RC10Talk - The Net's Largest Vintage R/C Community

Hey, I knew it was a shot in the dark to check the LHS for some stuff to convert the front end of my gold pan to RC10 B4 stuff to use modern front wheels. I got the buggy complete except the front wheels are really wide rear wheels. I only had to pickup a eBay motor to get it running, but I want to use it like a buggy instead of a poorly setup truck.

Only thing I found on the shelf were B4 rims, and the B4 steering arms.

I guess it's off to Tower Hobbies and I'll keep hawking ebay for a set of front wheels..

Sorry to hear about your local hobby shop. I gave up on the LHS, The shop in my area just wants to sell me a Traxxas SC truck, they have no interest in helping unless its to put money in their pockets. The bad part about, I thought about getting an SC truck and racing at a track down the road, So one day i went to the track to see what it was about and got ignored by the shop owner and most of the people running SC trucks, I guess ill have to get a truck and plaster it with an online shop logos just so they know i did not get anything from them lol.

Ebay can be your friend if your patient

My shop sucks also. They have 95% Trax"ass" stuff also. Funny thing is, our local track is not afilliated with the shop and I don't think there is one Traxxas vehicle there. You would think the shop might stop by once in a while and see what people are driving. Dumb asses.

My LHS doesn't really have any gold pan parts but is always happy to order stuff for me and help me with whatever I need.

Oh the LHS offered nicely to order stuff for me.... uhh, .. no thanks. I KNOW I can order on my own already, I was trying to buy local if possible.

They have a big inventory, but it seems to be for road cars and the new stuff, etc... which I understand.

I have bought some stuff for my Stampede XL there, but I had to fathom the way they put "sheets of sliding wood panels" of parts on the wall based on part numbers for each manufacturer.

It's 40 minutes away, so I don't think I will be going back anytime soon since I have to have all my part numbers on hand or talk with the young kid and wait while he checks with someone else to say "we don't have it, but I can order it".....

They are online, but don't have what they advertise in stock.

It's easier to order it online.

My LHS has some good employees, who understand what the business is like there now, but the nature of the business dictates what they stock, which is Traxxas, Losi mini stuff (1/18th scale oval is big on their carpet track) and parts for whatever other RTRs they have in stock lately. That's just the way it is; they can't stock everything, and they know some stuff will just sit there for years sometimes.

Having them order something is really counterproductive; a trip across town, have them order it, they order it from the same place I would (Horizon or Tower, sometimes the manufacturer, otherwise they say they can't get it), they might get it a day or two earlier than me, but will mark it up to cover their costs (understandable), and then charge 8.5% sales tax on top of that, plus the drive back across town to pick it up.

A few weeks ago I didn't want to be tempted to order too much from Tower a few weeks ago, and couldn't find one of the $10 off a $50 order coupons, so I had them order some HPI tire inserts. Their modest markup plus sales tax was only slightly cheaper than the inserts and Tower's discount Parts Express shipping. And of course this doesn't include all the sellers on eBay that are parting out RTRs and other kits.

Hmm, when my LHS orders parts it is usually just about the same price as everywhere else online. Plus I don't have to pay shipping which would usually be a lot more than tax is.

It seems like this is the case in quite a few areas of the country. I too was at both of my LHS in the last few weeks, the big one (HobbyTown) just doesn't care unless its Traxxas and you act like you know nothing about RC so they can keep "suggesting" additional items. And yes, they are always willing to order but that defeats the purpose of going to the place in the first place. Additionally, the guy insulted me by saying that they don't carry much Associated because nobody buys it anymore. I looked at him and said I've come here to buy Associated the last 10 times I've been here, and I can't because you don't carry the parts (that are still in production) that I need and I don't appreciate being called a nobody, I'd like to be called a customer. I ended up buying their only pack of shock o-rings and left. I went to the other shop the other day, and was talking to the owner. I don't know exactly how the distribution lines in RC work but he said that he's having a harder time getting parts from Associated than he used to. I'm glad ebay exists for us to track down stuff that's getting harder to find. One of his employees told me that he has boxes stashed away of really old product that he won't let them go through, stuff from the '80's and older. Don't know what he plans to do with it.

The privately owned LHS is great. I get to dig through old boxes that he has if I find a new project and I've grabbed a couple gems off him too.

When they 'order' parts for me, I pay the same prices that I can get at Tower, no shipping charge and here in NH there is no sales tax. I often call on Mondays when they are closed but the owner is there doing paperwork and he'll open the door for me. I've been going there for about 5 years now and once I became a regular customer I got 10% off parts and decent deals on trucks and planes.

There is a HobbyTown near here, but I wouldn't even call that a LHS. I have bought a few items during crunch times as it's 15 minutes closer and open 7 days a week, but I enjoy supporting my LHS. It's a great place!

I've been to different shops, it all depends on where you are. The one I go to all the time like to carry a bit of everything but carries pretty much everything everyone is buying. They have a huge wall of AE, XRAY, Traxxas, some Kyosho, a good bit of Losi (mostly the 1/8 stuff b/c it's so popular) and pretty much all the tires that work on tracks within so far. I just like it because they have a great selection and actually know their stuff.

It seems sad that so many shops only focus on selling Traxxas and pushing parts. I like that my shop is happy to take a long time to explain something even for a few dollars worth of parts and don't push extra stuff.

Give me a pm and i can check around my lhs for parts for you.

Ebay Score... decent prices. I'd still pickup B4 stuff if I found it cheap.
This was a bit cheaper since I don't have to mod anything.

Picked up a set of front and rear rims, OEM size, chromed plastic...good rubber


Modified/cut to use as rears, I think I can fix when I repaint chrome....good rubber


Rears with worn tires


And I did pick up a gear cover... no cracks