It should not be that hard to do, to swap the K-Line shell onto a Williams chassis. Make sure the mounting holes line up or you will have to drill new mounting holes in the metal chassis. I swapped a Williams SD-45 engine's shell and remounted it to the proper direction and all I did ws drill new mounting holes.
FWIW when Bob Grubba was working for K-Line he told me that he found the train was being made for the Asian toy market by another firm and they simply melded it into their product line. We had a postwar GP7 shell in the office at the time and at least as far as the design went, it was a close copy of the old Lionel. I wouldn't bet on the shell matching another brand, but who knows.
Bob Keller
I wouldn't bet on it. Even though the exterior dimensions may look compatable with other brands, Lionel, Williams, MTH, K-Line have their own way of designing and manufacturing their products.
If it was an easy swap it'd be a miracle.
so i have a decent looking kline gp7 is tuscan prr...i like it I think its sharp....im just curious if i was able to swap the shell and put it on a williams or lionel powered chassis....
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