Saturday, July 31, 2021



The Ghostbusters’ Ecto-1 Is a Barn Find??


Looks like the 1959 Cadillac Ghostbusters Ecto-1 has been found abandoned in an Oklahoma barn, a fiction that isn't far from reality.

© Hot Rod Network Staff 001-Ghostbusters-Ecto-1-barn-find-1959-Cadillac-miller-meteor-futura-duplex

It would seem Hollywood loves a good barn find as much as we hot rodders do. But in the new Ghostbusters: Afterlife movie, it's not just anything under the tarp. It's the iconic Ecto-1!

Video player from: YouTube (Privacy Policy, Terms)

Yep, the world's most famous 1959 Cadillac Miller-Meteor Futura Duplex (with ambulance/hearse conversion) has been located in a dusty Oklahoma barn. Check out the latest trailer (above) and see if you can spot the Ecto-1 barn-find moment!

© Hot Rod Network Staff

As the plot has it, the original, now-deceased Ghostbuster Egon Spengler leaves his old Oklahoma homestead to his family. There's a basement full of ghostbusting gear and a very special car abandoned in the barn under a tarp.


Ghostbusters Ecto-1 Real-Life Origin Story

© Hot Rod Network Staff

The original Ecto-1 was converted by the Miller-Meteor at the company's Piqua, Ohio, plant and featured the large and beautifully styled tail fins of the 1959 Cadillac Eldorado. The converted Caddy is a pretty rare deal, with only around 400 being produced. It also fielded a 6.3L V-8 good for 320 ponies.

With how heavy the Caddy is, we're sure more power would have helped. In the first script for Ghostbusters, Ecto-1 was supposed to be a 1975 Cadillac ambulance, but it was later changed to the '59 Cadillac Futura Duplex. It was supposed to be black with purple lights, too, and thank goodness both of those decisions were revised
.
© Hot Rod Network Staff

After decades under a tarp, Ecto-1 is surely going to need some love. Then again, when Ecto-1 showed up in the original movie, it was a mess. It was stated they paid $4,800 (it was just $1,400 when it was the '75 version) and, according to the character, "It needs suspension work and shocks, brakes, brake pads, lining, steering box, transmission, rear end...maybe new rings, also mufflers, a little wiring" A used classic or a barn find needing a lot of work is something we can all relate to.


Who Came Up With Ecto-1's Original Design?

© Hot Rod Network Staff

Stephen Dane is the visionary who designed the original Ecto-1 (and the proton pack, ghost trap, particle thrower, slime scooper, and slime blower) in the weeks before filming began. His reward was only being listed in the credits as "Hardware Consultant." As a bonus, they misspelled his name. A re-creation of the original car sold at Barrett-Jackson for $200,000, and the car (or its unique siren sound) has shown up all over pop culture, including modern video games. So, yeah, it's a big deal, and Stephen Dane is the one we have to thank for it.


Is an Engine Swap Coming?

© Hot Rod Network Staff

The original broke down several times. In Ghostbusters II it was shown backfiring and billowing smoke. That wasn't special effects—it really was a mess and even stalled in the middle of the Brooklyn Bridge, blocking traffic and getting a ticket. Once the movies were done, the famous Ecto-1 from the first movie rusted away on a movie studio backlot until zealous fans demanded it be restored and given the respect it deserves as a piece of automotive movie history. So in a way, this movie barn-find story paralleled the real-life abandoning of the car.

Rumor has it the ones in the new movie were LS-swapped. Color us shocked—guess they didn't want any more breakdown tickets. We're not sure why the Ecto-1 in the new movie runs the older yellow plates instead of the newer-style plates seen in Ghostbuster II, or why the engine should sound like a NASCAR mill in the preview. Guess we'll just have to wait for the movie to see if this ghostly mystery is revealed.

No comments: