RC10 Graphite resto

[mk-Zero]

I picked this up on eBay a while ago, I was the only one to bid on it and I got it for pretty cheap. The chassis is pretty nice, but not perfect. My plan here is simple, clean it up and shelf it. Or I may unload it, I'm not much of a shelf queen kind of guy. Only things I may change are putting proper front shocks on (it's got .56 bodys), maybe a pair of vintage Ti turnbuckles, and maybe some better steering.


Here's what I looked like out of the box. Mostly just dirty, and with a few mis-matched screws. The chassis had been drilled for a Stealth, but not countersunk. I'll fix that

Disassembly down to the chassis. I still need to pull apart all the suspension and give everything a good cleaning.

Chassis cleaned up a bit. The scratches on the bottom are very light. I'm wondering if I can clearcoat and sand it to get rid of them???

The nose of the chassis has a little delamination and damage. I need to look into re-gluing the layers, any advice would be appreciated

[scr8p]

.56's are correct for that car.

For the chassis, CA glue and clamp it together.

[jwscab]

I've soaked carbon noses in cyanoacrylate, liquid with the slowest cure time i could find, then tightly clamped with flat stock, sandwiching some polyethylene plastic in between; nothing sticks to it, so it's an ideal surface, a ziplock bag for example. Then once it's dry clean up any external unwanted residue with acetone on a paper towel sparingly.

clear coat won't really stick well, I think the resin is a polyester base, so something like marine sealer or fiberglass resin might work. never tried it.

[mk-Zero]

.56's are correct for that car.

For the chassis, CA glue and clamp it together.

Shows you what I know

That's what I was thinking. I guess the trick is to be careful not to glue the clamp to the chassis

[mk-Zero]

I've soaked carbon noses in cyanoacrylate, liquid with the slowest cure time i could find, then tightly clamped with flat stock, sandwiching some polyethylene plastic in between; nothing sticks to it, so it's an ideal surface, a ziplock bag for example. Then once it's dry clean up any external unwanted residue with acetone on a paper towel sparingly.

clear coat won't really stick well, I think the resin is a polyester base, so something like marine sealer or fiberglass resin might work. never tried it.

thanks, great info!

[scr8p]

If it was originally a 6 gear, .56's are what it would have come with.

To be perfectly honest, just so it looked nicer, I would probably cut and 1/8" - 3/16" off the front edge of the chassis. Get rid of the bad stuff. Though I would try to fix it first to see how it turned out. It may work out just fine.

[mk-Zero]

If it was originally a 6 gear, .56's are what it would have come with.

To be perfectly honest, just so it looked nicer, I would probably cut and 1/8" - 3/16" off the front edge of the chassis. Get rid of the bad stuff. Though I would try to fix it first to see how it turned out. It may work out just fine.

Yes, it was a 6-gear car originally. Maybe I should put a 6-gear back in it? I suppose it doesn't matter one way or the other since I don't plan to run it.

I think I will try to fix the chassis first, if it comes out like crap I'll just trim it. I'm thinking if I try to fix it, even if it doesn't come out perfect, I'll have less to trim vs. trimming it without trying to fix it.

What would be appropriate steering for this car that's "period correct"? Would A&L have been available?

[scr8p]

A&L, Houge, RPS/Losi would work for bellcranks.

[GoMachV]

once its drilled for a stealth, no reason not to finish the job. Id do what Jason said- trim off a little of the front to get to the good stuff. Might look for a set of bottom load .71's (not easy to find) and put CE arms and a 4 hole CE tower on it to make it a later car to match the chassis being drilled

[jwscab]

the .71 bottom loads were just an option right? the bottom load shocks weren't in any kit. the .71's in the graphite car were the top-load?

[mk-Zero]

once its drilled for a stealth, no reason not to finish the job. Id do what Jason said- trim off a little of the front to get to the good stuff. Might look for a set of bottom load .71's (not easy to find) and put CE arms and a 4 hole CE tower on it to make it a later car to match the chassis being drilled

It's already got a 4-hole tower. Wouldn't the later Graphite car with a Stealth have come with gray/green shock bodies though?

[scr8p]

You can make it a team car with a 6 hole tower and top load team shocks. But then you'll have to find a gold motor guard. They didn't come with the 6gear graphite, but they did come with the team car.

[GoMachV]

the .71 bottom loads were just an option right? the bottom load shocks weren't in any kit. the .71's in the graphite car were the top-load?

the bottom load .71's were in the first gen CE kits with 4 hole tower, so I assumed the graphite cars got them too along with the 4 hole. Maybe i need to go look at the 25 year thread and verify

[mk-Zero]

You can make it a team car with a 6 hole tower and top load team shocks. But then you'll have to find a gold motor guard. They didn't come with the 6gear graphite, but they did come with the team car.

Bah, that's too much work. lol Think I'll stick to my original plan of mainly just cleaning it up and repairing the CF chassi. I'll probably throw the Technacraft turnbuckles I have and the A&L bellcranks I just ordered on it, clean it up, and call it a day.

[bluewormx]

You can make it a team car with a 6 hole tower and top load team shocks. But then you'll have to find a gold motor guard. They didn't come with the 6gear graphite, but they did come with the team car.

He's good, Graphite team car didn’t come with the motor gaurd either. The Graphite car came with .56 bottom load shocks.

As far as I can tell this car is a graphite car which has been upgraded with a stealth transmission.
Brian if you want to fill any holes on chassis black milliput epoxy works a treat, pretty much invisible on composite craft graphite chassis. I have not tried on weave style carbon yet.