PW what is it question

In my book, when you mix parts of different engines, you have a runner that is made out of parts of different engines.

Your 671 shell on a 681 chassis is just that, a 671 shell on a 681 chassis, it is neither a 671 nor a 681.

To be clear, there is absolutely nothing wrong with mixing parts to create runners. I have a number of put together pieces, including engines and rolling stock.

IMHO, it would be wrong to try to sell one of these pieces as an original Lionel piece.

Yep, Bruce straight up 'mutt'.

Where I come from, we would call it a 'Heinz'. 

Not to hijack this thread but during the Korean war only 671's were made.  Some were stamped "671 RR" and others were only stamped "671".  All were on a 681 chassis usually without the magnet.

Don

Mutt is the perfect word for it, I have several mutts, all mix and match PW assemblies or repairs: better an imperfect "mutt" running on the layout than a pure--bred sitting on the shelf for lack of parts.  

One of my mutts is a yard dog, too.

quote:

Not to hijack this thread but during the Korean war only 671's were made.  Some were stamped "671 RR" and others were only stamped "671".  All were on a 681 chassis usually without the magnet.

No magnet, and no pole pieces. An good sized opening between the first and second drive wheels should be readily apparent.

Thanks for all the replies, my sante fe was one that I put together from a bunch of items I bought from a guy I knew.  the 671 was bought by a friend of mine from a hobby shop, it looked all original, wondering if maybe way back it was serviced somewhere,parts swapped around and given back to the customer that way.  I suppose any thing with pw Lionel might be possible.

Many have done exactly what you describe. If it works for you, that is what counts.

I mentioned earlier that I have a number of pieces that were put together with parts from different engines, including some that are a mixture of postwar and modern era parts.
I keep an inventory of almost all of my trains. For these pieces, I use the model number of the shell, with an "X" appended, and include the term "makeup" in the description.
Here is an example:

28411X Rocket Launcher makeup postwar chassis