# Kato F3 and F7 shell question?



## BrokeCurmudgeon (Feb 8, 2016)

I have a Union Pacific road named Kato F3 dcc with sound. I want to change it to Santa Fe. Will the shell of an older Kato F7 or F3 fit on the dcc Kato F3 without too much modification? I suppose that I could paint it but I don't want to at this time. Thanks!


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*Shell swap*



BrokeCurmudgeon said:


> I have a Union Pacific road named Kato F3 dcc with sound. I want to change it to Santa Fe. Will the shell of an older Kato F7 or F3 fit on the dcc Kato F3 without too much modification? I suppose that I could paint it but I don't want to at this time. Thanks!


BrokeCurmudgeon;

Swapping a Kato F-3 shell for a Kato F-7 should not be a problem, at least with DC locos. DCC is possibly a problem, though I would guess (and that's all it is, a guess) not. 
I put a DCC sound "drop in" decoder in a (DC) Kato F-7. It fit right where the original Kato circuit board was and the shell fit over it fine. The catch was sound volume. The tiny speaker on this decoder faced upward, and right into the solid shell. The sound was very faint, I ended up putting a bigger speaker in a dummy B-unit. That fixed the sound problem.

regards;

Traction Fan:smilie_daumenpos:


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## silver69 (Dec 20, 2013)

shells interchange, the difference is the clear plastic windows.
You need to use the proper windows based on the chassis you are running.


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