RC10T restore now w/pics

[RABIDFOX50]

Scored a 10T on the bay and appears to be 100% stock and intact. C stamp chassis, gold shocks, stealth, dog bones and bushings all round. Also has three piece front / rear wheels, original front tires in awesome shape. It had Trinity rear meats which were pretty worn. I'm going to need to replace the turnbuckles, ball joints and much of the hardware due to heavy rust. The white parts were very dirty but cleaned up well with some scrubbing and Dawn dish detergent. As for the body, it needs some crack repairs. I am going to try and strip the paint off the lexan using DOT 4 brake fluid. I will put some pics as soon as I can.

[tudor39]

How are people repairing cracks in bodies? Is there some better way than just using shoe goo? there were a couple threads on here about mixed success with brake fluid. Hope it works out

[scr8p]

Brake fluid is for stripping paint, not fixing cracks.

[tudor39]

i wasn't saying that brake fluid fixed cracks, that's why I asked if there was anything better than shoe goo. I then was just commenting on the brake fluid for paint removal seeming to have mixed results. Sounds like a lot of people have trouble with it or perhaps the original paint itself etching into the lexan fogging the bodies...after being stripped with brake fluid.

[RABIDFOX50]

I was able to take another look at the body and it appears that it was painted with non lexan friendly paint. Also, the person who trimmed it out must have had some pretty shaky hands. As to the cracks, it's going to take alot of Shoo Goo to repair. It will not be worth it as this 10T will be shelved. I PMed MrLexan to see if he has any more 10T bodies. I want to keep this one as stock as possible. So far so good. Work has been slow due to my job and family. It seems like there is no time for hobbies these days. Can't wait til retirement.

[Quikenuff]

For lexan bonding and repair

IPS Weldon #16

http://www.toolking.com/ips-weld-on-10315-16-acrylic-cement-5-oz?CAWELAID=1410620770&cagpspn=pla&gclid=CPPo79CajrICFUuQ7Qoduh8Adw

[RABIDFOX50]

Shock rebuild kits came in as well as a hardware kit, turnbuckles and bearings. Still waiting on the rear hubs and axles. I went and used some RPM ball ends I had in my parts bin. I figured it would be OK even though I am keeping it stock. I'm having trouble finding the lower shock eyelets in white. I'm using black ones right now but I'd prefer white. I slapped on a b4.1 clear gear cover and I gotta say it's a great fit using one screw. My rear three piece wheels didn't clean up very well so I may dye them black. The front wheels are mint though. MrLexan got back with me today and alas, no 10T bodies. I'm going to strip the paint off the old body and see what repairs/trimming I can do to make it look presentable. I may have to paint the outside of it given the bodywork needed. Maybe a satin black look?

Here are a few pics of it so far: The parts are not yellow, seems to be from my iphone but they are much whiter than pictured. I replaced the gold shocks with some FT hard anod shocks I had from another parts 10T.











Pics of body

[RABIDFOX50]

i wasn't saying that brake fluid fixed cracks, that's why I asked if there was anything better than shoe goo. I then was just commenting on the brake fluid for paint removal seeming to have mixed results. Sounds like a lot of people have trouble with it or perhaps the original paint itself etching into the lexan fogging the bodies...after being stripped with brake fluid.

DOT4 fluid is what I have used in the past on two bodies. Works well but with this body, I can't tell what paint was used. Given all the chipping I'd say non lexan paint so it should come off pretty well. There is a lot of decal residue on the outside as well. WD40 should do the trick.

[Quikenuff]

i wasn't saying that brake fluid fixed cracks, that's why I asked if there was anything better than shoe goo. I then was just commenting on the brake fluid for paint removal seeming to have mixed results. Sounds like a lot of people have trouble with it or perhaps the original paint itself etching into the lexan fogging the bodies...after being stripped with brake fluid.

DOT4 fluid is what I have used in the past on two bodies. Works well but with this body, I can't tell what paint was used. Given all the chipping I'd say non lexan paint so it should come off pretty well. There is a lot of decal residue on the outside as well. WD40 should do the trick.

+2 to the DOT4 brake fluid. I've stripped a couple of bodies with with good results. One thing I noticed on my last project was anywhere I used a paper towel to keep the fluid in place, fogged. From here on out I will use only a throw away paint brush and an old tooth brush to apply and scrub the more subborn paint. How the body was preped has more impact on the ease of removal than anything else. If it was preped properly it will be a pain to remove, no matter what method you use. If the body was just painted with no cleaning or scuffing, paint comes right off whether it's lexan paint or not. I've also had good results just using break fluid to remove the decal residue too.

Quik

[RABIDFOX50]

Well, here is what two hours of soaking in Prestone DOT4 synthetic break fluid and just a little scrubbing with paper towel and a paint brush got me:







I placed the body in an old foil tray my wife had in the pantry. Worked good to keep things tidy. If the clouded portions will not go away when I paint the inside, I guess I will need to paint the outside. The windows will get a tint spray to mitigate the flaws. The cracks were not as bad as I thought. I like the black satin paint jobs I see on today's muscle cars. Might be pretty slick to shoot the outside to get the same effect. It would help hide the crack repairs. Kind of like body work on a 1:1 truck.

I also re trimmed the body and reshaped the wheel wells. Came out real nice. No more jagged edges...

The little bit of paint left will be removed after I decide what to do.

[Quikenuff]

Mine took days of soaking to get it all. Try steel wool on the inside to remove some the "whiter" areas. Try #00 down to #0000. Even the windows can be steal wooled and polished with plastic or headlamp polish. Mine looked a lot like yours when i was done. It's going to take some elbow grease but it's salvageable. A good way to tell if the paint will cover or hide the clouded areas is to run water over it, if you can see through the lexan and water clearly the paint will show through clearly.

http://www.rc10talk.com/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=25414&start=15

Quik

[wait a minute]

the best stuff ever to use for removing paint is bolink body wash.

[RABIDFOX50]

I'm a bit concerned about the cloudy blotches. My idea was to paint the body white and the windows black. I use to have a lid painted like that when I raced. Simple and functional. I have a set of vintage decals on the way for it as well.

[RABIDFOX50]

Well, the outside of the body is also cloudy so I am forced to paint the outside. Any suggestions as to what I should use and weather I should repair the cracks first given I need to paint the outside? I.E. treat it like a hard body and paint it up as such.

Just to be clear, this 10T will not be a runner. I am also going to put the gold shocks back on as well as the correct period ball ends.

[TerryC]

Love this thread!


Edit: Oops, reading is fundamental!

You said that the B4.1 cover fits using one screw. How far off is the other screw and do you think it could be modified to use both?

I bought a repro 10T gear cover for my truck but it doesn't fit exactly as it should (never cut one out, no instructions). Plus I made the hole to fit a plug I had, but that one sticks in too far and rubs the slipper nut/shaft, and the correct rubber plug that I have now is loose in the hole and might get lost. Bottom line is it looks fine but it has issues, and I'm thinking about starting over with another one. I can get the one like yours a lot easier (and cheaper since it doesn't have to be shipped from Canada).