D500 posted:There is something gratifying about this sort of project. Like hot rodding, I imagine, once you're through, you have touched most every system in the car, and it's yours in a way that NIB never is. Nice; one of my favorite locos - I have a Lionel GS6.
A few years ago I found a complete (cheap) - except for electronics and most attachment screws - unpainted MTH Premier NYC Century Hudson and tender. I did not paint it (I did matte clear coat it), and installed an ERR Cruise Commander. I put in bulbs robust enough to take the TMCC boards, hooked up the Protocoupler, found enough screws (some at Ace Hardware) to hold it together and off it went. I skipped sound for now, and left the smoke disconnected in part because of the only clear-coated body castings (the chassis came painted). Very satisfying. Strangely, because of the zinc and the NYC angle, it looks painted, except for the few factory brass add-on details.
That's why I enjoy these projects so much, the hot rod aspect. I have an old Thunderbird that I've modified the engine, transmission, driveshaft, rear axle, suspension, chassis, and brakes on. There's nothing mechanical that hasn't been touched to make it perform better than stock. I get the same enjoyment doing that to O gauge locomotives. I get exactly what I want for the price I want to pay.
Is that Dreyfus Hudson one of those "pre production" samples that occasionally shows up on the auction site? Sounds pretty neat clear coated, like a Lionel pilot model. I've thought about picking one of those up for a project but I keep getting these Premier steam locomotives cheaper from my source.
I already have my next project in mind. Gonna find a cheap MTH Premier Santa Fe 2900 class Northern to do up. I've got a tender for one already, just need the locomotive the way I like it: intact besides electronics and cheap 😉. I only do ATSF and SP stuff, so I'm very particular about my projects.
