Help pulling and pressing wheels on MPC steam

My experience with the MPC-era 4-4-2s is that their motors tend to run hot.  After a period of time they slow down or even stop and refuse to budge.  The 2-position E-unit (which should be bulletproof) gets balky.  I attribute this to undersized wire in the double-wound field and armature, also possibly the brush springs.  The original MPC motor has one rubber tire on the rear geared wheel.  These motors have aluminum sides which are readily visible in the wide gap between the drive wheels.

The 249 has a "metal" scout motor (which has nothing in common with the much-maligned regular Scout motor, except its dimensions.)  Based on my experience with the 1615, these motors have no issues with extended running, even when asked to carry a heavy die-cast body.  I happen to have the motor from a 249, so the E-unit lever is already in the correct place for the 8304 shell.  However the motor from a 250, 1130, or 2034 would also work.  None of these motors have rubber tires as stock.  The frames are black steel, which doesn't detract as much from the prototypical appearance.

I have several MPC motors lying around.  The early MPC 0-4-0's and 2-4-0's used a similar motor/chassis to the 8304, however with no rubber tires.  Because I DON'T like rubber tires, I'm planning to steal the rear wheels and axle from a different MPC loco.  The boss/tapped hole for the driving rod screw is the same.

The end result should be an MPC 4-4-2 with postwar performance and reliability, no rubber tires, and all of its original valve gear.  I'm not the first one to have this idea.  I bought one like this on eBay a few years ago, but whoever performed the transplant surgery botched it.  It wobbled and eventually ate up its bearings.  I'm trying not to repeat his mistakes.  Thanks for your interest and advice!  -Ted