Bob Kutella wrote: Whew!!! While I would love to save such a body, I do not think this one is for me. Without looking at it in person, I see no trucks, no couplers, no poles, missing windows and end hardware, the fishbelly in the center of the car sitting right on the ground, and wondering if part of the other side or end has been cut away.But still a neat find - and hope someone can make use of at least part if.Bob Kutella
I have to wonder if we are allowing ourselves to get a bit intimidated by what in reality is a pretty straightforward fabrication job when we sweat this kind of stuff. There is almost nothing that can't be repaired on a lightweight steel or composite carbody structure with a Harbor Freight 3-way machine, a light plasma torch, and a decent wire welder. Charlotte 85 needed both ends replaced, new knee braces, a large chunk of one side reconstructed, and lots of underfloor and sidewall bits scabbed in. The Cincinnatti Curveside I hauled out of the woods for Marietta, GA had severe sidewall rot, which combined with early aluminum construction in a unibody frame, was strategically interesting in preventing the walls from moving around a lot while cutting out and patching in - but not essentially difficult, nor was rebuilding the rear door to Georgia style. I was sent shards of a single truck Birney body held together by rusty sheet metal with all the carlines fractured and both end frames partly missing and what was left mangled and both sidewalls bowed, but got it patched together well enough for a cosmetic restoration in a couple weeks.
Sometimes I think the chicken coops and basket cases are actually easier - less fiddly fabric to conserve, and everybody agrees on pretty practical standards. Locating missing hardware is the most challenging thing, but in structurally complete cars, pretty much the same difficulty there.
So, for about $1000 worth of tools, and off the shelf metal, not so terrible.
BTW, no reflection on Bob or the fine work he has done - he just expressed the sentiment in this instance that set me to thinking about our perceptions in a more universal way.
dave
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