I have followed the recent threads and discussions on the pricing of new trains, and the threads and discussions of enjoying the hobby on a budget. Inspired by one of my favorite TV shows, Wheeler Dealers, I wanted to share one of the ways that I really enjoy our hobby, and do it on a very small budget. For those who don't know Wheeler Dealers, it is a car show from England. 2 guys, Mike and Ed buy older interesting cars needing some TLC, fix them up, and sell them on hopefully for a profit. Ed is the mechanic with superb fab and mechanical skills, Mike is the sales part of the duo. No fake drama, no BS, just a couple of guys having FUN with old cars. Great show!
Inspired by that concept, I was at a recent train show, and at one of the first tables I visited there were 2 PW 6475 Pickle Vat cars in need of some serious TLC. My pulse rate went up, as the Pickle car was part of my first Lionel set (1637W) in the early 1960's. I still have that original pickle vat car and run it. Both of the Pickle cars at the show were in rough shape with broken and missing parts on the shells, rust on the frames, wheels, and axles; covered in crud and just very dirty and in need of help. One of them was missing the pickle vats. I purchased both cars for $15 without haggling.
The pictures below show the cars dis-assembled before I started any other work.
I started with the frame and shell that were in better condition.
First I washed the pickle vats in warm water with mild dish soap. They came out clean, shiny, and look fantastic.
Next I washed the shell and examined it closely for damage. There was one horizontal clean break along the bottom runner near the corner. I glued it back into place with Plastruct plastic weld cement and let it dry. Then I reinforced the repair by cutting a small patch of .010 styrene and gluing that on the inside edge.
On one end of the shell there was a support beam missing. I cut a piece of "H" beam Plastruct to length and glued it into place.
I used rubber bands to hold everything in place till the glue dried. I found a great paint to color match to the original beige plastic.. Tamiya acrylic XF-57 Buff is a very close match in tone, however it's a dead flat paint and the original plastic has some gloss to it. I still need to add some putty to smooth out the ends, but as that end of the car is hard to see on the track, I may not bother.
The last work done on the shell was on the roof. Polly Scale Roof Red is an excellent color match to the original roof color. Again, it's a dead flat paint and the original has some gloss to it. I touched up a few areas on the top of the roof and the edges to make it look almost new again. I then set the shell aside to dry and began work on the frame and trucks.
First I removed the wheels and axles from the trucks. I chucked a brass wire brush into my Dremel and went to work on the surface rust and crud on the axles and wheels. Soon the axles were good but the wheels were tougher. I resorted to gently using an Xacto knife to loosen up and remove some of the really stuck on crud. A second round of work with the wire brush, along with Q-tips soaked in 91% Isopropyl finished the clean-up. A drop of La Belle 107 on each side completed the job.
The frame had surface rust on the top side but almost none on the bottom. I decided not to drill out the truck rivets and left the trucks on the frame. I washed and dried the frame. I removed the rust with the brass wire brush and some light sanding with a fine sanding stick (salon board). Of course this removed whatever was left of the original bluing, so I masked the trucks and painted the top of the frame with Krylon Satin Black.
After letting it dry, I removed the masking, re-inserted the wheel sets, put the vats back into place and.......
I now have a very serviceable 6475 Pickle vat car. If anyone has a good way to replace the missing step, I would appreciate knowing it.
So, total cost for this project is $15. I had the glue, structural plastic, paint and cleaning materials all on hand.
I still have the frame, trucks, and shell from the second car to work with.
Check back for part 2 to see what happens to those!
