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I'm fairly new to restoring vintage RCs. I have an early RC10T that's a reasonably clean runner, an RC10GT I converted to electric, and a handful of other, less vintage stuff. I just picked up what I thought was an RC10 B2, but it turned out to be a B3. Well, more of a B2.5, because it was a mixture of parts. It's actually a pretty clean little buggy, with some neat Factory parts, some titanium, and a small bag of spare parts. I got a pretty good deal on it, with the intention of restoring it and having it be my first shelf queen. When I discovered that it was a bastardized B2/B3 hybrid, I've kind of shifted gears a bit. Is a B3 worth restoring? Parts are not impossible to find yet, so I'm thinking it might be a good time to restore it before the supply dries up. On the other hand, it's hard to resist buying some more cool period hop ups and going all out with it. I'm not terribly well-versed in the subtle changes over the years, but have come to the conclusion that the long chassis is for the T3, but what is the short chassis for, and how do I know which one I have? Also, vintage electronics... I think most of the stuff I have would be too early for the B3, and am trying to learn more about era appropriate electronics for the car. It has an LRP Runner ESC and a Trinity P2K copper motor, but don't know the condition yet. Part of me wants to convert to brushless and modern transmitter/receiver stuff, but part of me wants to keep it all kind of period correct. Having just gotten in to tee the hobby over the last few years, I wasn't around to remember what was "the hot setup" 15+ years ago. I know that asking for recommendations is a broad question, like asking what everyone's favorite color is, but just a bit of information or direction would be greatly appreciated.

If you don't plan on running the car, it makes sense to make it a nice shelfer. If you can add a bunch of hop ups that is even better, as a stock b3 there really isn't anything out of the ordinary.

On the other hand, there are parts still around. If you plan on running it, brushless and lipo make it so nice to just drive and not worry about motor maintenance and crappy batteries.

you can convert it back to a b2 or b3 pretty readily, only one or two parts are really hard to find as b2 and are really just a cosmetic change, they don't change the function.

the t3 chassis is obviously for the truck. There was a standard chassis and a short chassis, which I think was designed for tight technical tracks that helped the car rotate. there are no markings on the chassis I don't think to let you know which is which.

CrazyRC wrote: ↑Wed Jul 21, 2021 2:17 am Is a B3 worth restoring?

This hobby is nearly the same as restoring vintage full size cars. It's only worth it if you enjoy it. For every dollar you put into a restoration you can get a dime out. So if reading though old magazines and chasing down parts on ebay is a fun time go the vintage electronic route. If you want a fun driver get a brushless motor, speed controller and battery. If you want to shelf it, just fix up what you have real nice. It doesn't even really need electronics. Just stripping down a car and rebuilding it is kinda zen.

JosephS wrote: ↑Wed Jul 21, 2021 2:52 pm

CrazyRC wrote: ↑Wed Jul 21, 2021 2:17 am Is a B3 worth restoring?

This hobby is nearly the same as restoring vintage full size cars. It's only worth it if you enjoy it.

Truer words have never been spoken. I restore full size cars. I'm just finishing up a 1984 Rabbit GTI, which was particularly difficult because it's in the purgatory of old cars... not old enough to have a large reproduction parts market, but also too old to get most of the stuff new. It was definitely a labor of love. When it's done, though, I'll be sticking to older domestic stuff I think.

CrazyRC wrote: ↑Wed Jul 21, 2021 3:53 pm

JosephS wrote: ↑Wed Jul 21, 2021 2:52 pm

CrazyRC wrote: ↑Wed Jul 21, 2021 2:17 am Is a B3 worth restoring?

This hobby is nearly the same as restoring vintage full size cars. It's only worth it if you enjoy it.

Truer words have never been spoken. I restore full size cars. I'm just finishing up a 1984 Rabbit GTI, which was particularly difficult because it's in the purgatory of old cars... not old enough to have a large reproduction parts market, but also too old to get most of the stuff new. It was definitely a labor of love. When it's done, though, I'll be sticking to older domestic stuff I think.

That sounds like a fun and challenging project.
You should post up some pics