Yet another RC10T Resurrection...

[SixDeuces]

Sometime in late '91 or early '92 I decided it was time to upgrade from my kick-ass (but far too fragile) Tamiya Blackfoot. I was 14 at the time, and I'd been drooling over the Team Trucks that had just hit the scene. My Dad told me that if I could save enough money for the kit, he'd buy the radio.

A few months and a lot of grass clippings later, I had my kit. As was customary at the time, I had dyed my kit neon pink, with a purple and pink body to match. (Seemed like a good idea at the time... ) Thankfully, I later re-dyed it black.

The local racers were running an indoor carpet track during the winter, and we decided to give it a go. I was young, my electronics sucked, and I got my butt kicked. Funny thing was, I had a total blast. We raced for a few seasons... indoor carpet in the winter, dirt circle track in the summer. Losing, losing and losing, but having fun, fun, fun. Things got better as time went on. I got better equipment and I managed to bring home a few 3rd places here and there. That ain't bad considering I was up against guys in their mid 30s and 40s with thousands invested.

I ended up with a graphite chassis, titanium 'buckles and bones, lots of RPM upgrades, a Tekin 411G, and some custom parts for flavor.

After its racing career ended, the truck was just used as a basher for a while. Eventually, a locking nut got cross threaded on a front axle, and I couldn't get the wheel off. The truck got shelved.

Fast forward almost two decades...

My Mother insisted I clean my junk out of her basement. Amongst the wreckage, I find my beloved RC10T! It'd been rotting on a shelf in the back room of the basement, right next to the kitty litter boxes. No joke.







I decided right then and there that this thing deserved better. A quick check online revealed that most of the parts are still available. All systems go!

I've seen a lot of these threads where someone dumps $300 to replace every nut and bolt. I don't want to replace anything that isn't totally destroyed. If I did, it wouldn't be my old truck anymore! So, anything that can be used will be used... right down to the hardware. The plan is for a resurrection of the car as it sits. That means stripping it completely down, refurbishing every part, replacing what is broken or worn beyond repair, then reassembling it all into a working vintage racer I can be proud of.

I will splurge for a fresh body and batteries, but that's it.

Luckily for my truck, during its time in hibernation I got big into full size hot rods and R/C planes. So, I have a shop full of tools to make my life easier. The blasting cabinet will come in especially handy.

Lets get started!

[SixDeuces]

Step 1: Tear-down

My Futaba Magnum Jr. radio is long gone, as are my battery packs. One dogbone is missing... but may be around somewhere. Everything else is accounted for.

I got the whole truck disassembled in a single night.

The wheel bearings are shot... totally destroyed by rust and grime. The bearings in the transmission, however, are in very nice shape.

Most of the hardware is ok. A few bolts are bent, and one or two are stripped. Those will be replaced.

Don't worry, I know how it all goes back together!

[SixDeuces]

This thread is going to get long, so as I add posts, I will list them here for quick reference.

Chassis Plate Refinishing
http://www.rc10talk.com/viewtopic.php?p=136545#p136545

[SixDeuces]

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[SixDeuces]

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[RedScampi]

Nice project and great story... Who are you holding a place for?

[SixDeuces]

On a build thread I like to keep all the info at the beginning... Makes it easy for folks to find it in the future without digging through the whole thread.

It should be a fun project. I'm going to detail the process for all of the refinishing of the parts.

I'm gonna keep the brushed setup... but I'd like to ditch the old stock motor and go with a nice hot mod motor. Can anyone recommend a setup here? That ESC will take anything I can throw at it, but I'm hesitant to go too low on the turns because you give up torque. A truck needs low end grunt!

[treehugger]

nice truck a good stip down and clean keep the body and you got a nice ride i have a few odd dog bones you can have but i would put CVDS it would do that nice T justice

Paul

[slotcarrod]

Cool, but I say, clean it up fix what's broken and keep the original body on it! It's your car you ran as a kid, be proud of that body! I love it! I wish I still had some of the things I had as a kid! Hurricanes suck for that!

[Charlie don't surf]

When the hell did hurricanes start going all the way to Calgary?


And before you paint that puppy, Unidirectional carbon takes very well to wet sanding to feather out imperfections, now that chassis is less than perfect-but wet sanding starting at 600 and finishing with 1000 to 2500 grit will make it shine

[treehugger]

When the hell did hurricanes start going all the way to Calgary?


And before you paint that puppy, Unidirectional carbon takes very well to wet sanding to feather out imperfections, now that chassis is less than perfect-but wet sanding starting at 600 and finishing with 1000 to 2500 grit will make it shine

what about CF with weave will that sand the same Reg?

[Charlie don't surf]

No, the resin pools in between the high and low points of the woven fabric, so when you sand you get very shiny parts ( the high spots in the fabric) and duller spots in the low points ( just resin)
where the uni has all the fibers tightly packed together and oriented in the same direction, so when you sand you are sanding into the fibers.

[PBR Allstar]

as far as a motor with a bit more zip without the trouble of a big motor (more diff servicing, parts wear, etc.) I would suggest a 19T, the trinity komodo dragon is probably the best one out there in my opionion. I would put some cvd's in it and lose the bones. I wouldn't feel too bad about that move either as far as changing it from how it was back in the day. With CVD's you can get the ones made for the associated GT which will have the 3/16" axles which will allow you to run all the modern wheels. You'll also have to change the rear bearings to a 3/8" x 3/16" (same as the front wheels)

here are a couple links that anyone doing a restoration should have!

http://avidrc.com/ all the bearings you could ever need at a dollar each! great service to boot!

http://www.fastener-express.com/ all the hardware you could ever need, in any color you want, much cheaper than anywhere else.

[burnsmonkey]

as far as a motor with a bit more zip without the trouble of a big motor (more diff servicing, parts wear, etc.) I would suggest a 19T, the trinity komodo dragon is probably the best one out there in my opionion. I would put some cvd's in it and lose the bones. I wouldn't feel too bad about that move either as far as changing it from how it was back in the day. With CVD's you can get the ones made for the associated GT which will have the 3/16" axles which will allow you to run all the modern wheels. You'll also have to change the rear bearings to a 3/8" x 3/16" (same as the front wheels)

here are a couple links that anyone doing a restoration should have!

http://avidrc.com/ all the bearings you could ever need at a dollar each! great service to boot!

http://www.fastener-express.com/ all the hardware you could ever need, in any color you want, much cheaper than anywhere else.

Do the bearings have to be flanged? I forgot.

[SixDeuces]

As I kid I actually had the foresight to know my chassis plate would get hammered. I had covered the bottom surface with what appears to be clear packing tape. By now it was a total mess, so I scraped the remnants off with a razor blade. I then removed the remaining residue from both sides with carburetor cleaner. The result is a surprisingly clean chassis. Compare to the "barn fresh" photos above.

I'm debating on hitting the bottom with some filler and matte black paint to make it more aesthetically pleasing. We'll see.