Picked up a Flyer 642 reefer on Ebay that had the old kit style printed wood billboard sides applied to it. It was not a "clean" installation and the catwalk was broken on one end and gouged in the middle. It also was painted in a bright yellow in an attempt to match the sides. I removed and switched the floor to a knuckle coupler version on which I added brass eyelets on the axle ends for increased rollability. The floor swap was fun because the 642 floor was glued and attached with escutcheon pins. One pin was inserted into the only remaining post as the rest were broken. I used the 4 inboard posts and attached the floor with small screws. I repaired the catwalk end using a catwalk end from a donor car. The gouge was repaired with modeling putty as was the attachment of the new catwalk. I "hid" the glue line at the roof by adding a strip of square basswood lengthwise. I figured a darker color would hide any imperfections and painted the ends and roof a shade of brown. I added ladders, door hardware and grabirons. Came out not too shabby.
Rich
