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So, after seeing this listed on EBay I made my mind up that I just had to own it. Something about the 'look' of it with its trailing wide-arm stance and the strange looking shell. And after a hefty bid, I became the new owner. The seller (Dennis) was initially reluctant to post it to me in the UK but was happy to respond to my pleadings! Lol!



Here's the original listing;
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Team-Associated-RC10-vintage-race-car-graphite-rare-Houge-trailing-arms-extras-/111093968187?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEWNX%3AIT&nma=true&si=ikuvX7xWwGxNsXy%252FUxT0RVv5EwM%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

After posting the buggy, Dennis sent me a photo of the buggy taken BITD when he raced. I didn't expect this;



He said the picture was taken in 1989 after the Trinity Sportsman Cup races
in Detroit. His name is Dennis Laferle. Maybe some of you know him?

He says he may drop by to the form in the next week or so!

He listed this info on the auction;

" This was my 4th generation race car as parked in 1990. Raced in the Detroit area it was always an A main car. It has the rare Houge trailing arm conversion, a setup found to be spectacular on off camber corners. It was raced in ROAR stock, hense the two weights flat on the chassis to make minimum weight. Full ball bearing, upgraded Houge steering is tight and responsive. The houge arms were coupled to Kyoshi shocks very low on the chassis. The from suspension is mostly stock RC10. We tried several combinations, but this balanced the best for jumping, flying level from most jumps. The wing helped level the flight too.

It comes with the electronics & radio I raced with. The receiver is a mini Novak, paired to a Novak NESC 4 Speed Control. The radio is a Futaba Magnum Jr. with modified trigger override (red button at thumb). Revers during a race was illegal, so when I ran a speed control with reverse, I adjusted so the trigger could not travel to reverse. Hit the red button, and instant reverse. The current speed control is forward only... but if you're familiar with the radio, you would ask "whats the red button for?"....

The speed control was mounted up in the airflow for cooling, and there is a Litespeed finned cooling motor mount. When leading a race in Chicago, a wire melted the solder on the motor... rolled quietly to a stop... never had the problem after installing the fins.

Also imcluded are a set of street tires, and a brand new body so you can paint your own.

There is an old moter in the car, but no batteries. I give no guarantee for the electronics, it was working when I parked it.... last race was 3rd place in a club race.

I raced for 6 years... started with a Tamiya Super Champ, modified it heavily... them switched to RC10's when a local Team Associated driver showed up at a club race and absolutely embarrassed us.... went thru several RC10's and this was my final race car "

What a great piece of history and I'm soooo happy to be the new owner. Can't wait for it to arrive!

More pics;







Think she'll definitely get a full resto, and the BNIP she'll will get a new paint job in my race colours!

Now that's how ya do a cab forward retro body. Parma Eagle?

Great piece of history there. Clean it but leave it as is, that's a great trophy

That is cool and I agree with Jeff. Clean it and leave it as is!

I must say too that I like how they cut the body so the fins for the ESC were sticking out ot catch air. Pretty cool looking buggy!

That's a cool find, vintage photo to go with it!

gomachv wrote:Now that's how ya do a cab forward retro body. Parma Eagle?

I think so, here's a side profile:

Nice score , even better with some history . I have two Houge cars , one shelfer and one to run . Looking forward to your plans and photo's .

The body looks like the new ones like bulldog etc. The cabin is very front.
Jerzi

Yep parma eagle and cab forward before its time.

Wow, that is a fantastic piece of history with some pretty cool features. My favorite? The cheese grater battery box.

This car is a prime example of everything cool about racing in the late 80's/early 90's and everything lacking from racing today. They tried things. They didn't just copy. No one would try that esc mounting position and cooling today unless some team driver did it first. No one would try short shocks like that in the back unless some team driver did it first. I may not agree with it or the mammoth wing but it's what they found to work with their driving style and that's what's so neat about it. It's the difference between innovation and imitation. I've never seen a Parma Eagle body cut like that before and I love it. Very cool.

I was also watching this auction and I have to say that it really sparked my interest. I loved these old cab forward shells from back in the 80's and to have the trailing arm suspension also is super neat. Great pick up mate.

fredswain wrote:This car is a prime example of everything cool about racing in the late 80's/early 90's and everything lacking from racing today. They tried things. They didn't just copy. No one would try that esc mounting position and cooling today unless some team driver did it first. No one would try short shocks like that in the back unless some team driver did it first. I may not agree with it or the mammoth wing but it's what they found to work with their driving style and that's what's so neat about it. It's the difference between innovation and imitation. I've never seen a Parma Eagle body cut like that before and I love it. Very cool.

There are definitely a lot of things about this buggy that people would probably scorn at today, but judging by the amount of trophies in the pictures, it certainly worked well for Dennis!

Many racers of today don't know the hurdles we faced back then. Batteries dumping before the end of a race, limited performance from the tech at the time, tyre compounds and the list goes on.
Racers that have been around a short while copy the next guy. It kinda peeves me when they expect the top guys at the track to hand over set ups etc... Back in the day this stuff was often closely kept secret by most. What ever happened to working it out for yourself?
As much of a marvel as the modern tech of today is I still hold fondly the memories of how it was done back in the 80's and 90's.

What rear wheels are those? I don't recognize them.

proline pan car rims