Here is the story of the Ghostbusters II Ecto-1A at Universal Studios and my experience with it. What happened to it after that? Here is my guess as to which car the Ecto-1A became in Jason Reitman's 2021 sequel, Ghostbusters: Afterlife.
That's a wonderful story, and you know, I think you have a really great father who was resourceful at the right time and helped his son to feel the part of the legendary Ghostbusters history. After all, not everyone can say "I was sitting in the same car that was in the Ghostbusters 2 movie."
Pretty dope, man. I think you're right. Jason has talked publicly about tracking down and uncrating the 1a to use for Afterlife, mainly because that particular modified Cadillac is so ridiculously hard to find.
@@unfinishedstudios Dude, I've seen Futura Duplexes halfway rusted into the dirt and missing heads and valves on the engine still going for $15,000. Yikes.
Oh yeah. I lost all hope of ever having one when that eBay went for like $45K a few years ago and was rusty. I wish I could time travel back to the 70's or something and buy a bunch and store for 45 years.
@@unfinishedstudios I love what you are doing and wish I could do the same but I don’t have the know how. That said, I found a 1961 I think. I can send you pics and location. Not sure if it is for sale but is intact and just sitting there. Even has the gurney. Good luck either way!!! Just went to Universal with my kids- No Ecto but we ran down the library steps and looked up at the firehouse and Dana’s building… Me in a flight suit-kids in Harry Potter robes.
@@timmcclaren6041 Hey thanks! We've been postponing our Orlando trip again and again. My daughter hasn't gotten into Harry Potter yet, but I'm sure it's coming. I found a '61 in Alabama like five years ago. The guy wanted 10K for it, and it looked like it'd been sitting in the woods since Jimmy Carter was in the White House.
Hemmings had a article mentioning that ecto 1a was used as one of the three cars in afterlife and that the studio has all the ecto 1a parts in storage and Jason Rietman hinted that the whereabouts of Ecto 1a could play apart in the next film
Universal Studios in the 90's was awesome. I forget if I ever saw the Ghostbusters show but I remember Back to the Future and T2:3D the most. Miami Vice, Waterworld, Jaws and King Kong. Anyways great video. Can't wait to see your future videos
Thanks, man! I remember waiting in line for over three hours with my dad to get on the BTTF ride when it opened. My mom and toddler (now 32 year old) brother coming back and saying, "You're still WAITING?!?!"
I seen the Ghostbusters show at Universal Orlando as a kid myself during one of my trips there in the 90's and I loved it this is a interesting story about the Ecto-1A. And I like your Power Rangers toys too I also had the Ninja Megazord and Falconzord as a kid too along with the original Dino Megazord, the blade blaster too, and I also had the Batman Toybiz Batwing as well.
Dude ever time I am on RU-vid I see more and more ghostbusters videos it’s so awesome it’s so cool can’t wait for you remake o the car love you vids keep it up
in the gb video which is canon to the 2 movies, ecto 1a was dismantled partially (as it was only used for promo for the vigo incident) and was used for ecto 1b, ghost with 2 fingers doors and stuff sat in storage in the room behind peters desk so 1b was 1a repurposed. NOW as for the ecto from afterlife in our reality, the 1a car was partially used by jason for parts for the ecto 1, but in that movie universe, that ecto 1 was the original car from when they opened the business in 84. so yes there were 2 cars .Ecto 1 in 84, another 59 was bought for 1a and repurposed to be used as 1b. then in afterlife they were using the first car that ray bought
Lucky guy getting to sit in the 1A! I'm in the process of building a 1A out of my second '59 Miller-Meteor. Maybe one day we can get your Ectos and my Ectos together. I think that'd be pretty dang neat!
Cool story buddy!! I’ve seen the screen used Ecto-1 from the original film back in 2019, I was only able to feel the front fender. Cause I didn’t want to get in trouble by sitting in it, but also I knew once I got in it then EVERYONE wanted to sit in it causing Confusion and Delay. From what I’ve heard the Ecto-1 and 1A were both about to be scrapped in the early 2000s, until the new chairman of SONY decided to save the cars and get them restored and running for both the 25th anniversary of the first movie and the release of the video game. Both were ment to be fully restored, but after spending around $250,000 on just the Ecto-1 alone, SONY decided to NOT all in on restoring the 1A. Which was stupid given that when they started, the car was nearly fully intact and when they pulled the plug, all the decals and roof parts were stripped off it. Then when fans tried to buy and save the 1A, SONY decided to hide the car from public entirely and leave it to rust even more. Then of course Afterlife went into production and decided used the 1A. I’m glad they got that car running again, but I’m willing to bet that when the popularity of Afterlife dies down, that car is gonna be put back on the lot and gonna be neglected once again. Which just makes me sad and pissed off. The Ecto-1A is a car that NEEDS to be saved and be owned by fans. As I said before fans already tried to save her once, but maybe we’ll do better next time. I mean if 2 brothers can save and restore one of the Delorean time machines from Back to the future part 3 and a group of fans can restore the first time machine from the first Back to the future movie, I’m certain that best/most dedicated Ghostheads can come together and save the Ecto-1A.
That's awesome that you got to see the original! When I lived in LA, I had no idea it was on the Sony tour. I'm also wondering what'll happen to the car now if an Afterlife sequel never happens. It made money, but it's no Spider-Man. That car will probably end up in private hands sooner or later, and the original will always remain with Sony. Maybe we can make friends with whomever can afford to buy the 1A!
@@unfinishedstudios Yeah going against Marvel is quite the task, just ask DC (that company failed miserably trying to copy Marvel). Given how much hype and positivity has risen from Afterlife, a sequel/maybe a series of films is enviable. I just hope it’s made right. If you’re serious about saving the 1A, we should first try to find a financially wealthy fan who’s been wanting to build a full scale replica and then put together a dedicated team to restore the car, much like the Time Machine Restoration Team. The 2 fans I can think of that would be perfect for the job are Loren Baldwin and Sean Bishop. Loren owns the Ecto-Ohio and Sean owns an Ecto-1 replica and was part of the Time Machine Restoration Team. I have no idea who or what would fund the project, how long the project would take, who's in charge of what or where we would restore it. If I had your number or email, We’d be able to talk about this plan at length and in detail. HOWEVER, I’m gonna be attending college with my best friend this Fall. So I’d like to spend this year getting ready to embark on my second shot at college studying to be a film maker. Although I can make this Ecto-1A save a long-term goal. Besides I have an erge to make my own Ectomobile, so maybe working on the 1A would be a great practice.
@@jacksprofessionalproductio9403 I'm sure these folks have probably already spoken about doing this, and the Afterlife car now has its own screen-accurate fans. My emails is myinitialsareco@gmail.com
I love your videos because of our mutual love of cars and this fandom - thanks for this one especially -- and yes the 1A is indeed one of the Afterlife cars
Great story and as a lifelong GB fan, I have to say you're one lucky dude. And you're also correct about the Ectomobile in Afterlife. It is (or was) the original Ecto 1-A.
Wow this is great, thanks for clearing that up. I remember seeing the car but couldn't remember if it was the 1 or 1A or whether it was at Florida or the Hollywood studios. Back then I didn't have the same interest in it or didn't take a pic. Always kick myself over that now.
Thanks for sharing your memories! The last time I was at Universal was the mid 1980s. We saw the BTTF Delorean up close and some other cars in the backlot storage area, but I don't recall seeing Ecto1 back then. 😊
So neat! I went to Universal 3 times, twice as a kid 95 & 98, before islands of adventure and the parking garages and hotels. I saw the Spooktacluar show and even have pictures with what may have been the actual Ecto-1 but it was in rough shape even in 95 but they drove it around the park and it was so cool! They also had a gift shop with all the old Kenner RGB toys! My dad fought me to keep me from blowing everything I had. Lol. In 98 the ECTO was gone but the show was still around I'm pretty sure. But by 2011 when I went back as an adult everything was gone and I was a bit disappointed. A very unique experience you had! But you can also see from that how easy it was to get to the car, and how easily people could damage it. Glad they've been restored. I hope we get to see a Ecto-1A restoration from Sony someday.
You have a very keen eye buddy! Great story too. I agree, the car is just as cool as the first one, just different. I think both-busters, are fantastic films and I think true fans will love them both for their own unique styles. Oh, and every time we watch the film, we can say "I love that car". Every time YOU watch the film, you can say, "I sat in that car...I sat where Dan Aykroyd farted on the seat"...lol..Just kidding but, he probably did...right? 😂
wow thats so cool and awsome ,i didnt know u actually sat in the ecto-1A and i didnt know you were a starwars fan and that millenium falcom hung up on the ceiling is so AWSOME
I've never been lucky enough to see the Ecto-1A, but I've been to several events here in California where Sony has had the original Ecto-1 on display and I've been lucky enough to sit in it while dressed in full GB kit.
I remember seeing the Ghostbusters Spooktacular show at Universal in 1992, such an awesome show. I'm a huge Ghostbusters fan and as a kid that show was just pure joy for me. I'm not sure if it was the Ecto-1 or Ecto-1A, but the actors would drive it around near the firehouse. Good times and great memories. I wish Universal would actually create a legit Ghostbusters ride, kinda like the Men In Black ride. You'd sit in an Ecto-1 type vehicle and it would have proton blasters mounted to it and you go through busting and trapping ghosts. I always thought that would be a fun idea.
I have to say at the time they didn't really care about the cars after the films. I remember seeing the back to the future delorean before it underwent the famous restoration only for the staff to allow me to get under the car and look at the rust of it all. Thankfully now they care slightly more
I say yes, that Ecto 1A became the new Ecto 1. For me the give away wasn't only that black n white foto, but the two blue spotlights at the back were too close. On the the original they are more apart. Looking at the 1A again, they just used the made holes of what was put on there and it is closer together. In a small making of they said they made two. The other one has a LS engine inside for the action scenes. You can see the Sports ecto driven by Adam Savage in one of his videos. The Ecto 1/1A can be seen on several fan videos etc when the did a promo interview at the firehouse in New York. ... Well that is what I pieced together in my head. Love your channel and your Ecto 1! Greetings from Germany! : )
@@unfinishedstudios I am turning 18 this year so I wasn't around when the movies hit the theaters, but ever since I first watched ghostbusters, I have been a fan my whole life. From owning all the license plates, to the actual movies, lego sets, matchbox and hotwheel cars, Playmobil, video games, everything. Its a feeling of nostalgia you can't get anywhere else.
Okay, so, I'm an OG Ghostbusters fan. Saw both movies in theaters, saw the cartoon during its original run, eventually got all the comics and so on. I'm also a classic car--I dunno if enthusiast is the right word, maybe APPRECIATOR. As such, I loved the fact that they not only used a '59 Caddy, but how gorgeous it looked. So sleek and clean, and the gear adequately complimented it. Then comes 1A with all these guady lights, advertising markings and that step bumper and I just did NOT care for it. It just wasn't as good as the original (which could be said about the film itself as well). But, as time passes and I've gotten older, I've come to appreciate 1A more. All the body additions make sense since it IS a commercial vehicle, I do love white lettering more than white walls (especially the particular brand used), and the baby moons looked kinda fresh. I think the most awesome shot of the car is the night shot of it sitting outside the firehouse. Still not keen on the cacophony of colors for the lights. It is a shame 1A became the GBA car. I thought when they did the original resto they were doing both; didn't know they were cannibalizing 1A for parts. They should have just restored both. But, it is what it is and at least the car continues to survive.
Hey, do you think you could make a video showcasing your proton packs from your fan film, I bet me and a lot of other people would love to see them. Anyhow I love your videos man, keep up the great work-David
Thanks for watching! Yeah, that's on my to-do list -- they're all sort of falling apart, though. Not sure whether to fix them or just make a video about their current condition.
Your right that you sat in the Ecto1A Clint. In the book Ghostbusters Afterlife The Art and Making of the Movie which is a really awesome book, they talk about the cars. The excerpt reads "Ghostlight acquired 2 original 1959 cars 1 which was the actual Ecto 1A which Sony pictures still had from Ghostbusters 2. A 1961 model donated by a ghostbuster fan was by a ghostbuster fan was used to make the sliced up interior buck." So they actually started out with 3 cars. Two 1959 cars and one 1961 car. They show pictures of all three side by side in the shop. Also from the book, "The Body Shop completely disassembled and media blasted the classic vehicles. The cars were also fitted with the proper suspension and equipped with General Motors LS3 crate engines with 550 horsepower, painted, and eventually shipped to the shooting location in Calgary." There are a ton of details in this book about every aspect of the movie. Tons of pictures. The gunner seat mechanism is nicely detailed.
Just finished this video (excellent as always btw) and I was going to informed him of this book and that according to it, the afterlife car actually is the GB2 Ecto 1A, but after scanning the comments, I see you beat me too it lol.
*Like 2 years ago some people in my class invited everyone to Halloween Horror Nights Florida but I was busy the day they were going so I couldn't go, later I found out that they had a Ghostbusters Fountain Show. I hope I can get to see something like you did!!!!!!!!*
I went to the Hollywood one about a decade ago when The Thing sequel/remake came out. I don't LOVE that movie, but it was pretty awesome seeing that setup.
My family and I have been to Universal many times and we were there at the time that they had the Ecto-1A. I can confirm about it being unlocked. I remember standing by it late in evening and not being able to resist trying the passenger side door. It looked like it wasn't closed all the way anyway so I opened it and then shut it firmly. I didn't have the guts to sit in it haha. When I shut it, it was loud enough to get the attention of a custodian across the street. I tried to play it cool and walked away lol.
You got the info right. They turn Ecto 1A into Ecto 1 for the movie. They got another car to make it into Ecto 1 and another one that is in pieces for interior shots.
I personally would love to get my hand's on a 1950's or 60's ambulance to turn into an ECTO -1 but there aren't many out there but there are a lot of vehicles from that era still around. I'm starting to think of making an old milk truck into a SWAT style ECTO-1. The Miller-Meteor Company who obviously made the ambulances that were turned into the ECTO-1 and ECTO-1A was owned by the DIVCO-Wayne Corporation. DIVCO made the infamous DIVCO Twin delivery trucks from 1938 to 1986 (2nd longest massed produced vehicle in history behind the VW Beetle) that you can see in movies like Back to the Future and Scrooged. If I did have a DIVCO Twin to turn into an ECTO type vehicle, I would have similar equipment on the roof like the ECTO-1 and a similar paint job. In the back I would have 1 side of the box with bench style seating and then on the other side there would be proton packs hanging up on the side with the electronic equipment underneath.
That's genius! I know exactly what you're talking about. You could like... paint certain parts red and the rest white. It'd be cool with a red lightbar, too. You've got me excited about this concept!
The original plan was to have cinema vehicle services restore both cars but since CVS was fleecing Sony on the bill, Sony pulled the plug on 1A. 1A sat in a storage container until Afterlife production came along. They bought a 2nd car and Ghostlight restored 1A and the 2nd car to Afterlife spec in 3 months.
@@unfinishedstudios It was owned by a guy named Jack and apparently for sale at the time. I heard there was someone in the ecto builders community that had almost finalized the deal to purchase it when sony came along and offered more money.
I saw that Ghostbusters show and it was awesome. I also saw *AN* Ecto-1 at Universal, but no photos exist, and I have no idea if it was *the* Ecto-1 or not. I did, however, see the movie-used Delorean and Train from BTTF!
I've got pictures of those somewhere! They had an Ecto-1 replica they would drive around. I remember thinking it was the real deal when I was little and being really disappointed when I realized it wasn't. Santa Claus-level disappointment!
I love the 1A! it was apparently backed into by another car while it was parked on the backlot is what I've read and it's why it was banged up. I'm not sure what happened to the car!? It sure looks like your onto something forsure here. When jaws closed they removed the orca and lifted the boat out of the water and it cracked in half apparently. no one knows what happened to that piece of history either. Universal and other studios leave stuff on the lots forever to rot. I've never understood it. It made you a fortune why not preserve these. All boils down to money I suppose. Yeah we got our money out of it, let's tuck it away somewhere over there lol.
Well it makes sense. I've made movies in my life -- movies that I thought no one gives a crap over. You can never anticipate what people will care about twenty years later. I'm not knocking Sony for what happened to the cars -- though "restoring" the Ecto-1 was probably the worst thing they ever did to the real car.
@@unfinishedstudios thank you for replying to my comment and your absolutely right I agree 💯 percent. Plus I've always wanted to know what a filmmaker would think because that's true you never know what interests people have many years down the road. I think it's amazing you actually got to sit/touch/ that car. It was my first model I ever built as a kid the model from AMT with the photo of the actual car retouched on the box!!. I repurchased it sealed from the 80's on ebay awhile ago. I'm pretty excited to build just a model. I'm so jealous you got to sit in the actual 1A and sit where dan and all them sat. Such an iconic vehicle. Loved this video Clint!!
@@jasonfarquhar5932 Thanks, man. I kind of had a panic attack last year when I realized this picture was gone! I went to my mom's house a few months ago, and we went through a hundred pictures -- for hours -- looking for that. Turns out, it was on an old hard drive I had at MY house. Whew...
Dude your so lucky to sit in 1a and I think the 2 ectos for afterlife is one is for stunts because one of them has the LS3 engine out of a vette and the other might have the original engine for closeups
I don’t know your ideas about Making a Ghostbusters 2 fan film wether it’s based off of the original 1989 movie but you could do the GB are broken and your character is still hooked to the job and your doing party’s and then you could do shandor like he’s a nut job that seeks help but realises who he is and try summons Gozer and he’s weak so then Gozer is weak but he doesn’t give up then you could do a court scene after using equipment like GB2 And then like a montage with Ecto-1A and then Shandor can return and cause more havoc and then it’s up to the ghostbusters to save the world again throw in some Bobby Brown on our own and Ecto 1A and head to the final destination and defeat Shandor
Yoo! As a fellow Ecto-1A mega fan, I've been trying so hard to research the roof stuff such as lightings, what stuff was used, and etc. If you have any knowledge on the roof equipment or the lighting used, PLEASE reach out to me!!
I've collected most of it over the past few years. I'm going to be building one hopefully this summer, so stay tuned for more videos about it. The lightbars especially.
Mr Edward bloom did have ghost busters movie box ghost busters one and ghost busters two I was planning on remembering who they were and I lost tracking who are they
That is awesome I've been here in Florida all my life when I was younger when I was 8 years old I went to see the spectacular ride for the last time and they had the original Echo and the ecto-1 a switch from being a Ghostbusters fan I don't care which one but the one that looks better visually is the ecto-1a because it's got more shit on it I have all the Hot Wheels I have the regular Echo. the ecto-1a I also have the extreme Ghostbusters Ecto Ecto 1 still in the box and the plastic I have five echoes and if I start getting the bigger Hot Wheels one and I get the big one that you can make at home I'll have a complete collection when they made that big scale model of the echo from the one company that's like 3 ft long they need to do homage to Ghostbusters 2 supposedly ecto-1a is ecto-1 with extra stuff on it but no it's a totally different car with different wheels on it like when you see it turning and Ghostbusters 2 you see the letters or whatever the tire manufacturer was and to be honest when the car was with the actors it was a clean looking car I need to get my Ghostbusters book that actually tells you how they got ecto-1a because they don't explain because they came back as the Ghostbusters it seems like afterlife is telling you ecto-1a was ecto-1 just with more parts on it I thought the guys were going to show up in ecto-1a because I thought Egon took ecto-1 they still reference the second movie in after life but. Anyways I'm getting off topic I got to see that ride it was the last weekend it would be in Universal Studios I believe I was 8 years old we waited in line for an hour and a half back then there were no digital cameras because that was around 96 97 I mean that camcorders but I don't think they had digital cameras at the time period but it was a good time then when I went back and went to the Twister unlike isn't it the Old Firehouse and the guy said you've been here before then I'm like yeah and I was when I was a kid hopefully since the Ghostbusters franchise is getting recognition again they might bring it back like they did with the Terminator that was taken away too and they might put the ride Jaws backup I hope but thank you for sharing that for some reason I love that ecto-1a yes I love ecto-1. Thank you for your story
okay that would be cool that you sat in the ecto-1a it also be the one from Ghostbusters after life but it's a rare of those 59 Cadillac SNS or Miller meteor duplex vehicles are I doubt it it probably just took the front clip off because the one they use an Afterlife with a dual loading first meeting the Gunner seat was originally made for loading coffins in for the passenger side that's why it's suicide doors in the passenger side only so it's probably not I should definitely not ecto-1A sorry to burst your bubble like that we're still cool I just sat in the act of 1A but not the same vehicle in afterlife
No worries! I think they suicided the door for the movie. I don't think the Futura duplexes had suicide doors. That, and the back door on the driver's side is normal. I guess we'll find out when the DVD gets released with the Ecto featurette.
Clint my friend I have a story to tell you too today or yesterday when you read this 10/28/23 my dad took me to the downtown place where I live and there was a 1968 cadillac ambulance as and ecto 1 just like yours and I got to sit where the gunner seat would be and had a picture on all sides of the car and my dad secretly brought my homemade proton pack with us so in the 4 photos I was wearing the pack
Not to burst your bubble, but two observations looking at the detail of your photo and the watching the film: - there are no hazard lines across the top of the car doors - If you look at the hazard lines either side of the ghostbusters 2 logo on the door, they end in yellow in orange on your photo, but in the film they end in black. How are you sure that the one you sat in is the one from Ghostbusters 2?
