LOREN: This is nerd bucket list. When you build an Ecto-1 you take it to Manhattan!
COMM: Ecto-1 from Ghostbusters is one of the
most iconic vehicles in cinema history.
KEVIN: You guys seen any ghosts?
COMM: And today Loren Baldwin is taking his
exact replica of the car to Hook & Ladder 8 in New York. The fire station that featured
in the movie.
WOMAN: When they said they were coming to
the firehouse first thing in the morning I was like "What time?! I'll be there".
LOREN: This is an exact replica of the Ecto-1
from the movie Ghostbusters. I've owned it for about six and a half years now.
It is a 1959 Miller-Meteor Futura Duplex.
LOREN: I actually had been searching for eight
years to find the car and I had given up. I was like, I'm never gonna find this car,
then six months later I find it on accident looking for another car. I immediately called
the owners and was like, here's the money right now, take it! It was originally just
a bare body. It had been disassembled by the previous owner and it was going through a restoration.
COMM: The car cost him $2,500 and the conversion
process was a true labour of love.
LOREN: It took two years to collect all the
parts and six months to put it all together. It's like a jigsaw puzzle without instructions.
COMM: Loren spent around $20,000 on the conversion.
But estimates the actual cost would have been over a hundred thousand dollars if he hadn't
managed to persuade local fabricating shops to make him some parts in return for a promotion
when he shows the car in public.
MATTHEW: The role that I played in the building
process was mainly doing some of the body work, we did a lot of the prep work just in his barn.
MATTHEW: Loren's passion for the Ecto-1 came
basically from the movie. Having the toys growing up he just took it one step further
than everyone else and said I'm gonna make the big boy toys.
COMM: But he was determined to create a perfect replica.
LOREN: The first time we ever met in person
was in Los Angeles with the original car. He was taking down serial numbers, he was
taking down the sizes of the gizmos on the inside. His attention to detail is astonishing.
LOREN: The unique features of the car are the
lights and sirens - they all work. I have the exact siren that you hear in the movie.
LOREN: Because it's 21ft long it's really
difficult to see where you are, so that's why I added this five panel mirror up here.
And I've got a mirror here, mirror here and a mirror there also and I still have blind spots.
LOREN: It doesn't go more than sixty-five
miles an hour. I've got it up to seventy but it's not very aerodynamic.
COMM: Loren's Ecto-1 inspires some avid fans, especially
outside the original movie location.
WOMAN: I've been chasing her on and off for
about two years but lighting never really stuck until now.
WOMAN: I'm not worthy! I am so not...
MATT: Everyone reverts back to being a five,
six, seven year old kid and they can't wipe the smile off their face.
LOREN: It's actually pretty humorous in the
fact that nobody ever sees a car like this before so just in general people wig out,
they're like "Oh my God the coolest thing ever!"
MAN: Yo, get a picture of us.
WOMAN: No way.
MAN: Andrew only watched it literally, probably about a
month or so ago. So it's good to come down and see this. It's a shame it's not here all the time.
You don't expect to see something like this when you're walking around the streets
of New York, so this is something that will live in the kid's memories and mine for quite some time.
COMM: And given the amount of time and money
Loren spent on the car thankfully it's as popular with his wife as it is with the New York public.
CODY: We've got a lot of cars and this one
is definitely the pride and joy and he's put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into this
baby. And he does good work with it too, he takes it around to charity events and tries
to help raise money and y'know he does really good stuff with this car.