I have a Proto 2000 GP 18 drive in need of a shell. Does anyone have knowledge of another manufacturers shell that will match the drive? It doesn’t have to be a GP 18.
Thanks
I’m not aware of any other manufacturer’s shell that would fit over a P2K chassis. Proto shell’s are fairly common things sold on ebay or other used market places, however.
Proto kept changing some of the configuartions of the weights on the chassis from time to time. So, it also matters what vintage of P2K GP18 you have, since the weights on the chassis may interfere with some shell parts that protrude on the inside of the shell. The shells of the GP7,9, and 20 generally fit the GP18, but again, some of the weights are slightly different and the front light bezel may be too long or too short.
The modifications needed to have the 7, 9, or 20 shell fit are not that hard to do, but if you just want a shell that is guaranteed to fit over the chassis you have, then you need to figure out what vintage GP18 you have and get a shell of the same vintage. It may also matter if the chassis is for a high hood or a short hood locomotive. Also, later runs of the 7,9,18, and 20 tend to be more interchangeable since proto/walthers finally settled on a standard weight configuration for all of those GP’s.
Probably a little more complicated answer than you wanted.