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

First off, this is my first post. I've been lurking for a while, but I finally felt it was time to participate. I'm a long time RCer. I got my first (real) car in the mid 90's. I've been at it off and on ever since. My history of cars from first to last is RC10T, RC10, HPI RS4 Rally, HPI Micro RS4, HPI MT218SS, and AE RC10T3.

Back Story: A long time friend bought a RC10 way back in the day and raced it a little, then put it on a shelf where it sat for 20 years. Lately I've been bugging him about doing something with it. Every once in a while I'd send him links to restorations on Ebay which got him thinking about selling his. Last time I was at his house, he gave it to me and told me I should try and sell it if I think it could get good money. So I brought it back to my place and begun the tear down.

So here I am, researching and resourcing parts and I just can't bring myself to sell it when its done. I know this kind of talk is fighin' words on here, but don't worry, this situation gets better.

I've decided that I'd really like to get this this restored looking like new and give it back to him. He has a lot of display cases, so it would be perfect. But here's the predicament, do I make a shelf queen or something to have fun with? I know he'd be happy either way. Sourcing tires and re anodizing the chassis are the main things that would prevent me from a full restoration just to play with it.

Should I put new electronics in it and new wheels and tires? Or should I put it back to original fresh built condition with original electronics?

I'm curious if there are any collectors on here that can provide parts like tires. Any go-to people for things, or is ebay the only place for parts?

Thanks for the help!

To solve your predicament, restore you the one you got, shelf it, then buy a runner/beater and have fun with it. Restoring one takes time so you have to have one that you can use while you wait for parts to turn up. And yes, ebay and the forums are really the only place for finding parts. If you have a local hobby shop around your area that has been around awhile they may still have some stuff still hanging on the peg board.

Also, depending on your definition of restored, the costs could be very high. For example, original tires are very hard to come by - but if you just want to substitute originals with something new that fits, that will be much easier (and cheaper)

For example, you can fit Tamiya tires onto your existing wheels. But for a shelfer, you have to go the ebay route or try here and get what you get.

For wheels, you can use existing or buy new ones from JC Racing in the UK (they make direct fit ones) and then fit 2.2" rubber for any modern buggy. Or you can swap out the old axles and arms and go with a B4 type setup in the back.

The possibilities really are endless.

I have found that there is a lot of wealth in knowledge on this forum. I have been able to track down parts for my rebuild/rehab on ebay, other online shops as directed by those here, and my local hobby shop and even some locals.

Restoring something back to original was not really my intention as I felt that I want to play with it, thus, I am modernizing it. There are some good threads to review regarding the modernizing approach.

Ask questions along the way, if you can't seem to find the answers during your search or research.

Enjoy!

mdutcher, What do you do about broken parts? It doesnt have any yet, but if I made it something to actually use, I don't want to be a car to pussyfoot around with.

AndrewSi, I wish I had an old hobby shop around here. My hobby shop is so small that I really have to just order everything unless I want Traxxas.

We need to all call AE and tell them we want them to bring back the RC10. I know I'd buy one. I think every old RC10 owner would.

You can find pretty much any part to rebuild the car through ebay, online hobby shops(tower) and sale forums(like on this site, though you need to be granted access). Many parts are available new, or have newer replacements from B4 or other modern cars.

if you are interested in running the car, most of the breakable parts are easily found, especially if you are not concerned about 'period correct' since many newer parts are black plastic rather than the white nylon of the original.

the one part that is usually in high demand due to breakage is the rear arm mounts. Other items like arms, shock towers, ball links, etc are all reasonably easy to source.