To say Loren Baldwin is a fan of the Ghostbusters would be an understatement.

The Cincinnati-based Loren spent nearly three years and $20,000 to create his own replica Ecto-1, the famous car used in the Ghostbusters films. He spent two years searching for parts, and nearly another year putting it all together. “I actually had been searching eight years to find the car. I had given up and six months later I found it by accident looking for another car,” says Baldwin.

Loren stumbled across a rusted 1959 Cadillac Miller-Meteor. A rarity, only about 400 Miller-Meteor automobiles were produced. The original had a large 320 hp, 6.3-liter V8 engine. But it needed an engine that large to handle it’s massive 20-foot, 3-ton body.

“I immediately called the owner and said, ‘here's the money right now, take it’. It was just a bare body that had been disassembled by the previous owner.” Baldwin was able to piece together the Miller-Meteor chassis with the bodies of an old hearse and ambulance to arrive at his final creation. “It was like a jigsaw puzzle with no instructions,” says Loren.

With attention to detail in mind, Loren once spent a full day visiting the original movie car in Hollywood to take measurements. He spent months recreating the storage tank for capturing ghosts and spirits. The car itself is more than 8-feet tall and weighs nearly 4 tons. Under the hood is a 390 ci V8 engine. “All the lights and sirens work. I have the same exact siren that appeared in the movie. I have a five panel mirror in the car because there are a lot of blind spots because it is 21-feet long.”

The rear fins are the largest to appear on a production car, from the 1959 Cadillac Eldorado. “And it doesn't go more than 65 miles per hour,” Loren quips. “It’s not very aerodynamic!”

Although Loren did a lot of the work himself, he also relied on local fabrication shops for custom parts and pieces. In exchange for the help, Loren promotes the businesses when he shows the car in public. And while the total cost of the vehicle was around $20,000, without the help of those local businesses, Loren estimates the cost would’ve been north of $100,000.

When the Ecto-1 is not being driven for fun, Loren Baldwin takes the car around the country to charity events and movie gatherings. “The reactions I get are pretty humorous because no one sees the car often on the streets,” he says. “People wig out and say it's the coolest thing ever.” In 2015, Loren even journeyed to New York City, to take the Ecto-1 car back to its beloved headquarters at Hook & Ladder 8.

For more information about Loren’s Ecto-1, visit www.facebook.com/theectoh1.

In case you’re curious, the 2016 all-female reboot of Ghostbusters features a reimagined Ecto-1 based off of a 1984 Cadillac DeVille instead of the now iconic 1959 Cadillac Miller-Meteor.