@Norton, After your suggestion "Any Budd cars you could have used instead?" I went on the hunt for a better Budd style shell. I found an 18" Lionel shell, Budd style, fluted sides, corrugated roof and smooth sides above and below the windows. These windows are in the wrong locations for a sleeping car but I'm getting use to that issue. (edited to remove eBay link)
You have mentioned before that 21" Lionel aluminum cars don't have the same height and width as older K-Line passenger cars. But would this 18" Lionel aluminum passenger car match the older K-Line cars height and width? Would Lionel post war end caps fit this shell? (edited to remove eBay link)
