So I hopped on the 'bay, and found a decent little 10T to build up. It started life here like this after the $31 purchase and $15 shipping (eBay seller pic):

Filthy, poorly maintained, but solid and with stealth. Nearly a complete roller.
Tore it completely down and scrubbed, rebuilt shocks, went through the trans and regreased. It was a bushing truck, but I had enough left over used bearings on hand from other projects to make it full bearing at no cost. Also had a good set of front wheels and tires lying around, in addition to miscellaneous hardware. The rear wheels that came with it were crap, but the Proline Bowties are in really good shape. The chassis is straight, nothing stripped, spur in good shape. It already had RPM front arms, still in search of white rears.
I have yet to identify the steering blocks & front axles that were on it, but they weren't right, so that got fixed with brand new parts. Gave the brushed stuff to a friend in need, wasn't ever gonna use those bits.
The build list:
-Used Hobbywing SC10 brushless ESC & Hobbywing 10T motor: $50 on Craigslist.
-Used 3/16" universal axles: $13
-Used Lundsford Ti turnbuckles: $12
-RPM ball cups: $5
-New steering blocks, inline axles, servo mounts & battery cups: $15
-New GT2 rear wheels: $6
-New XP DS1903MG Servo: $8
-FS GR3C Receiver: $7
-New front mini bumper: $2
-New Vant 8,000 mAh 40C 2S LiPo: $46
Total build cost, including battery, including all shipping: $210




She did pretty good at the track yesterday. Very hard packed clay, would have been better with Proline calibers or J Concepts Bar Codes, but overall I'm very pleased with the performance.