Fun Fact: first day of filming on the original Ghostbusters, they didn't have their filming permits yet. Murray and Aykroyd piled into the Ecto-1 and drove it around New York with a camera crew following as they filmed all those shots of the car, in pretty much the same way you guys did. And the shots of them running down the sidewalk with their packs on was done the same day, in the same way. No permits. Just hop out, and run down the sidewalk before anyone can catch them.

It's an obvious that this car is a show car and only a rookie would give you grief. And I can you tell you from a GA cops prospective. Enjoy the car, did a great job.

Here in the UK, you can have emergency lighting but as you said, not running whilst driving on a public highway - unless previously arranged. You can buy orange canvas covers with "not an emergency vehicle" on them that covers you for long haul journeys. The officer I spoke to said even he worries that people will see something like the Ectomobile, with all the ridiculous apparatus, and STILL think it was a legit emergency vehicle, but its all about seeing the lights from a distance. You usually get a lot more lee-way if they're powered down and maybe disconnected from the unit whilst going long distance.

I wish I knew ppl around my town who were into Ghostbusters this much. It's hard be a loan super fan.

Walter Peck: Bicycle Cop

As long as you are not trying to impersonate an emergency or law enforcement vehicle, I think the cops let this slide because it is a show car replica from an iconic movie. If you put flashing lights or a siren on a Jeep then you'd likely get ticketed.

In Pennsylvania, blue lights are for firefighters personal vehicles. Red and Blue are police and Red only are fire apparatus, fire chiefs, EMA and ambulances.

In the context of the movie they're probably illegal too. After all, each of them is wearing an unlicensed nuclear accelerator on their back and there are even rumours of the presence of noxious, possibly hazardous waste chemicals in their basement. ;P

That cop is a real card. Must be fun at parties. I understand legalities and stuff though, glad it didn’t get impounded

Here in Quebec, a Ghostbusters fan had problems with his reproduction of a Ghostbusters police car. He covered the flashing lights with a black cloth that said "out of service" and police officers simply told him to use a black cloth without text. He finally installed black painted lenses when riding on the road.

It really depends on what municipality you're driving through and how strict the police are. In my group (steel city ghostbusters) we've had many ecto's come and go over the years and our encounters with law enforcement have always been a positive experience. When I had my own ecto that was converted from a ford taurus station wagon, I've been pulled over 3 times by 3 different departments. But It was never cause my lights, it was cause they wanted to take a picture with it lol. But they all said to be responsible with the lights and not run them on the road. So, with people who wanna build an ecto; don't be a jerk, be responsible, and don't run your lights on public streets. If you're cool with the cops, they'll be cool with you.

Great video and our family loves the Ghostbusters. My 75-year-old father never had a ticket of any kind ever. One day he did a half-ass stop at a side street stop sign. A cop was hiding in the nearby field. He pulled my father over, for a California stop. Once he found out dad never had a ticket, the Cops face lit up with color. He was absolutely ecstatic he was able to give dad a ticket. He even checked everything he could. He gave dad a failure to stop ticket and a non-functioning horn ticket. He was literally skipping with joy back to his car. An people wounded why the public don't like cops. 🤔🤯🤓

in case any UK folks want to know - you can have blue flashing lights on your vehicle here BUT they must be covered up (eg bagged or wrapped in sacking or similar) while on the public highway. You are then free to uncover them and use them on private property. For this reason, you will also sometimes see actual real police vehicles which are temporarily out of service, being driven by non police officers, but support staff, eg on the way to servicing, or moving vehicles where they need to use the public highway, and because it's not in service and not driven by a police officer, they will sometimes bag the lights to prevent accidental illumination.

Generally it's not illegal. (it might be technically). It's more about using them. I had a Knight Rider scanner light in the grill of an old chevy flat nose van. ran them on the road and got stopped because they were red and flashing.... Like someone would mistake my van for an emergency vehicle. So I only used them in parking lots after that. Funny enough, I did own a retired van ambulance. It did not have any signage saying it was an ambulance or EMS. It had no E lights, It did have spot lights and work light-headlights on the sides and it did have to red like school bus stop lights on the back that were wired for brakes. I was working carny at a fair one weekend, I had the van to sleep in. A real police officer thought I was a real medical ambulance and tried calling me on his radio

I think it just brings a massive smile to people's faces they overlook the legality of it. And I agree 👍

Interesting bit of trivia, in Missouri tow trucks are allowed to be fitted with blue lights and sirens. But can only turn them on when police dispatcher authorizes it.

Thank you for this video. KZfaq recommended, so I just found your channel. For me, who grew up on Ghostbusters, it's always a great joy to see this car.

Thats one thing I always wondered, thanks for the info and the laugh. Great job on the car

if you use the car as a display in a car show, or promotional thing with the GB franchise, or even a parade, that is perfectly fine. However, if you take your family out on a dinner and you let them in the car to just cruise around, THEN its illegal to turn on the lights.

Awesome video and awesome car! I am a 25 year law enforcement veteran and a major ghostbusters fan! Here in the State of Texas: it is not legal to use them to clear traffic while driving or using them to the capacity of pretending that your a peace office (impersonating a peace officer) but it is legal to own them or have them on you car.

The film was mirroring the standard practices of New York City and not so much of creating the joke of being anti-establishment by using police lights. It was known that NYC volunteer fire fighters would run blue lights on the front of their vehicles while the police used red. A policy that is still in effect today. Both police and fire departments there however use red and blue towards the rear of the vehicles. This would fall in line with how the actors would explain in interviews how they felt like a team of volunteer fire fighters running around town, trying to save the day.

Great history! Thanks for this video! I hope you have a lot of fun withi your Ecto-1 replica. :)

I love the videos about your Ecto-1!

That interior is so awesome!

Very entertaining and fun to watch. Thanks for posting this.

Legality depends on the municipality. Few areas use only blue lights like that, and may or may not regulate the use of blues. Blues (and sometimes even greens) are regulated, or at least have definitions attached, particularly in areas with active volunteer fire departments.

Cant wait to see the new one you are building!!

Where I grew up we had a guy in the car club with a 1964 Galaxie police car with the big red light and similar siren as you have. At least there as long as you do not use them in public it's perfectly fine.

This is awesome. I live in Barrow County for two years now. I'll be looking out for ya! I am huge fan.

While it was Illegal with that final cop story, that cop was kind of a douche. Like, he’s got no soul if he didn’t acknowledge that he was standing in front of Ecto-1. He did do the right thing, but c’mon.

Those cars are cultural cinematography icons of USA and even internationally.

Awesome Car man! Cool Stories too.

Great car and great video!👍 Maybe one day I'll have the chance to ride in an Ecto 1.♥️

Love the car, love the stories, and love watching your videos. Keep 'em comin. ^__^ If you're ever in Houston, lemme know and me and the guys will get you a steak and a bourbon or something.

I saw today on a restoration video of Ecto-1 Dan Aykroyd said the lights were originally gonna be purple! I think that would have been cool honestly but also love the blue.

love that car and the sirens...

Blue lights here in NJ designate a Volunteer responder in which you need a permit. Where as in other states blue is Police, varies by location. You can bag the lights while driving around ( they have a light bar out of service cover)

In Pennsylvania where I live there's a couple volunteer firefighters that actually have decals on their cars with blue lights. More than likely they registered and told the state police and local police departments that there volunteer firefighters.

Emergency responder here! I can't speak for other states, but in my home state of Maryland, using blue lights on the road is illegal. Having a *show car* with the lights on it, operating on *private property* is not. Car shows in my area have old, classic emergency vehicles with light bars and the works on them. As long as you *aren't* doing it on the road, having the lights inoperable is totally fine! I believe most states have this same rule as well, but check your locality! I would even suggest wiring a 'master switch' to them so you can have a safety built in. My personal truck has red-and-whites for operating on emergencies when I'm permitted to use them, but has a master kill switch to ensure they're never accidentally operated. Hope this helps!

Love this video and all the advice. I'm one of the many looking to build an Ecto 1 here in the SF Bay area. I've always wondered about the legality of the lights; like wanting to show up outside the local police station and say, 'hey, can I ask you about my car?...' Thanks!

Yeah, I've just stuck with Amber on my Ecto lol! I believe (In the UK) We can have them on the Ecto but not on. Unless on private land then we can have fun! But it's true, Just be sensible and everyone can enjoy the franchise Ectos!

Love your ecto :D We have one around here that my LFGS will call in for free comic book day with some other display vehicles.

I live on Long Island NY, we have a few Ecto's around and the police have never said boo to them that I've heard. I think it's a matter of being responsible & not doing anything stupid. As for the Lights, in NY Red are for Emergencey Vehicles (Polie, Fire, EMS) but they also use Blue & Green. Yellow is for Construction/ Utility trucks, Blue are for Volunteer Firefighters, Green is for Volunteer EMS units. thats just NY though

I'm working on a new set of lights specific to this problem. I ended up just building my own set because regular lightbars are expensive. My original set were made with blue semi-trailer marker lights, but here's the new idea... I used vinyl fence railing for the body so it's like a long project box. Nice and hallow inside for the electronics. I used a 2 channel flasher to achieve the flashing effect. What I plan on doing is putting a set of RGB LED light strips inside so I can change colors for different situatiuons. I'd hardwire the strips to display only three colors: Blue, Amber, and White. In Illinois IDOT declares blue flashing is for municipal/county/state emergency vehicles, amber is for roadside assist/construction/utility vehicles (A sorta gray area more-guideline-than-rule), and white is for civilian use. The nice thing about video/image editing software is we can have the white lights running on the street then have them changed to blue in post. Although amber is reserved for company vehicles, I believe cops won't be as pissy about you using them if say on your way to a convention, you witness a car accident. You can switch to amber mode and assist in the accident. Sketchy, but most cops understand you're trying to help and NOT impersonate some kind of legal authority. That, and you'd be laughed out of the stationhouse for arresting 4 idiots in jumpsuits for using amber light bars for an actual appropriate situation. The only good place for us to use said lights in blue mode would be private property: Parking lots, personal driveways, things of that sort. Get to the edge of or the other side of the location on private property, flip the colors to blue, and make your grand entrance. Even if you check state laws, you need to check municipalities if you're legal. My buddy Jerry (Chicago Ecto-1) warned me never, _ever_ go though Arlington Heights even with blue domes on the vehicle. Even if they're off, that's breaking a law, because these people are paranoid dipshits. But, if you have clear domes, you're legal. He has that with blue bulbs. See? The dipshit thing is accurate.

Here in the uk if you have or own a replica emergency vehicle or anything with blue lights on the roof we are meant to have them coved when on the roads, in the 10+ years of working with our Ecto not once have we had them hidden.

Depends where your at, different places use different color codes. Where I am from security vehicles use green and clear, tow trucks and cautionary vehicles use amber/yellow and we use red and clear lights on our personal vehicles for the volunteer fire department and local law enforcement uses blue or blue and red. If I cross over state lines to the north of me I have to cover my light bar because the cops use all red and fire department has blue. I got pulled over for impersonating a police officer. Most cops would or will leave you alone as long as your not using them while driving. I also had a friend on the department that had red and white headlight strobes but he used those super bright LEDs that had a blue tint to them and he got in trouble.

Athens use to be one of my regular delivery points when I was trucking. Hate I never ran across ya. ~From North AL

Love your car, man,

There are products made for covering up lightbars, they are usually a black cover and sometimes will have white wording saying "Out of Service" or "Not in service", Alternatively some owners will either have a set of spare lenses or domes that they swap out for while on the road going to or from events, either regular clear or they may have painted them black.

That's so great! Love the stories. Does it make the funky siren sound too? That was the best part.

In New York State, blue lights are for volunteer firefighters on their way to a call. So you would have to be a volunteer fireman with a permit for using a blue light. Red lights are police and they’re usually a combination of red and blue lights. Yellow lights would be construction or hazard and no permit is required. I’m pretty sure if you don’t have the blue lights on in NY it would be legal.

I just watched your ghostbuster movie. It was awesome. You guys need to do a Ghostbusters 2.

I found a car from the 50s I don't even know what kind of car it is yet but it has wings in the back and I wanted to buy it and turn it into the Ecto-1! I completely understand how much it's gonna cost but I hope at some point my dream will come true, love your vids bro keep it up

Wow this is so cool. I wish I could see in person :)

4x4 forum someone coming back from Moab got pulled over because he was volunteer fire for his small town and they made him cover up the lights even though they weren't on and he had paperwork showing he was volunteer. Absolutely nuts.

3:55 yeah I know all about it my dad always says to avoid that area on game day because of the traffic.😂

Get yourself a Feniex Typhoon siren controller. It comes with the Ecto siren as a standard siren sound. It sounds awesome, complete with the ramp up and ramp down effect when you turn it on and off. We have that controller on several of our response vehicles (though we normally use the typical yelp/wail patterns). As for the lighting, it's only illegal if they are activated when you are on a public roadway. Off, or in a private parking lot. No problem!

i think in some states it may be illegal to have the lights or if they dont work they are to be removed. i know if you have the kc daylighter lights you know the ones you always see on top of trucks and are covered in some states they say they need to be disconnected or even removed. you would need to check with your local laws. it maybe possible to get an exemption for authentic replica movie cars. i think when they film for movies they close off the streets but you still need to be careful so you dont crash into something.

this is going to vary so much from state to state. In Illinois blue, red, green, amber, and purple are all illegal unless certain things. Here volunteer firefighters can get blue lights. My recommendation is 1) get in good with local fire and police, 2) have a master kill switch for lights and siren that is keyed and not accessible while driving (they are not wired up, officer), 3) you can also see about "Not in Service" bags to go over the lights. On another note, I also believe that tint would also be considered illegal here in Illinois on the front side windows.

Just found your channel! I see you have the Georgia "ECTO I" vanity plate. I have the Georgia "ECTO 1" plate :) We claimed it about 20 years ago and held it ever since!

Slap's side of car. LET'S RUN SOME RED LIGHTS!

It would depend on the state. Here in NH if it's registered here, it has to be state inspected and blue lights can not be on a vehicle.

I think it depends on the City/State/County as some municipalities run straight blue lights on emergency vehicles. even the Dukes Of Hazzard guys that build the sheriffs car replicas have "Out of Service" covers on their lightbars.. but.. I don't think any agency runs the old Code 3 lightbars, I think they use the whelans or similar now

In my state, the motor vehicle code states, "...whether lit, or unlit...." At one of my old departments, we actually had black covers that went over the light bars with "OUT OF SERVICE" on them for when the cars were out for maintenance and being driven by the mechanics. Similar is supposed to be done for vintage restorations/recreations when not in shows/parades. Part of it is because they don't want a civilian approaching an out of service cruiser in an emergency. That being said, I don't think anyone I know would actually enforce that on an Ecto replica as it's pretty obviously not an official vehicle.

In Philly and New Jersey it’s legal to have them on your vehicle but illegal to put them on. my parents were volunteer paramedics for a few years till they stopped volunteering and ended having their own business in South Jersey. My dad left the bars on their 3 vehicles including my mom’s station wagon for 10 years till they bought new vehicles and my dad donated the bars, sirens and the equipment to our local EMT station. The bars you have my mom’s station wagon had the same ones. 😀

In Illinois i was a volunteer FF. We were allowed to have BLUE LIGHTS on our car. Only have to be "paged" out on a fire call. You can go through a red light, need to slow down, and go through.

You missed a couple lights lol. It's all good, I still love it.

"I forgive you." 😂

good to know, i assume im going to have some situations like that bike cop this next year haha

In Sweden, it's not illegal to have blue lights installed on car chassis but it's illegal to have those on (enabled). But it's allowed to have emergency lights enabled while on "car show" where you show up you vehicle for others.

In all honesty your able to drive it around town, they do sell these covers that go over lighting equipment such as these emergency lights but once you park on private property your more then able to run them. That's the safe part of being able to take it out. On the other hand I really want to build one, I know of this guy in Vegas who runs a shop called Bob's prop shop and he makes them and sells them around 150 to 250K which is really steep for my budget but figured if I can get my hands on such a car and find a few fans to help bring it life as Ecto-1 that would be an awesome childhood dream project. Not to mention I would love to do special events, and just have fun with it. If only I found a few fans to help make this happen then we would be set. Any information of where I can find vehicles like this and where to start with finding all the equipment to install on it would be helpful as well.i know the original year is pretty much near impossible 1959 but anything close that can resemble Ecto-1 wouldn't make me love it any less.

I bought an X cop car Camaro and it had the police lights in it flashers and everything they took them out before I purchased the car and then I put everything back in... I showed the cops in the town I was living in at the time and they thought it was really cool... it was a parade car I made but they told me as long as they're not ON it's OK but the minute you turn them on it's a problem and if somebody doesn't like you and they see your car down the street and they call and lie and say you're using them you're getting a fat ticket no matter what So be careful 🤔 Awesome video 👍

hey man loving the videos could you make update videos on ecto 1a and the afterlife car would love to see some.

Sound like "free donuts for cops", every time they stop you ...

It depends upon the state and what color lights their law enforcement uses the actual Ghostbusters film was filmed in New York which uses red lights on all of their police cars and blue lights on volunteer firefighters personal vehicles so they were able to get away with it but like you said as long as you're not driving down the road with them on you shouldn't have any problems if you build a replica ecto-1 with working lights

I had a roscoe sheriff's car the lights i had had lenses that could be removed in just a few seconds I had a set painted black with decals that said not in service I drove that car all across the country and never had an issue

I DO LIKE THOES LIGHT BAR ON YOUR CAR❤❤

Blue where i live are for snow plows you mentioned green, they are for volunteer fire fighters (where i live)

Just awesome!!!

Epic!

I don't know what state you are in, but here in Maryland, it is perfectly legal to have emergency lights in/on your vehicle. You just can't have them activated while you are driving down the road. As soon as you pull into a parking lot and park, you can turn them on for display and so fourth. We actually have quite a few people in my neck of the woods that fix up old police cars and take them to shows. You'll be minding your business and all of a sudden you'll see a '96 Caprice go by decked out like an old MSP car.

I didn't realise till recently, but Ecto 1A in Ghostbusters 2 has a mix of green lights, possibly to have it stand out more from the last car, but also so it's more legal to run. In the UK you definitely get quizzed for having blue lights, even if they don't work, and if they catch you with them on, you do get a fine, and are also told to remove the lights from the vehicle, or keep the vehicle on private land.

In NY, emergency vehicles can only have red lights as seen from the front, but are allowed to have red AND blue from the rear.

So wholesome 🤗

Knight Rider lights are also ilegal, unfortunately. I just keep my car as factory as possible to keep police attention away as much as possible. But good job on the Ghostbusters car, it It is a dream come true to have one

There are 2 things, depending on state, there are lightbar covers that obstructs lights 100% and thus considered "disabled". Also most states, it's the blue light that is all that's illegal if you were to change colours. You can have light bars fully legally in all states if you avoid blue mostly then also red for the others that consider that. White and amber are always safe to have. Best info I have from owning a police vehicle from KC Police cars.

I really really want to do this with my white 97 Impreza sport 😎!

Love it thanks

I hope one day someone will remake the 1971 (custom) Lincoln Continental Mark III that was created for the 1977's movie 'The Car'. George Barris was THE go-to customizer for movie cars.

The consensus usually is as long as you aren't running them. Most cops don't care. I purchased an old NYPD cruiser that was screen used in "Third Watch" I drove it from NYC to Springfield Missouri without any problem. Same with my 91 CHP Crown Vic that was an actual CHP slicktop. It was marked, had all the proper equipment, only the long guns were fake. Again, I drove it home. No issue, except for a trooper whose dad drove the car when it was on duty in Needles. And wanted a picture of it.

In California if you have a movie production company you can stencil both sides of the door with thevwords “ movie car “ and the cops will leave you alone they also will register cars with the local police department you might consider doing that where you live

Looks like she got a lot of love from the public ^-^

Emergency light laws are different from state to state. I know that here in PA, its not illegal to have blue lights on your vehicle, but its illegal to use them if you are not a first responder. The exception to this is you can't put emergency lights on a police car look alike, period. I'm sure there is some kind of exception for novelty vehicles like yours. I believe you can run blue lights or any emergency lights for that matter as long as you are not on a public road.

The ghost busters movie took place in new York where emergency vehicles lights are blue and police lights are red so that as why the ecto1 has blue lights

i have gone to a number of car shows over the years and there are a few folks i know who have antique emergency vehicles (one ambulance, a couple had police cars and one had a fire truck.). i asked them about it once and they told me that as long as they didn't have the lights and sirens running while on the road it was fine. then again this was many moons ago (i live in Ohio btw). i am pretty sure the same would go for an Ecto-1 replica. hell one guy i see driving around town from time to time has a more modern crossover car done up ion Ghostbuster's livery complete with the detection package on the roof and lights (if i remember right they have "Ghostbuster's Evaluation Unit" or something like that written on the side)

"Good luck catching me on your bike, sir, when we're not stuck in football foot traffic."

I saw one of those yesterday in Shelby County Tennessee

I had a (low budget, Volvo) Ecto 1 for charity event here in the UK, and in mainland Europe. Now I have several UK and US preserved police cars. Here, having blue lights fitted to your car (whether working or not) is illegal. However - never had a problem with the Ectomobile. It's obvious what it is, and that it's not a police car. On the cop cars now, if the lenses are blue I have covers for them when they're on the road.

I know a guy who has a knight rider/KITT replica and he has to disable the scanning red light on the front while he's driving it. he has it on a separate circuit and actually pulls the fuse.

You should go to pendergrass GA not far from winder. There is a car Dealership there called gold mine used cars. He sells old cop cars. May have all the blue lights and spotlights that you need. Maybe get them cheap I’m not sure if it doesn’t hurt to check out