Carbonfiber T3 RTR

[JosephS]

I had initially planned on rehabbing a pretty shabby T3 into something nice. However I had an ebay seller agree to sell me a very nice condition T3 RTR.

It was in excellent condition except for the electronics. It came with an lrp runner and a Novak super rooster with cut wires. I taped the wires together and everything ran. It looks like all it needs is some soldering.

I managed to make a reasonable quality carbon fiber chassis. in this thread It needs clear coat but otherwise seems ready to use.

The truck on it's own is in such nice condition . I think I'm going to leave mostly as is. I'm going to replace the bushings with 3/8" bearings and rebuild the shocks.

I picked up some rpm rear arms mounts, gear cover, associated factory team shocks and a Robinson racing t3 lightened slipper for the other build.Everything looks so good on the truck as is I'll have to see if there is even a reason to replace anything on this build.

[JosephS]

I got a couple of coats of clear on the chassis and it looks fantastic.

All of the parts bolt up and the counter sinks have been added.

As well the Eastwood 2k clear is really amazing. I’m using the can I had leftover from last year and it still works.


The rear mount is a temp piece so that I don’t damage the real one.

I have to wait for all the epoxy to cure.

[JosephS]

My projects would go a lot faster if I didn’t try to make custom parts for each one.

The chassis was together well enough to build the front end and start on the rear.

I kept it stock except for, rpm front bumper,rpm rear arm mounts, xpeede dust covers and fastener express screws.

I had one of the fastener express screws cam out on the head and it is the second time I haven’t been able to remove one of their fasteners.

I was very happy to see the b4/t4 rpm bumper slots right on to the b3.

I think I will replace the dog bones with cvd’s since I have a set.

[JosephS]

I got to working on the transmission.

The slipper cover is polished right out of the factory.

All of the parts are in great condition and this was assembled really well. The diff was still smooth.

It looks like there was some kind of adhesive on the screws holding together the transmission case. The transmission case appeared to be lightly greased.

Everything is in good condition. I’m replacing the bushings with bearings. Other than that I’m just cleaning off the parts and reassembling it as it was. If all of the rtr’s were assembled this well I’ll have to keep an eye out for them.

[JosephS]

Finished up the transmission and got to polishing

[JosephS]

I got to rewire the power leads of the esc. I bench tested all of the electronics and everything worked. I left the motor leads alone. I need a bit more skill to rewire those.

The servo is slow. It feels even slower than s3001 futaba servos.

[JosephS]

I did a temp placement of everything and did a shake down to see how it’s working

It’s geared conservatively, which was good give it 90+ in the shade at 11 in the morning.

It runs good, just slow. The 27mhz am radio does not like having the antenna rolled up and tucked away. I may need to add the second strap for the battery hold down.

I have a few things left. I’ll need an antenna mount and tube, rebuild the shocks and clean up the wheels. I’m also going to put a connector on the esc.

The current bullets are screw attached so it lets me quickly add connectors without making more work when I want change them up.

Are there any good surface mount antenna mounts? I am wondering if the rpm gt receiver box would fit. I might just fix a rc10 mount in place and let it be with one xtra hole.

This truck is supposed to live in the trunk of the car so I can just have something run in a whim.

[Frankentruck]

Are you going to be using a battery voltage alarm for the LiPo? The Super Rooster doesn't have any LiPo protection.

[JosephS]

Are you going to be using a battery voltage alarm for the LiPo? The Super Rooster doesn't have any LiPo protection.

I haven't really decided.I was planing on some kind of nicd/nimh/life battery set up and this living in the trunk of my car. This was a temp setup. I really liked it as well as the idea of not spending money on a new battery. I have a monitor in my box if I stay lipo I'll hook it up.

I'm actually more worried about burning out the motor than I am running the battery down.

[MarkyDents]

Looking great dude, well worth your efforts
I’m with FT on the alarm super cheap easy to use tiny insurance
Honestly I won’t even plug a lipo into an esc that doesn’t have LVD without one.

[JosephS]

The body was in great condition with a few scratches.

I light rubbed things down with acetone after a wash to remove any stuck glue.

Then I used a paintbrush and some paint to spot up the dots. I had to mix in some black to make the spots not stand out.

[JosephS]

I did some light wet sanding on the wheels and finished up the wheels and body with some novus polish.

It turned out nice.

[Dadio]

Well worth all the effort , great job