what actually happend to the front lightbar on ecto 1.... to some people it's not a big deal but i'm a curious person and i'm still left with no explanation as to what happend to it. There is a photo floating around of ecto 1 and ecto 1a parked next to each other in a building and ecto 1a looks brand new in the photo. ecto 1 doesn't have the front lightbar in that photo so it must have been removed shortly after filming ghostbusters 2. Talking about Force 4 and Code 3.... It is my understanding that Code 3 bought out Force 4 and so on the older XL lenses the sticker says Force 4 and If you bought new lenses today they would say Code 3. I did not notice a difference with the red light on the roof rack... I will have to check that out!

I don't know about that... I always thought that Force 4 was just a model of lightbar made by the company Code 3. The reason I think the Code 3 XL came before is because the Force 4 was a new model and they wanted to differentiate products.

And to the naysayers, keep saying nay. Me and cincy have discovered a shared interest and enjoy talking about it together.

I really haven't looked that closely into it since the first refurb, but IIRC the red light is a different light. Again, I'm going back to 2005 here, but I did consider the fact that the lens was just broken, but I believe I came to the conclusion that that wasn't correct.

Like cincy, I'm also really into the "small details".

It's exactly the same as the version seen on the car when it was rotting away on the Sony backlot, it just happens to have had the front lense lost/smashed, and the chrome piece on the front put back on at a different rotation:

Why are you people so dense? How much time have you spent researching parts on this car? Have you even SEEN the car in person? I doubt it....but maybe, I should back up a second here and explain to you why I say what I do. I have spent HUNDREDS of hours searching and researching parts that have already been identified. I spent an ENTIRE day going over this car with a fine-toothed comb. In fact, I have even built my own identical replica DOWN TO THE INCH! You will not find a person who knows more about this car other than Steven Dane, the man who created this car than I do. So when I say blah blah blah about whatever part is on this car, I speak from a position of authority.

Now, let me address the lightbar and beacon issue so you can understand clear as day:

Force 4 XLs were the "original" model for this series, and was later changed to the to just XL. The current generation of this lightbar is the XL 5000. If you were smart, you'd go to www.code3pse.com and see that different style rotators are offered.

Federal Signal made two models that were very similar, the Model 18 "Solaray" and Model 19 Propelloray". Model 17 was a totally different style, but I think you would probably confuse the two because you seem to think the light is different. The model 18 has a much larger forward housing because the light moves vertically. The model 19 spins, therefore is does not need such a large housing. As the 19 currently sits, the motor is not inside the housing and does not spin. Maybe if you went to http://www.sirenman.com and RESEARCHED a little, you wouldn't be ignorant. Any other questions?

Hey, if you don't mind could you email me photos of your replica car you've built? I'd really like to see it! cincypd@hotmail.com Thanks for your time!

Mark

cincypd wrote:Hey, if you don't mind could you email me photos of your replica car you've built? I'd really like to see it! cincypd@hotmail.com Thanks for your time!

Mark

All you had to do was search his posts to find these threads on the car...

http://www.gbfans.com/community/viewtop ... 02&t=23957

http://www.gbfans.com/community/viewtop ... &start=120

Thanks for the links... I was searching for photos of it under the ectomobile section. All I can say is WOW..... words can't describe how awesome that is! 69428scj, my hat is off to you sir!

Thank you, you're more than welcome to look at it any time...it will be down in the convention center January 13-15 if you want to look at it.

Cavalcade of customs..... I hope i'm able to go. Unfortunately with my work schedule I don't know if i'm off yet or not. One of the negatives to having a job that is 24/7 and doesn't stop for weekends or holidays. I really want to see your ecto 1 so i'll do what I can to make it down there.