New guy, Old RC10... You know the story.

[FunkyStickman]

So I ended up pulling my RC10 out of storage at the prodding of my co-workers, and decided to do what it needed to get it running again. My son is 11, just about the right age to get into it, and I figured, what the heck?

First, I'm going to thank everybody here in advance for helping with parts. These cars are NOT easy to find parts for! That is, until I looked here. Eternal thanks!

So here's what I've got. It's an original gold pan, 6-gear, short-arm car (you can see it still has the 0.5" shocks) but over the years, I upgraded it as I could.

This is what it looked like when I pulled it out:

Currently has these upgrades:
Black Stealth Pan/nose/motor plate (pan countersunk for the 6-gear)
17-turn double mod motor
Worlds front arms
MIP Ball bearing steering
In-line front aluminum axles and carriers
Was originally a bushing car, upgraded it to BB 20+ years ago
Novak 410 ESC
Traxxas TRX-1 front wheels (with flanged bearing adapters)
Worlds/CE rear wheels?

Original kidney wheels, short arms, and gold pan are long gone. I've gotten some 7-cell NiMH packs and a new 2.4 Ghz radio to get it running, and here's what it does with the stock gearing:
[youtube]fc5rFPRVvK0[/youtube]

Since this, I've busted it up a little... got a few bits and pieces coming in the mail. The 7-cell packs trashed the tranny's original idler gears, so I just installed a new 6614 gear set in it.

Plans for it? Well... not going to race it. I'll get a B4 for that. Still, I'd like to make it robust, and with the knowledge here, I should be able to keep it running a bit longer. Probably going to clean it up and convert it to the .89 front shocks and worlds tower, and get some new shocks all around. New wheels/tires (either JC Racing, or convert some B4 wheels). I'm not planning on replacing the 1/4" rear axles and carriers just yet.

Do I go with a WOIN build? Or restore it back to stock? I'm leaning towards OIN.

So... yeah. Welcome to the madness!

[RC10resto]

motor plate (I had to drill it for the 6-gear)

That's a new one

[FunkyStickman]

motor plate (I had to drill it for the 6-gear)

That's a new one

I meant, I got all new black pan/nose/motor plate, and I had to drill the pan.

[RC10resto]

but...................you still should not have had to drill anything
maybe counter sink the 6 gear holes

[FunkyStickman]

but...................you still should not have had to drill anything
maybe counter sink the 6 gear holes

Correct. This was 20 years ago... my memory is somewhat foggy!

[justinspeed79]

Welcome aboard funkystickman.

[slotcarrod]

Welcome dude! Looks quick for a 17d! You have a body and wing for it right?

[FunkyStickman]

Welcome dude! Looks quick for a 17d! You have a body and wing for it right?

I bought a cheap VW bug body for it, but I'll be honest... after reading through the WOIN thread, I'm seriously thinking about getting an original buggy body for it. I mean, it is a race car, right?

I'm thinking if I turn it into a backyard basher, it's going to get, well, bashed. Maybe I should get a cheap RTR buggy for bashing, and get this thing in racing form? But the nearest track is an hour away, and I'd have very little chance against the newer all-plastic buggies running lipo. I guess I could put the money into making it racer-worthy, but really, I just don't know if it's worth putting money into.

I could always build a track in my back yard!

[JK Racing]

But the nearest track is an hour away, and I'd have very little chance against the newer all-plastic buggies running lipo.

Our '10s can hang with the plastic fantastic cars

Here is the discussion on setting them up for racing against modern cars.

http://www.rc10talk.com/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=27135

[FunkyStickman]

Our of '10s can hang with the plastic fantastic cars

If you say so, I'll believe it, but I've got a ways to go before I get there. The car could handle it, I think, but I'm not wanting to put tons of money into making it competitive. I think converting it to use the CE/worlds front shocks would be beneficial, but everything else is pretty much fine as it is.

So I guess I'll need a CE front shock tower. Some .89 shocks, and might as well get matching for the rear. Would I need 1.32's if I have the original rear arms, or would that be overkill? Of course, new wheels and tires, and probably a newer servo. I think the 17D motor would work fine, but local rules for mod buggy are 6-cell, I believe. Maybe 2S Lipo would give me similar speed with less weight, which would be win-win. That would require me getting either a new ESC or a Lipo lo-v cutoff.

Ugh... racing is expensive! Any ideas?

[JK Racing]

The CE front tower uses a .71 shock, you would need a specialty tower (RCCarbonWorks.com) for the .89 shocks. Your rear shocks are fine, they are 1.32s already.

Lipo will actually (in my opinion) make your car faster than a 7 cell.

I am on the fence about lipo cut off, if you are only using the lipo for racing, you should never get to the point where you need a cut off. If you use the battery for a long extended bash/practice session, yes, you need a cut off.

The biggest expense you are going to have is batteries/charger, followed by wheels/tires. Those 4 things are a must to get the RC10 into race ready trim. The other items are nice to haves (the servo will be the top of that list) but not needs. You can use the current .56 shocks and original tower, not optimal, but gets you around the track reasonably.

Search around in RC10 Tech area (on this forum), there are lots of good (cheap) ideas on getting the car up to race standards (as well as some all out no expense spared machines too).

[FunkyStickman]

The CE front tower uses a .71 shock, you would need a specialty tower (RCCarbonWorks.com) for the .89 shocks. Your rear shocks are fine, they are 1.32s already.

Sweet. Just need to rebuild them then.

Lipo will actually (in my opinion) make your car faster than a 7 cell.

I'm hoping so. I've already got a charger that does Lipo, so just need a pack or two.

If you use the battery for a long extended bash/practice session, yes, you need a cut off.

Probably will, then. Cheap insurance.

The biggest expense you are going to have is batteries/charger, followed by wheels/tires.

Well, I guess all I'll need really is wheels/tires and a lipo pack, so that's good.

Search around in RC10 Tech area (on this forum), there are lots of good (cheap) ideas on getting the car up to race standards (as well as some all out no expense spared machines too).

Will do!

[FunkyStickman]

Okay, mucho thanks-o for the link to the carbon shock towers! Would this kit use the .71, or.89 shocks?

http://rccarbonworks.com/store/index.php?route=product/product&path=20_36&product_id=77

Definitely feeling it... carbon pan is nice! But I don't think I'll need it just yet.

[JK Racing]

This would be the front tower you need for .71 or .89 shocks: http://rccarbonworks.com/store/index.php?route=product/product&path=20_36&product_id=104

Here is that tower next to a standard CE tower (and the one in your other link is standard sized).



Personally, I like the lipos here: Brushlesshobbies.com , I have 2 of the shorty packs, they are awesome. There are better deals out there, just look around.

[JK Racing]

RC10 and TRX 3 whooping up on the plastic cars

[youtube]1LtSbm7eHbM[/youtube]