What is the best way to cut or grind the shiny loco weight to accodate speakers?Obviously I take it of and do it away from the loco. Use Dremel cutting wheel? Hacksaw? Other? Thanks
A milling machine is the best way
The mechanism needs to be totally disassembled so the ground-away metal shards don’t get into moving parts, especially the motor.
If you don’t know anyone who has a milling machine, the next best option is an electric grinding wheel, followed by a hand file.
A dremel would be my last choice due to the difficulty of controlling it, and I would not even consider using a hacksaw.
I used them all to install sound in this Proto GP9:
The installation required cutting out space over the truck on the left side, as well as increasing the available space at the top for the decoder. As it was, I had to custom-build an enclosure because nothing available off-the-shelf was going to fit:
I did most of the heavy cutting with a hacksaw. This is soft metal, so it’s not that difficult. For finer cuts I used the Dremel with a wheel, and then a cylindrical bit which acts like a router. I used a small hand file to trim some of the burrs.
Some of this was hard on my Dremel, so I only cut for a few minutes at at time, and then gave it a break to cool down. Put the weight in a good solid vise so it stays put, and the job will be easier.
Good work MrB. If this would be too much work, you could always slice off the weight and build the speaker encloser. Cutoffs from the weight could be hot glued to the enclosure or use stick on as not to loose the weight for traction. Just keep checking for shell fit. If there is any room in the tank or behind air tanks sheet lead can be added there also. Been a while, but I believe those air tanks are hollow and there is some space behind them.
Find a good deal on a P2K GP7 with sound, and just swap the chassis.
I’ve done that on five locos (three P2K GP’s and two P1K F3A’s) that were older Canadian releases not likely to be re-released by Walthers.
In all five cases I was able to find a sale or clearance priced donor, and after re-selling the old chassis and the new but “wrong” shell my total cost was the same or less than a good sound decoder and speaker.
I did have to shorten a couple light bars, and on the F3A’s I had to remove a roof brace, but other than that they were drop-in swaps.
Thx
Jday
I will second that - I just did one tonight, a GP7 onto a GP7/GP9. The one thing I did notice (and glad i did before I buttoned 'er up again) was that on the older model the crew members were not painted as they are on the newer one. So I have to wait until tomorrow to paint them and then reinstall everything.
How did you shorten the light bar? I used a Dremel sanding wheel.