# 3665 Minuteman Car



## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

OOPS The Roof Broke


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

*No Reach? No Arms.*











Epoxy Time!


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I had to disassemble the diaphragm chamber on mine and fix it so it wouldn't pop up and fire before it got out of the car. However, mine has hinges.


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

*Got Hinges!*

I am all set with the rubber. It works. I just have a liitle rust on some pieces. I'm bluing them up now.


Here I used the secret T-man Epoxy Sandwich Technique.










A little Cobalt Blue, 3/32nd hole and pin.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Looks good, saved another one!


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

T-Man -- nice triage and battlefield surgery ... secret sandwich and all!

John -- Pics above are first time I've looked inside a launch car. The launch guts look somewhat similar to the 6650 missile car, but with the rubber diaphragm housing turned sideways. Do you know if the diaphragm in a 3665 is the same as the one in a 6650? Just curious. I replaced the diaphragm on my 6650 a while back, and the part (from Jeff Kane) was 6650-47.

TJ


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I believe they're the same part. I didn't actually test that, but they sure looked the same to me.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Good save T.

Do you have the rocket?


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Thanks, John.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

The rockets are available, at least the repro ones are. I got a few when I got my missile launcher car, and the same one works in the Minuteman car.


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## Hammered (Mar 20, 2011)

I have both cars and have recently pulled the diaphragms in both because they damped the spring too much. The rubber part, gasket, spring and retaining ring appear to be the same to me.


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Hammered,

Thanks for the info ... much appreciated!

TJ


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

big ed said:


> Good save T.
> 
> Do you have the rocket?


The Rocket is the sick looking one I used with the flat car. 6650










Missing a few fins.hwell:

I only posted the car rocketless in the Junk Box.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

That looks like the one I got with the same missile launcher, I found a few on eBay. If you need a complete one, I'll make you a good deal.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Missing a few fins.hwell:

I only posted the car rocketless in the Junk Box.


And you have not epoxied new fins on yet?


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## tankist (Jun 11, 2009)

as far as i know US (unlike USSR) decided to not use railroad as platform for the ICBMs . so what is that?


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

tankist said:


> as far as i know US (unlike USSR) decided to not use railroad as platform for the ICBMs . so what is that?



A toy?


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

tankist said:


> as far as i know US (unlike USSR) decided to not use railroad as platform for the ICBMs . so what is that?


A toy, just like all the rest of my trains.


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

Anton, after Sputnik all toys had a missle theme. After all the space race had started.

I added wheels to finish. I also used some clear silicone sealant to protect my rubber cone. It was showing some cracking.


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

T-Man -- good diaphragm photo ... that does look just like the one in the 6650 missile car. Same retainer ring, too.

In the "missile toys" department, I had pondered a while back on how the toy industry (with Lionel at the forefront) responded to the onset of the Cold War, Sputknik, and the space race back in the late '50's. Crazy time to be a kid ...

http://www.modeltrainforum.com/showthread.php?t=3105

Cheers,

TJ


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I didn't feel like digging them both out, but I'm pretty sure the part is the same. I do recall thinking that when I initially got the Minuteman car.


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

*One and the Other the same*


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

*FIN ished*

For ED,










Trace and Cut










Groove










Epoxy and Paint


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

To lots of guys above ... Many thanks for the confirmation of the diaphragm commonality on the two Lionel cars. I had a suspicion, and appreciate the detective work.

T-Man ... nice repair ... now go point that thing at your T-Rex!

Hey ... I see you're using wood a lot ... do you ever use styrene flat-sheet plastic for stuff like this? Just curious.

TJ


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

Nice work, Bob, but what about a targeting system for that missle?


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

*The Pair*

The 3665 and the 6650








...

So far I haven't come across a good inexpensive source for styrene. I need to find some good signs. 

I don't think the missle would survive a ride!


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

T-Man said:


> I don't think the missle would survive a ride!


T-Rex is safe, I guess!

Nice work, all around!

TJ


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Why fix the car if you can't fire the missile.


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

There is always something.

The flat car is jammed and won't fire. I may have to remove the rivets to clean it.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Ugh, remove rivets? I don't remember any rivets that I'd have to remove on that one.


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

This is the flat car. The interior of the gun. Three rivet along the black piece that holds the spring. The missle rests on it. The wires in there are rusted and one holds the trigger. It worked before but when I took it out again for this time it stuck.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I wonder if you can somehow loosen it without taking rivets out? Seems ugly to have to take rivets out.


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

I faced that same rivet issue when trying to recondition my 6650 missile car. In the end, I was able to fix the trigger mechanism without having to remove the rivets.

T-Man ... in case there's any helpful info, here's my post describing what I did:

http://www.modeltrainforum.com/showpost.php?p=70401&postcount=82

TJ


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Mine also had a trigger issue, but it was the link that dangles down and trips it when the launcher rises. I got it working finally, but that's a pretty poor design.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

The rocket would sure look good in Red, White and Blue, along with some dry transfers USA.:thumbsup:


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Well, I have red and white ones, I guess I could paint the fins blue and have the color scheme.


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

*The gun*

The launch platform originally came from the missle base. I guess I am missing a wire to pull the trigger when it rises. Here are the pics.


I did an epoxy repair on the left hole.










The teeth do hold and lock up the spring.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

There is a wire that hangs down through a slot in the car base that pulls the trigger at some point in the rise. It's Wire-Link 6650-58, page 324 of the Greenberg book. The wire link it the most troublesome part of the whole car! The Minuteman car has a similar wire, the Trigger Wire 3665-5 which serves the same function and is equally troublesome.


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

My service book didn't have the parts but Olsen did,

6650\

3665

I am missing a lever and roller too!


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

It happens. I had to order several parts, I think I ended up with an extra trigger wire for the 6650 in the process.


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

There is a lot to be said about repairing a piece, that you already have. A quick look at the spare always helps.


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