The Ghostbusters Ecto 1 Origin, History, Fun Facts and more at Volo Museum!

When it comes to the best movie car ever, "Drop everything, Venkman, we got one!" The Ghostbusters Ecto 1 need no introduction, so let’s get into the facts! The Ecto 1 is a 1959 Cadillac Miller-Meteor Ambulance/Hearse. There were only a couple hundred Miller-Meteors ever built, making it super rare, even back in 1984. This car isn’t a boat, it’s a SHIP stretching 21ft long, 8ft high, 7ft wide and weighing almost three and a half tons. It has a 320-horsepower, 6.3-liter V8 under the hood, but even with that much power, driving it was still very slow and difficult.

Dan Aykroyd originally imagined Ecto-1 darker and more sinister-looking like an all-black hearse with purple and green lights and accents. However, since so many scenes were shot at night, they went with the white and red color scheme. At first, Aykroyd almost used a 1975 Cadillac ambulance, but stuck with the ’59. However, it’s look eventually inspired the Ecto-1 used in the 2016 reboot, when they used an ‘84 Cadillac Fleetwood hearse with a similar look.

Two Cadillac Miller-Meteors were purchased for the first Ghostbusters movie. The first car was the black version, used for the prototype phase of Ecto-1, in its introductory scenes. The second car was used as the main Ecto-1 throughout all of Ghostbusters and the beginning of Ghostbusters II.

The scenes that show Ecto 1 backfiring and billowing smoke in the beginning of Ghostbusters II were not special effects; the car was on its deathbed and actually died while filming on the Brooklyn Bridge, which caused such a huge traffic jam, and the NYPD heavily fined production. The first, black, Cadillac was quickly converted for the remainder of filming, and is now referred to as Ecto-1a.

The Ecto-1 was designed by Stephen Dane. Director Ivan Reitman, came to Stephen two weeks before the start of shooting and needed the designs for literally everything in the movie from the Ecto 1, to all of the gadgets like the proton packs, the ghost traps, the PKE Meter, slime scooper, slime blower and more…in TWO weeks! Incredibly, in two weeks, Stephen Dane successfully designed all of the iconic pieces of the Ghostbusters movie. To thank him for his masterpieces, they poorly credited him by spelling his name wrong, S-t-e-v-e-n, and not even crediting him as the designer, but a “hardware consultant!” More like hardware INSULTant.

After the movies, Ecto 1 sat to rot for decades. When a Ghostbusters Video Game was being created, they wanted to fully restore Ecto 1 and used it for promotional tours. Cinema Vehicle Services in Hollywood was hired to tackle the project of restoring this car. It was extremely challenging, from finding the correct parts to this ultra rare car, to replicating the hundreds of movie props both on top and inside.
Upon completion, they revealed it to Dan Aykroyd, himself, who was stunned at the impeccable restoration and even took it for a joyride.

Sony now own screen-used cars, and the beat up Ecto 1 from the 2021 movie is at Petersen Museum. Volo Museum’s is a screen-used movie car that was converted to an exhibition Ecto 1 that came directly from the transportation department. Thank you so much for watching this movie car series, please follow Volo Museum, because I got a lot more coming for you!

Volo Museum is a World Famous, family-owned, all-day tourist destination in Volo, IL. We are know across the world for our all-indoor showroom rotating hundreds of classic and modern collector cars. Experience over 45 exhibits and over 10,000 mechanical marvels! Our attractions include over 50 iconic TV and Movie cars, a 15k sq ft Jurassic Gardens dinosaur park. Hollywood Train Tours & Museum, a mini golf course, one of the largest Antique Malls in the country and more! Our exhibits include a Coney Island Carousel Room, Early-Century Music Hall, Duesenberg Exhibit, 3 Batmobiles, A Military Museum, The Titanic Exhibit, Fast and Furious Collection, Ford vs. Ferrari Exhibit, Cars of the Hollywood Stars, 50’s Finned Fiberglass Boats, Evolution of the Motorcycle, Disney Gallery & Parade Cars, Retro Animatronic Entertainment, Gangster Crime & Medieval Punishment Museum, tractors, and Novelty/Special Interest Custom Cars. We also have large collections of Vintage and Very Rare Bicycles, Scooters, Coin-Operated Kiddie Rides, Children’s Pedal Cars, Snowmobiles, Jukeboxes, Arcades, Novelty Coin-Operated Games, Tractors, Aviation, Campers & Travel Lodging, Showtime Pizzeria, gift shops and ice cream parlor & more! Also book your next party, event or gathering for up to 100 people and our brand new Party Barn! Email [email protected] for more info.

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