R36 Combine Coach wrote:The R32s were built with Budd's trademark stainless construction, while the St. Louis stainless cars used LAHT underbodies, floorpans, frame sections along with alloy steel roofing and fiberglass end sections.
On the R-40's and42's, each car had a fiberglass end piece only at the end where a motor cab was. The conductor cab end of each car was stainless steel like the sides. Fiberglass endcaps at both ends started with the R-44's. Meanwhile, the R-38's were stainless steel all around, like the R-32's.
For that matter, the R-32's through R-42's were stainless steel on the outside, but the doors and interiors were still painted pressed steel until replacement during the 1988-90 overhauls.