RC10GT electric conversion

[wunjee]

I got this RC10GT way back when I was a teenager. Probably around 1998 or so. I bought it without an engine, so for one summer me and a friend ran it on a worn-out old OS engine he had. I fondly remember driving the hell out of this thing. Starting it with a drill and sending it out for more. Then my buddy went home after that one summer and the truck went on a shelf in the garage for years without an engine. A bunch of years later I bought an OS .12 CV-X for it but ended up running it a few times and selling the engine and parting out the truck for other projects.

Years after that, I picked up an RC10GT RTR. The blue-chassis truck. I started it one time and broke the connecting rod on break-in. Associated or Thundertiger didn't want to do anything about it so that truck went on a shelf too and eventually got parted.

Well, over the course of working on that T3 in another thread, I found enough parts to get the GT back together as a roller!

So now I had an RC10GT roller...but what to do with it? I really don't have the time for nitro anymore. Most of my nitro support equipment is long gone...

Electric conversion it is!

Motor is a Reedy 3300kV 540-SL4. ESC is a Reedy SC600-BL (which I'm pretty sure is a rebranded Hobbywing ESC). Gearing is 32P, 15-tooth pinion, 66-tooth spur to keep it 'stock' RC10GT. Battery is a 4600MAh shorty pack. Body and wheels are JConcepts, and I haven't settled on tires yet. I didn't realize that the original RC10GT body only fit on the early shock tower so I have one of those coming too.

Body turned out pretty good for a guy with no airbrush, no measurable skill and no patience...

But yrah. I like the way this turned out!

[Mwildmann]

Turned out darn nice. What did you use for the motor mount?

[juicedcoupe]

Turned out darn nice. What did you use for the motor mount?

Looks like a V2 Dynotech.

[wunjee]

Turned out darn nice. What did you use for the motor mount?

Looks like a V2 Dynotech.

Yup, that's exactly what it is. It's really inexpensive and seeing it on eBay really jumpstarted this project.

The only thing I wish it had was some method to bolt the motor mount to the classis itself to use the motor mount as a chassis brace. The tub chassis is really thin and flimsy back there. By design it uses the engine mounts and the nitro engine itself as a chassis brace. With those gone there's not a lot of metal back there. If the motor mount bolted to the chassis itself I think it'd help stiffen up the back of the truck nicely.

That's only an issue with the tub chassis, I think. The blue plate is super thick and stiff all by itself without any bracing.

[juicedcoupe]

The blue plate is super thick and stiff all by itself without any bracing.

Yes, the blue plate chassis is what I used for my E-GT. Since I still prefer nickel based batteries, it was the better option for me.

[wunjee]

I was going to go with a brushed setup like I did on the T3 just to keep it oldschool but this Reedy system was really cheap and I couldn't pass it up. Your conversion looks great though!

I went ahead and installed the aft engine mount back on mine to stiffen up the rear a bit. I had to trim the farthest mounting lug off and had to angle the lug that goes under the motor but otherwise it went on without an issue and stiffened the back of the truck up significantly. I also have an aluminum trans brace coming in that bolts down to all 3 mounting points so that should also take some of the flex out.

I also replaced my rear shock tower. Found a new-in-bag Factory Works part. Real vintage stuff. I have the matching front shock tower coming too.

I'm still trying to decide on tires. I like the tread patterns on the clay tires. How are those on carpet and pavement? If I run this anywhere it'll be at a semi-local carpet track but more often than not on the road in front of my house. I was going to put Road Hawgs on it like my T3 but I haven't found another new-in-bag set.

I also scored a killer deal on a big RC10GT parts lot that had a whole bunch of good stuff in it. Including 2 pairs of MIP Shiny CVDs and 2 pairs of non-Shiny CVDs. Spurs, springs, an entire transmission and slipper assembly, etc. Lots of goodness! So that'll be nice to have when it gets here.

[wunjee]

I think it's done. As in done-done. Mostly because I can't think of much else to do. Haha.

I couldn't settle on one tire combo, so I got two!

For running on carpet, I've got JConcepts Pin Downs on the rear, Swaggers on the front. For just general running I've got some more traditional Amazon cheapies. Spikeys in the back, slots on the front.

I added the aft-most engine mount back to help with the rigidity of the rear end of the truck.

I also added a transmission brace that mounts two all of the mounting points, further stiffing up the rear of the truck.

Shock towers were replaced with vintage Factory Works G10 shock towers front and rear.

Front springs were replaced with Associated blue springs.

Dogbones were replaced with a pair of MIP Shiny CVDs.

I countersunk the screws that are holding the battery box in.

I also have a pair of RPM rear arm mounts coming in but I think that'll be it for this one.

[wunjee]

I got my RPM rear arm mounts in today so I got those dropped in the truck. And as I did I was sitting there flexing the rear end and even though it was a lot better with the addition of the aft engine mount/chassis stiffener, I still wasn't happy with it. So, because I can't leave well-enough alone, I whipped up this messy little bracket Now the rear-end is nice and stiff. Really, it would've been much better to just start with the blue pan, but the black tub just looks so retro and cool.

A little bit of trimming, a little bit of drilling, a little bit of counter-sinking, and we're good to go.

I kind of want to try some of these fancy new HV lipos... Do you get a significant amount of punch from .2 more volts?