Muh new RS4MT

[Mwildmann]

Well...inebriated Ebaying strikes again! I'm not mad thought, been looking for a decent deal on one of these for a while now and although it does need a bit of attention, it's all there and in decent shape. Definitely needs tires (severely dry-rotted) and I'll probably pop for some new wheels. Body might stay, gotta lose some of the decals then I'll see what's up after it's cleaned up. Currently has a brushed motor that I don't recognize and a Sanwa ESC. Maybe a brushless upgrade. Shocks are leaking pretty bad so they'll get rebuilt for sure. Everything else looks nice, definitely not abused. No inner shell but I don't care.

If anyone has any recommendations or things I should be paying attention to, would love to hear it.

[Frankentruck]

CAM was a good motor maker.

[Mwildmann]

CAM was a good motor maker.

Never heard of it, good to know though. Maybe I'll throw a decent vintage Novak ESC at it and see what it'll do then.

[klavy69]

little late to the party but a mild brushless would be the max those belts will hold up to. Belts will slip and stretch under hot brushed setups but the rs4mt is a fun truck. Wish I would've paid attention the the drying up aftermarket parts on these when you could pick up stuff cheap. Mostly the hubs/c-hub/steering knuckles as that is the only things I've really broke on mine besides the normal wear and tear...

Todd

[Mwildmann]

little late to the party but a mild brushless would be the max those belts will hold up to. Belts will slip and stretch under hot brushed setups but the rs4mt is a fun truck. Wish I would've paid attention the the drying up aftermarket parts on these when you could pick up stuff cheap. Mostly the hubs/c-hub/steering knuckles as that is the only things I've really broke on mine besides the normal wear and tear...

Todd

I am just about done with the rebuild. Waiting on a set of upgraded shock caps to be installed on the upgraded shock front shock bodies that I already had in my stash. The originals won't seal anymore. They were revised with stronger threads than the originals. I did keep the CAM brushed motor that came with the truck when I bought it but replaced the rest of the electronics with a Hobbywing 60a ESC, knock-off Spektrum receiver (same one I use on all my R/Cs with my DX2L) and a cheapo digital servo from Amazon.

It scoots really nice and is so smooth. Have wanted an RS4MT since I was a kid so this definitely scratches that itch. I'll post up some pics and a list of the other upgrades I did while I was at it when it's done.

[klavy69]

They are definitely fun. My issue with HPI from back in the day was you didn't buy a front body mount if you broke it. You bought 7 dollars worth of parts sprue that you needed 1 part off from . At one time I had 7 sprees of front end parts all missing 1 item from. Lol.

They are definitely smooth and quiet...took some getting used to that as I was heavily into nitro at the time. Was a survivor for the most part until I got my first brushless parts lot. Pretty much a pile-o-parts after that. .

Todd

[Mwildmann]

OK, friends, the rebuild is complete. Thing runs awesome and I love it.

For tires I used Duratrax Speedhawk premounts. Really nice tire/wheel combo for the $. I also got a set of NOS HPI Super Radial tires that I mounted to the stock wheels after stripping the chrome and dying them black. I don’t really need them but they’ll be good to keep around for nostalgia’s sake.
During rebuild I replaced the bushings with a set of bearings from Fast Eddie. Perfect fit and complete including bearings for the steering bellcranks.
The factory turnbuckles got replaced with stainless steel ones from Esprit Tech. They are meant for planes but they are really nice and look like titanium. I used 3 pairs of 2.5” that all needed to be shortened about a quarter inch and also got a pair of 1-5/16” for use between the servo and the steering bellcrank. Dremel made quick work of the trimming. Replaced most of the ball cups too with NOS parts.

https://www.espritmodel.com/pushrod-turnbuckle-steel-secraft-440-2.aspx

They have aluminum turnbuckles also which I kinda want to try out. Maybe next build.

The rear belt was worn on the outside so it got replaced with one from Tough Racing. I know they’re quality is so-so but we’ll see. I think the old one got ground up a bit when debris got into the gearbox.

For the electronics I wanted something a tiny bit more modern than the Sanwa stuff that it came with probably originally from the 1990’s. I chose a cheap 25-oz. digital servo from Amazon, Hobbywing 60-amp brushed ESC and the same generic DSM receiver that I use in all my junk that works well with my DX2L.

The Cam Super Stock motor was retained after checking the brushes and oiling the bushings. I was going to give the comm some love but the end-bell wasn’t removable. I may replace it with one of the Trinity Speed Gems machine-wound mod motors in the future.
The front shock bodies and caps got replaced with NOS upgrade versions because the threads weren’t holding anymore, rears are still the stock units after rebuild.

Diffs got opened up and regreased, nothing more. Beyond all that, it was just taken apart, run through the ultrasonic cleaner and put back together.
Removed quite a few decals from the body, cleaned up the sticky smegma and then put a coat of silver paint on the inside to darken up the yellow a bit and make it more opaque.

D-U-N done!

[romulus22]

Nice rebuild. I always thought these trucks were cool. Well done.

[wunjee]

Freaking sweet!

I restored mine a couple of years back. Have had it since it was new. I still remember the old RC Car Action 2-page spread for this truck and it made me fall in love with it. At the time I was a broke kid and my parents weren't going to indulge me in expensive power setups so I was never able to get the most out of it.

Today, that's a different story! I still run it on brushed since those diff pullies are unique to this truck and absolutely unobtainium and I'd cry if I stripped one. But it's such a good-looking truck!

My RS4 MT and my RS4 Rally. Two cars that saw me through my teenage years.



Also you're running the same battery I am. I have so many of those. I love them for my vintage stuff!

[Mwildmann]

Freaking sweet!

I restored mine a couple of years back. Have had it since it was new. I still remember the old RC Car Action 2-page spread for this truck and it made me fall in love with it. At the time I was a broke kid and my parents weren't going to indulge me in expensive power setups so I was never able to get the most out of it.

Today, that's a different story! I still run it on brushed since those diff pullies are unique to this truck and absolutely unobtainium and I'd cry if I stripped one. But it's such a good-looking truck!

My RS4 MT and my RS4 Rally. Two cars that saw
Also you're running the same battery I am. I have so many of those. I love them for

Love it with those Trenchers! Looks awesome. I always wanted one as a kid too, can say the same for many models but could never afford it. Now that I have a little play money I've been slowly picking up some of them as I run across them on CL or Marketplace. Recently picked up an old Turbo Ultima and a Turbo Optima Mid. Will be getting them sorted out after the holidays.

Someone else on the Forum recommended those 6-cell NiCAD shaped lipos and I've been very pleased also. In hindsight I would have kept the factory battery trays/mounts in my RC10 Team Graphite buggy and RC10T2 truck had I known about those lipos earlier.