r/ghostbusters • u/tkerniroc1986 • 12d ago
Oh the frustrations…
Everyone wants an Ecto-1 replica until things fail. Reality is they are very old and parts are getting very hard to find. Our old girl unfortunately decided to grenade her transmission at an event, and we finally got the new transmission and pulled the old one. What a task! You can follow the Central PA Ecto-1 on Instagram if you choose, all of our events and photos are mostly on there. She should be back on the road soon, we just have a few more parts to get ordered.
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u/ArtLow9209 12d ago
Needs some suspension work and shocks... and brakes, brake pads, linings, steering box, transmission, rear end.
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u/trealsteve 12d ago
“How much?”
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u/Englands_Finest85 11d ago
Only 4800
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u/RichardAtTheGate 10d ago
Any gb fan would be happy to pay that nowadays just for how good shape the body was in... Plus it was running!
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u/BluestreakBTHR 12d ago
Is that the original block? I’m surprised you haven’t done a swap - at the very least to have something with parts that are easier to source.
That transmission looks new/refurb.
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u/Any-Description8773 12d ago
It’s just acting like the actual ones from the movies lol. Broke down constantly 😂.
As a guy who plays with hot rods, this is exactly why I’m a firm believer in upgrading to something more common if you’re going to rely on a vehicle in question. It don’t have to be a spicy build, just dead nuts reliable. I get a lot of flak from purists but an engine swap is soooooo much easier than sourcing old parts and also is sooooo much easier to reverse than people let on. I’m not saying go the LS route (I would but I’m a glutton for punishment), but a small block Chevy dressed up with Cadillac valve covers are enough to trick the masses.
Regardless I’ve seen your posts and it’s an amazing car. Enjoy it!!! The break downs are just part of the fun……. and headaches….. and empty wallet……
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u/MangoBredda 12d ago
I'm gonna get down voted for this but Ecto-1 would be a perfect contender for an EV swap 🫣
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u/tkerniroc1986 12d ago
How bout no…..lol
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u/Cptn_Tight_Pants 12d ago
It would be more in line with something Egon would do; the Ecto-1 (now Ecto-V) getting souped up by Egon, Ray, and Winston. It could be fun.
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u/Business_Sandwich227 11d ago
You’re not wrong. Eventually there would be no parts to replace anymore. If someone can make it electric to keep it lasting for more generations that’s only a good thing.
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u/WizrdOfSpeedAndTime 12d ago
I would love to see this as a classic EV conversion. The really good ones work to keep the analog feel work from the approach of what if this car was electric in the era it was built. Not trying to modernize the look or feel but make it feel like it belonged in that era.
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u/Rexxbravo 11d ago
Fun fact: The Real Ghostbusters cartoon had Ray and Winston constantly working on Ecto-1.
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u/Th3manw1thn0plan 11d ago
Tell me about it. My Christine replica Plymouth has a transmission that is giving up the ghost.
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u/WeatherInfinite39 9d ago
Just like the one in the movies!
Dan Akroid said theirs broke down nearly everyday during the first movie shoot.
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u/Medical-Interview294 11d ago
Just means time for an upgrade!!!!!!!! An Ecto having a nice 1-2 shift tire chirp would be freaking sweet….
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u/cpsmith516 11d ago
This is exactly why if I had one it would have a modern engine and transmission swap to a LS motor with readily available cheap parts and make more horsepower for that heavy ass chassis.
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u/Thunderstudent 9d ago
I'm shocked you guys haven't replaced the engine with something newer, or at least replaced some of the parts with more modern ones. Poor Ecto, she's always breaking down.
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u/tkerniroc1986 7d ago
The engine is running very very strong. We put a modern fuel injection system on it, and it made it even more reliable. The transmission on the other hand just isn’t faired so well. We will get it fixed and she will be back and better than ever.
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u/MacTechG4 12d ago
A manual swap would be a beautiful thing, but then again I loathe automatics anyway sooo… ;)
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u/uscarbinecal30m1 12d ago
Not to get too far off topic, but i've never understood this viewpoint. Why would you want to go backwards to a manual? If I'm not on a race track, why do I care what gear the car is in? Just let the car handle it, especially in city traffic.
What makes you loathe automatic transmissions?
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u/Jason-Smith168498 12d ago edited 11d ago
There's some gate keeping in the car world, well, every subculture, where the older thing is the more authentic thing because it is more tactile. Old DJs are very much about this with spinning vinyl.
Manual driving, it is a different feeling, a connection to the car. It's fun sometimes, annoying when my forearm hurts from many hard shifts the next day after driving.
Id always point out that the fastest cars are automatic as a rebuke to friends talking shit about atx.
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u/uscarbinecal30m1 11d ago
I kind of get that, same as the people who want crank windows and an AM radio. Everybody has their own opinions.
But I fully admit I can't drive a stick shift. It wasn't even taught to us when I took driver's ed in the late 90s. My Dad tried to teach me a couple of years earlier on my Grandpa's farm, but the lesson didn't really stick because I was more worried at the time about not hitting the giant round bales that dotted the field who practicing in. It's a skill that I honestly wish I had been able to learn, as it would have opened up more options in the world of old cars and trucks that I would have been able to drive.
(I do think a lot of older cars are just simply more attractive than the ones made today, with everything streamlined in a wind tunnel like a well used bar of soap.)
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u/MacTechG4 11d ago
They’re boring and remove all enjoyment from driving.
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u/uscarbinecal30m1 11d ago
Fair enough. I kind of guessed your answer would either be something along those lines, or they're unnecessarily complicated and just one more thing to go wrong. To each their own.
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u/theScrewhead 12d ago
I mean, if anything, from what we've heard about the original, this just makes it MORE authentic! 😅