Con cor hopper kits


chessie_system3

Well-Known Member
Needing some advice on the old con cor hopper kits. If anyone is familar with them then you know the the cover for the coupler boxes won't stay intact. I have tried model glue however it won't hold the couplers in place. I was thinking electric tape mostly cause the hoppers are black and the tape should blend pretty well. Anyone have any better ideas?
 
CA, or better known as Superglue. Just be careful not to get any glue inside the coupler box itself. IIRC, these covers are made with ABS plastic and not styrene. Regular Plasticweld cement should work as well. Mine have screws holding them in place, Does yours not screw together? (Mine are about 35 years old).
 
Not a fan of using super glue. Mine have never had screws to them. It would be nice though if they did. I could possibly drill out a hole with a steady hand and see about adding a screw to them. I don't know how well it would work.
 
I would try that for sure. The trick would be finding the right spot to drill the hole. I wouldn't even try using tape. Tape has a tendency to pull loose or drying out over time. Having never seen a Con-Cor kit newer than mine, I'm not sure how the cover is supposed to go on now. Photos would help immensely.

Except for the Athearn BB cars I have, generally all my cars have screws holding the coupler covers in place. Some times I've had to cut new covers for a car that I've either lost the cover for, or have the cover split. The hardest ones that I've drilled out have been the Red Caboose coupler boxes. Their covers are a friction fit and they can and do get loose. I've found out it's easier to just cut off those built in coupler boxes and replace them with a KD box.

You may try this for a temporary fix. Take a piece of stranded hook-up wire, or some other stranded wire, and remove just enough insulation to allow you to get 2 strands of wire, about 2" long. Wrap one wire toward the front of the box, and the other at the other end. Secure these wires by tying a simple knot to keep in place. After trimming the loose ends as close to the knot as possible, paint the wire to match the car's color. This will disguise the wire, as well as securing the knot. Just something to try.
 
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I would post pictures if I could get a good one...these kits are the only ones I've had that doesnt have a screw or clip on cover.
 
You could make a cover and screw that in place. Glue is a little too permanent for me so I would suggest buying a set of Kadee couplers with the coupler box and using those.
 
I'm going to bring this thread back to life eventing it's over two years old. I found that a needle or a toothpick with model glue works really well. It's not enough to really make it concrete but strong enough to handle coupling and uncoupling and being pulled in a train. So I'd say glue is the answer on this one.

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Do you mean tacky glue? I've "fixed" a couple of coupler box screws when they've lost their grip in the thread. i.e. if you tighten them down to where they won't come loose, the coupler can't swing and they will unscrew and get lost (along with the cover and coupling)
 
Do you mean tacky glue? I've "fixed" a couple of coupler box screws when they've lost their grip in the thread. i.e. if you tighten them down to where they won't come loose, the coupler can't swing and they will unscrew and get lost (along with the cover and coupling)
Funny thing of these old Con Cor hoppers is they don't have a screw for the coupler box. They have a shaft that I would assume is to hold the cover in place in which it does a terrible job at holding the cover. So I used some testors model glue that I applied to the side of the coupler box to hold the cover in place. It's not enough glue to make it concrete as I can separate the cover with a steady hand and a flat head screwdriver.

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Take the cover and shave off the peg/shaft. Then you have a guide for where to drill a hole through the cover and then use it to thread a 2-56 x 3/16" screw through into the hole in the coupler box. I have done this to numerous cars, old Walther's, old Accurail, ConCor and possibly others.

Willie
 
Willie that will work too. It has been mentioned. I have a scrap unit I may try and see how it works out. Generally speaking I usually try not to get away from what's provided and just make it work. But seeing as how I'm getting into the cut and drill idea of the hobby I may just give it a try.

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Funny thing of these old Con Cor hoppers is they don't have a screw for the coupler box. They have a shaft that I would assume is to hold the cover in place in which it does a terrible job at holding the cover. So I used some testors model glue that I applied to the side of the coupler box to hold the cover in place. It's not enough glue to make it concrete as I can separate the cover with a steady hand and a flat head screwdriver.

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Ah yes, now I know what you mean, the peg is supposed to have a taper on it, so when pressed into it's socket, wedges it in. Willie's fix is probably the most secure. The only thing I find when tapping a thread into plastic, especially a fine thread as used on the 2-56 screws, being fine, it can easily strip out the hole. This is the Kadee tap & drill set for those 2-56 screws on ebay http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kadee-246-H...455250?hash=item4afeebf052:g:ZqgAAOxyJX1TApEP

When the model manufacturer's use screws into plastic, they either rely on the parts being joined, such as a coupler box cover to it's box, clamping together, before binding the coupler, which means the screw can be tightened with sufficient force that it won't loosen, commonly called being nipped up. This doesn't always happen, especially when tapping the hole yourself, or for some other reason and the screw has to be backed off to allow the coupler to swing. You can try filing the coupler to make it thinner, or securing the screw with a dot of tacky glue in the threaded hole, screwing the screw in to the required amount and allow to set. The tacky glue should stop the screw coming loose, but still be able to unscrew. Be sparing with the glue so it doesn't squeeze out onto the coupler pivot.
 
P.S. When you look at that ebay site, if it shows a horrendous shipping charge, it might be because I'm linking that from Australia.
 
Ah yes, now I know what you mean, the peg is supposed to have a taper on it, so when pressed into it's socket, wedges it in. Willie's fix is probably the most secure. The only thing I find when tapping a thread into plastic, especially a fine thread as used on the 2-56 screws, being fine, it can easily strip out the hole. This is the Kadee tap & drill set for those 2-56 screws on ebay http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kadee-246-H...455250?hash=item4afeebf052:g:ZqgAAOxyJX1TApEP

When the model manufacturer's use screws into plastic, they either rely on the parts being joined, such as a coupler box cover to it's box, clamping together, before binding the coupler, which means the screw can be tightened with sufficient force that it won't loosen, commonly called being nipped up. This doesn't always happen, especially when tapping the hole yourself, or for some other reason and the screw has to be backed off to allow the coupler to swing. You can try filing the coupler to make it thinner, or securing the screw with a dot of tacky glue in the threaded hole, screwing the screw in to the required amount and allow to set. The tacky glue should stop the screw coming loose, but still be able to unscrew. Be sparing with the glue so it doesn't squeeze out onto the coupler pivot.
My guess with tacky glue that you mention would be something along the lines of the hob-e-tac glue? I know what you mean with the coupler sticking though as it's happened with mine as well when I glue the cover on. But as I am using so little of an amount I can free the coupler with ease and I no longer have an issue with the coupler swing.

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I had the experience of when applying CA glue to the brake wheel mounting points on my Athearn 30k Ethanol tankers (shockingly mounted) of the glue finding it's way into the coupler boxes. Fortunately slow setting stuff and managed to get them apart before everything solidified.
 
I have some old Con Cor HO flat cars and box car kits, which as I recall had a press fit coupler cover. I might have scraped off any paint, to try and get the glue to hold fast. Tape I would think, would dry out, after not too long.

Most of my Con Cor cars are packed up at the moment, but I'll try and find one in the next week, to see what I did. I would think attaching the cover with a screw would work, if there's enough material for the threads.
 
Well I gave tape an honest try. It would peel off after some time. Not to mention it wouldn't hold the cover on snugly and in turn my couplers would sag. So tape is definitely not the answer. I can see the consensus is to use a screw to hold it in place. If I can come up with some spares I myself my try that approach on one.

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You may have been using the wrong color tape. Try Red tape. Govt tested and certified to hold anything up.
 
Gluing Plastruct (ABS) to Evergreen (styrene) -- is the general consensus that CA / super glue is the way to go?

Regards,
Tom Stockton
 



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