modedit: brought my office's DSL connection to its knees; converted images into gallery

-un13It's done! As of April 24, after two years of painting and changing/adding parts to make it match the 1993 Sahara, it's finally done!TODO: FIX GAL IMAGESSince it did well on many many other forums like SA and NASIOC, I hereby share with you.... my story.Long story. Bear with me. Or read this and skip to the pictures! http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthr … ?t=1254710 Back in 2005 at a midnight showing of Ghostbusters, I started joking to my friend Will about how funny it would be to run out of a place like the Stanley Hotel or some large building in ghostbuster uniforms, carrying smoking ghost traps, handing the manager a bill for $5000, and running away. Of course, we'd record the whole thing and put it on the internet. Will laughed and said he knew how to build proton packs. I owned a white Subaru Outback at the time and I told him that if he built the packs, I'd convert my car.Flash forward nearly a year.My friends Austin and Will and I are talking about doing something spectacular for Halloween. We decide to go with the Ghostbusters idea. In June I start researching lightbar laws, construction costs, and ways to convert my car temporarily, with nothing permanent.By September 22 I have completed the first iteration of my Ectomobile. We roll it out and people start going crazy. It's on the cover of the local newspaper, radio djs are trying to find out who we are, and the general public thinks we're real ghostbusters. I decide to keep the car, as it's ridiculously popular and enjoyed wherever it goes.Flash forward to this spring. My buddy Ben is driving around his uncles 1970s Land Rover, and I suddenly realize I have a strong desire for and open-top, 4-wheel drive car. It occurs to me that if I buy a jeep, I could easily repaint it as one of the Jurassic Park jeeps, thus restarting the cycle and creating a new movie car for the masses to drool over.And so the story begins.In June I started searching ebay, craigslist, cars.com, and many other sites for 1990s-era jeep Wrangler. I find a white 1990 for about $4000.I needed to turn this:TODO: FIX GAL IMAGESinto this:TODO: FIX GAL IMAGESAll I had to do was swap out the rollcage for the right shape, bolt on the correct side steps, replace the wheels, seats, and repaint it.In early July we start stripping the paint, pulling the car apart, and prepping it to be repainted.TODO: FIX GAL IMAGESWe eventually took it all the way down to bare metal. I am guessing that one of the previous owners had rolled the jeep because there was extensive body damage to both sides, both rear corners, and the original color of the drivers door was actually red. We had to pull out all the bad body work and re-bondo everything.TODO: FIX GAL IMAGESMasking for the stripes...TODO: FIX GAL IMAGESStriped!Replaced the windshield, pulled out all the carpet and rhino-coated the entire interior, that way I can just hose it out whenever I want.TODO: FIX GAL IMAGESRefinished the front bumper and attached the corner horns.TODO: FIX GAL IMAGESRestored and painted the side mirrors.TODO: FIX GAL IMAGESReplaced every light, lense, hinge, bolt, grill, and rubber seal on the car.TODO: FIX GAL IMAGESFound a rollcage at a Denver junkyard that would fit.TODO: FIX GAL IMAGESFound sidesteps at the same junkyardTODO: FIX GAL IMAGESSold off the old tires and rims, and replaced them with stock wheels and brand-new BF Goodrich tires.TODO: FIX GAL IMAGESMounted spare tire and restored rear bumper and undercarriage.TODO: FIX GAL IMAGESOrdered graphics... lots of graphics!TODO: FIX GAL IMAGESReplaced the old interior speakers... good lord they were gross.TODO: FIX GAL IMAGESApplied graphics. The side 18s were originally reflective, I have since had them replaced with decals that are a flat gray.TODO: FIX GAL IMAGESWith the Ecto at night.TODO: FIX GAL IMAGESInstalled foglights, and took an ironic picture!TODO: FIX GAL IMAGESGot seats from a 1992 Sahara and installed them.TODO: FIX GAL IMAGESInternet meme, anyone?TODO: FIX GAL IMAGESMounted rollcage and cb antenna.TODO: FIX GAL IMAGESAround this time I started scrambling to have the car ready to be on display at the Nan Desu Kan convention in Denver. I was working on making a set of props to go with the car, a makeshift pelican case and a weapons/survival kit like the one used in the movie. I bought an $8 gun case from wal-mart and filled it with deactivated grenades, signal flares, and a flashlight.TODO: FIX GAL IMAGESI had a large InGen logo made and stuck on the gun case, and I also had a set of these made up, one of which ended up on the windshield as sort of an easter egg.TODO: FIX GAL IMAGESOn the day of the con, Shauna and Ben helped me mount the fender flares. I replaced the sun visors as well, now featuring InGen embelms. The jeep was finally 'complete'! Granted,TODO: FIX GAL IMAGESOn the way to the con I picked up my license plates from ActionSigns and a set of windshield wiper arms from Mike at NAPA. Upon arriving in Denver, I talked to the executive director of the convention and the head of security for the DTC Marriott. They gave me permission to put the jeep up on the grass and let me park the Ecto in front of the main entrance. Both cars were incredibly popular!TODO: FIX GAL IMAGESMy crown jewel of the con, getting the cars in a picture with this guy!TODO: FIX GAL IMAGESSince then there have been many many more little adventures with this car...TODO: FIX GAL IMAGESWhaddaya think?