Another Vintage Gold Pan in need of updates! Lots of pics

[RC104ever]

Hey everyone - so I've pulled my all original gold pan out of my basement recently and gotten hooked again on RC cars. Been trolling the forums here for awhile and finally registered so I can start asking lots of questions (which I hope aren't too repetitive from other guys).

I have a 1987 A stamp chassis which was essentially stock until just recently when I put some upgraded / newer parts on it from 3 ebay gold pan donor cars as well as misc. parts I bought. I have a vintage Futaba radio and servos with a Duratrax speed controller (I guess you guys call em ESC's), LOSI wheels and tires, stock 6 gear tranny and bearings throughout now. I upgraded the steering with some bearing units (I think they are RPM but not sure). I also upgraded the dog bones in the back and have a fresh new 1800 maH ni-MH battery and a different pinion and gear than stock, along with a 'race prep' Lightspeed brushed motor.

No idea how many teeth are on the new pinion and gear, nor do I know how many turns are on the motor (its a red label if that helps). I have a vintage stealth tranny on its way from ebay as an upgrade to the stock 6 gear unit as my understanding is that the stealth is more robust.

The car is faster than it ever was stock but now that I've taken it to another level, I am getting greedy and want even MORE SPEED!!!

SO...here is what I know I want to upgrade:

1. Radio - would like to have more range with a 2.4 gHz radio setup. Need recommendations and I want proof of a quality unit, ideally with some kind of comparison or other 3rd party literature that I can read.
2. Engine - from what I've read and seen on You Tube, brushless seems like the way to go. I've gathered that a lower number means more power, is that right? i.e. 10T is bigger than 13T (assuming gearing is the same)
3. ESC / Servos - again, I'd like to know what's good and would work best with #1 above.
4. Battery - If I understand correctly, LiPo is the way to go these days for the most power and longest lasting batteries. I would need a new charger for this so please let me know what works best, and how to identify the correct batteries for my needs.

What I can tell you is my gold pan runs flawlessly and that I now have a box full of spare parts (tires, shocks, pan etc) so I'm not shy about buying the necessary parts to keep this thing going. As much as I like the newer cars I just love my gold pan and can't leave it. I did also buy a mint one with a new body so I can build a shelf queen eventually

Thanks in advance for any replies!

[RC104ever]

Okay...finally took pics of all the stuff I have! Here it is, all 23 pics:

My mostly original RC10


Original box


Edinger Edition!


Stealth Tranny - can anyone tell me what is needed to install it?


NO idea what this is for - its too big for my RC10, but the gold aluminum seems like it has to be some kind of vintage Associated vehicle:


Tire collection - some OEM


Current steering servo - Futaba FP-140 I think is what that says


Futaba 75 mHz AM receiver


Duratrax Blast! speed controller


Lightspeed Race Prep motor. Anyone know how many turns this motor might have?


Stock 6 gear tranny with bearings


Magnum Jr Radio


New body and wing for shelf queen project


Minty shelf queen project


OEM instructions!


Trinity 'Monster Horsepower' brushed motor - anyone know the specs on this thing?


Spare bodies, shocks, tranmissions and bag of other parts, some brand new


Tekin speed controller - is this thing any good / better than what I have? Assuming it works of course (ebay purchase came with a car)


Hitec servo - would this be better than my Futaba (assuming it works)?


Hitec speed controller - is this any good / better than what I have? Again, assuming it works


Hitec 75 mHz receiver - I'm guessing this would be equivalent to my Futaba and I wouldn't gain or lose anything since they are both AM receivers


An almost complete rolling chassis. Just need to put electronics in it and get a battery, body and radio


Original speed controller and servo


SO...now that you can see what I have, do you have suggestions on what to upgrade?

[THEYTOOKMYTHUMB]

Well I can say one thing: you have a great start on some vintage stuff there. I'm curious myself on that tranny in pic 5. Looks like a mid-motor conversion of some type. My only recommendation is that you do your homework and don't spend too much on upgrading. It will leave a bad taste in your mouth and turn you right back off the hobby. I would personally start with lipo and lipo ready charger, then 2.4 radio and then brushless. If you try to do all at once you'll risk going into sticker shock and you may not recover. I hate to say it, but I would look into HobbyKing or HobbyPartz stuff unless you plan to do some deadly serious racing. Very cool collection. I still use a Magnum Jr with a couple of cars and it still works great. My personal favorite radio of all time. The Trinity Monster Horsepower black and silver label is the single coolest r/c symbol in history.IMHO I will never part with the one I have...

When upgrading to a 2.4 radio consider a Losi or Traxxas RTR. They come with the radio and a fun car as a bonus.

[murphy3428]

The white trans with gold parts go to the traxxas bullet. Welcome to the forum

[THEYTOOKMYTHUMB]

The white trans with gold parts go to the traxxas bullet.

Noooo, I'm pretty sure it's a mid-motor conversion of some sort.......

Who are you to second-guess my wisdom??

My ignorance has no bounds.

[RC104ever]

The white trans with gold parts go to the traxxas bullet. Welcome to the forum

Traxxas Bullet eh? Interesting. It's weird because I thought the gold aluminum and the length meant it was something like an RC 10T or something. Can you guys suggest specific brands and specs for lipo, esc, brushless etc? I am ready to to drain my account!

[Kayne]

Hey,nice lot of stuff you scored. The stealth will bolt right into "B", or "C" stamped tub. You will need to drill an "A" stamp to make it work. That other transmission I am pretty sure it is a traxxas. Radios in 2.4 ghz. If you want to spend money I would go spektrum or you can pick up a flysky GT3b at hobbypartz.com for about 35 bux and the receivers are around seven. I picked up the flysky and it works great. Good luck with the projects and again welcome to the most awesome forum on the web.

[RC104ever]

Thanks! I guess I will have to drill my A pan chassis or find a B stamp one

[RedScampi]

Bullet:

[RC104ever]

Cool! I've never seen a Traxxas bullet before, thanks for the pic. Looks like a copy of the RC10

[BigPun76]

I'm sure the white transmission is Traxxas. The rear arms look like they're off of a Sledgehammer. It originally came with 2 shocks per wheel and those arms look like they have provisions for dual shocks. The smaller gear should be the counter gear for that transmission; the pinion should mesh with that gear which in turn meshes with the one sticking out of the tranny. I'm pretty sure the large spur doesn't belong to that transmission. It looks more like a 10T/10GT (?) spur maybe...?

EDIT: Not a Sledgehammer motor plate; probably a buggy tranny such as out of a Bullet...

[RC104ever]

Hey thanks guys - I am selling the Traxxas unit in case any of you are interested

Seriously though - do any of you know if that Trinity motor is any good? Number of turns on it vs. stock?

Are the Hitec servos better than / newer than the Futaba ones I have?

What about the ESC - should I keep the Duratrax one, or am I limiting myself and I should just swap it with the Tekin one I have or go get a new one?

Sorry for all the questions!

[allaircooled]

May I make a suggestion and don't drill holes in your chassis for a stealth. Find one that was already drilled. Tons of those around to be found, try to find non-drilled ones is a little more difficult at least in my searches.

[knucklebuster]

Nice collection. The first pic of the s148 and linkage made me LOL. As a child I always reached first for the pliers.

I can here Papa now... "a monkey wrench is for monkeys!"

[RC104ever]

Well I now have a Castle Mamba Max Pro as the Duratrax ESC died (probably burned out but I didn't check) and a brushless 4600kv motor. Now I just need better wheels, tires and a radio. I also bought some thicker silicone shock oil. Slowly its getting updated!