I took my engine apart to inspect the motor, e-unit, mechanical drive and inspect frame/shell warpage. I noticed that my engine does have the weight over the gearbox, not sure if all 700e's came with the weight. I carefully inspected the frame/shell and they both did not appear to have any warpage. The frame was very easy to unscrew and assemble back together. When removing the cow catcher completely (when I first added the temp cardboard shim, I only loosened the screw), I noticed the cow catcher screw head was slightly bent by the screw head. This meant that when tightening the cow catcher screw to the frame, this forced the cow catcher to sit low when the screw head was tightened flush. I found a similar screw from my Lionel post war parts and TADA!!!!! it sits okay now! No dragging cow catcher! I do have the 1990 1-700e to compare and that cow catcher is higher (I bought and installed the scale front trucks). I can still run my prewar 700e on tubular track (should be run on T-Rail) just fine! No cow catcher scrapping.
Onto another matter... I am still learning about these 700e's, and am no expert. My understanding is that the screw hole ports above the axels indicate 1939/40 production and have no serial numbers. The thin cab window frame is 1937/38 run. My engine has a serial number in the front part of the frame (# 382470), it's hard to see in the pics I am including. Do you guy's think I have a 1937/38 boiler on a 1939/40 frame? That would break my heart as it lowers the value of the engine. Thank you for all the comments and advice.
