Hey ho guys, i hope you can answer my questions!!!

The car used for the Ecto-1 is a chevrolet, right?

But what is the exact name and the year of the car??? How fast is it??? You know something about the engine? Where can i get this car??? How much will it cost?

I hope you can answer those questions good, thx!!!

nobody has answers to my questions?? I read somewhere the car is a chevrolet ambulence car from the year 1959 is this TRUE??

The car was NOT a Chevy, dude.
It was a 1959 CADILLAC Miller Meteor ambulance/hearse combo.
It is an end loader, eight cylinder and as fast as you want it to go. It is a gas guzzler it is 21 feet long and heavy as a mother-effer.
In 1959 several companies were given licenses to make Cadillac ambulances. The Miller Meteor company and the Superior company, I think there is also one other that made the highboy but I can't remember the name of the company.
The 1959 Cadillac superior hearse is almost exact to the Miller Meteor except for the rear windows and it has cooler suicide doors on either side.
They are, of course antique classic cars and if you aren't prepared to spend at least fifteen to twenty thousand dollars don't even bother considering it.
Let me give you a quick overview of what you are in for if you want to get one.
First of all, it's gonna take you forever to find one and it's very unlikely you are going to find an affordable MM. It took me five years of serious looking befor I found my Superior hearse.
The 1959 Cadillac Superior hearse was the closest thing I could find to the Ecto-1 so when I found one for $7,200 I snapped it up and worried about the details later.I was fortunate enough to be able to talk the guy down to $6,500 and that was only because I had to pay $1,300 just to ship it out to California from New Jersey.
Once I got it the restoration and conversion began.
It was $1,800 for the initial engine work and that was for a car that was in pretty good condition! I had all the belts, hoses, gaskets, wiring, and plugs replaced,..new carburetor, new water pump and the radiator pulled apart, soaked in acid and refurbished.
Complete rear and front brake job, $1,600.
Transmission seals replaced, $600.00
Rear portion altered,…two windows installed and glass, $2,000
paint stripped, body patched and rust and holes repaired and complete repaint
(white with cherry red fins), $3,000.
Chrome re-dipped, front and rear bumpers and all peripherals,$1,000.
New white-wall tires $600.00
new hubcaps $400.00
front windshield replaced, $1,000
that's about it. I haven't even begun the roof rack, cow lights and lightbars yet but I'm sure I'm gonna spend another $1,500.00 at least!
Hope this helps you out.

wooow… cool.. sorry i meant Cadillac

Well if i am going to find this car… i have the biggest problem: I am living in AUSTRIA, thats in EUROPE… so the shipping must be VERY EXPENSIVE….

Thx anyway, that was great!!!! Hope you answer my next questions now

From WHERE you got the car? Where did you find it?? you know Websites today where i can search for such a car???
Where should i search???

Thx alot

wow venkman, how about some pics of your mm is resto.

1959 Professional Cars (Ambulance and Hearses) are VERY difficult to find. Cadillac Only made 2104 of the base chassis in 1959, and then you have to difive them up between the coachbuilders. (M-M, Superior, S&S, Eureka) And further divide them between types of coaches. (Hearse, Ambulance, Combo, Service Car, Flower Car).. Then you have to eliminate all of the cars that were wrecked, crushed, or otherwise lost. (For example, there is an ambulance that was converted into a Woodie and is now hanging from the ceiling of the Hard Rock cafe in Hawaii)

They are REALLY hard to find. And when you do find them, they are Expensive. And when you do Get them, They are EVEN MORE expensive. Everyone is looking for a 1959 Pro Car (And not just GB Fans, They are popular with coach collectors as well). And when folks find them, they usually buy them without saying anything to anyone. You best bet is to keep looking and be prepared to spend ALOT of cash when you find one. I doubt that you will find one posted on a web site with blinking arrows and a Buy me sign. And Its even less likely that someone will Mail you telling you exactly where to get one. There is usually no room to negotiate with the seller. And there are usually No discounts.

From Venkmans post, I would say that he has been very lucky with his costs. I have a 1959 Ambulance that I'm retoring to stock, and my costs were ALOT higher than what he listed, and we arent done yet.

I generally tell folks that unless you have about $50,000 US in CASH Laying around to spend, To not worry about a 1959 Cad Pro Car, and look for something else. Parts are expensive and hard to find. There are some parts that just arent available anymore. And lot of the parts are special commercial parts that were exclusive to 1959. (Heck, you even have to get special tires to handle the extra weight of the car. The Tires in the second Movie on the 1a arent big enough to support the car safely.) And upkeep on them is expensive as well. Not to mention the gas. My Ecto-1a replica get 5 miles to the gallon on Premium gas.

Its not a cheap hobby. And I should know. I have 4 1959 Cadillacs.

TheEcto1a

Hey ecto,…
Thanks for the mental boost. I was spacing it on the Eureka and SS!
The Eureka highboy was the one I was thinking of. Like the one Neal Parish has online.
I don't have any pics of the restoration yet but I will post as soon as I do.
As for finding it,…well, actually, I kinda DID find it online with little blinking arrows pointing to it saying “buy me”
I have been EXTRAORDINARILY lucky.
I found it online poking around. There's no specific way to do it. You just start inputting stuff into your search engine and go!
There are tons of places online. You just have to start trawling.
I'm not sure where the $50,000 price tag comes from but I could simply be in for a nasty shock. The place I'm having the restoration done is a shop/yard where the staff is really into this stuff. They eat sleep and breathe it. Maybe the parts are more accessable here in California.
Hope this helps you out. I know it's not the best news for your wallet but if at some point you decide to do it at least you know what's in store.

Venkman,

I would have to say you have been EXTREMELY lucky with your costs.. Your coach must have been a perfect body when you got it. You dont mention any rust repair or body work. (Normally the rockers under the lower trim is rusty, and the rear skirt mounts usually need some work at the very least. And its body work that gets really expensive) Even so you are still sitting at about $20k if my math is decent..

Lights for an Ecto-1 will run you probably $2500 to $3500 for the 2 bars, sirenlite, siren, strobes, and can lights front and rear. Then you have wiring, flasher circuits, breakers and switches to run them all. Another couple of thousand I'd figure for the roof rack since its welded steel and you are going to need to reinforce the roof when you do the rack, and a couple of hundred bucks to go rummaging through a salvage yard for parts and pieces..

Lights for an Ecto-1a are quite a bit more. The Strobe bar runs about a Grand, then you have about $1500 for the two rotator bars. Several hundred for the roof strobes. And you still have the can lights, rotator, and grille lights.. Cheapest Ive found for the Side LED signs is about $6000 for Each side.. (Which is why My 1a doesnt have LED Signs yet.) Then you have a more complex rack, Lots o' Tanks, Boxes, gizmos and stuff..

Please let me know when you have photos of your Coach, I'd love to see someone elses replica. And if you run into any snags, please let me know if there is anything I can help with. I've been living and breathing Ecto-Replicas for the last few years..

TheEcto1a

wow thats super!!! Thx for Info!!

YOU HAVE 4 59 CADILLACS???? Sell me one

Well for the first part i WANT to find a nearly original '59 Cadillac!!! It have to be cooool to drive with that car here in Austria where no one has such a car And the sound of the motor *sigh* it MUST BE a GREAT FEELING!!!

The restoration is part 2 i think But i would be happy if someone would let me sit in and let me drive a few miles with an ECTO-1… thats my big dream since i saw ghostbusters…. i just want to drive with it that WILL BE COOOL!!!

I found mine in a local junkyard, only the body and the frame were still good(thank the lord) and I told the guy I was just buying it for scrap metal, I managed a good $500 for it. I was lucky enough to have a uncle who owns a car shop and I got to put an old Hemi engine in it. Buy the time I get it painted, and running, and actually put seats in it, ect. it will be just as expensive, like they said, I snapped it up and didn't say a word to anyone. I'm doing the work mostly myself with my uncles help, and it still costs like a mother-effer.