Introduction by way of a late model RC10 build

[Phin]

Long time lurker, first time poster, finally joining in with an RC10 late model build. Google introduced me to RC10Talk.com about a year ago, after a suggestion made to me by my cousin that "we needed to go buy ourselves some RC heli's" got me thinking about the old RC10 slumbering in my attic. I got my RC10 (Cadillac, A-Stamp, Short Arm, 6-Gear) for Christmas in, I wanna say, either '87 or '88, as my second RC buggy...my first, a Turbo Scorpion ruined by my brother a couple of Christmases prior (obviously out of jealousy that my Scorpion was way cooler than his Tamiya Falcon, but I'll save that story for a planned future build). Being as there were no real tracks that I could get to when I was a kid I never got the chance to race my RC10 competitively, though that didn't stop me from liking the building, conceptualizing, and modding side of RC. What did stop me was being a jobless pre-teen with no money to pay for any of those must-want aftermarket parts advertised in RCCA. So ultimately, like many many before them, my RC10 and Turbo Scorpion ended up in a box and stowed away....until one day, after I achieved "adulthood" and had my own money to spend, the internet showed me all the neat resto builds on RC10Talk.com

I must've changed directions a dozen times when deciding what to do with my RC10, collecting, then changing my mind, then selling back off more parts than I want to keep track of. Originally I set out to build a truly vintage racer buggy, and had one nearly complete with a nice MIP SP-1, A&L PowerClutch, RPM Team Arms, and all new black Assc. parts to match, but then I realized two things 1) I still have no where near enough to me where I can go and race a vintage buggy, and 2) after replacing just about every part on my car I felt like I hadn't restored my old RC10 but built an entirely new car, and if I was going to build a new car I knew I could do something more interesting. I was planning to post that buggy build here a few months back but by the time it was ready I had already decided I was going to sell it, and didn't want to come off here like I was advertising for an eBay auction.

This RC10 dirt oval isn't that more interesting build, but I got tired of just lurking here, and after some time in limbo on what to build, I picked up a couple of NOS Premier/Twister Batwedge bodies on eBay and decided to put together a banned-for-racing (since I won't be anyway) late model car.

During the part collecting phase for my buggy build I picked up a new set of Thorp 48p outdrives, and then a spare 6-gear with chewed up outdrive cups to make a full metal 48p 6-gear transmission. It's also equipped with a new Jammin Jay Diff set.

My take on the bearing elimination mod replaces the brass tubing that goes over the outside of the outdrive cup with a filed down aluminum spacer, from a 3/16" MIP CVD axle set, on the inside of the outdrive. Spins much smoother than the stock two bearing setup and should get even better when the new bearings get broken in.

6gear.jpg (130.47 KiB) Viewed 2886 times

6gear.jpg (130.47 KiB) Viewed 2886 times

And finally pics of the car itself.

Rear arms, front wheels, carriers, towers, tran case, front shocks, knuckles, and bulkheads are all from my original RC10. Front arms are new, rear Bolinks, MIP shocks, MIP CVDs with 1/4" axles, 0 degree mounts, 15 degree caster blocks, and offset chassis are all parts I picked up from donor cars. The nose I chopped off of a graphite sprint car chassis that had a chewed up rear end, and the bumper and rear body mount I cut out of .93 lexan from the Home Depot. The MIP shocks on the rear will, more likely than not, be coming off as I had them earmarked for another build I have plans for, and the the front shocks will have to be rebuilt. Besides that what I still need to do is get a matching set of front Bolink foams (and apply silicone to them since this is a banned-for-racing build after all ), paint the nose (which I'll do when I paint the body), and figure out a steering solution. Can anyone tell me if the CW steering rack will mount up on an RC10? If not I'll go for a B3 set-up since I want to keep the servo mount as it is in the photos.

Any advice is welcomed, and I hope I can become a worthy contributor to RC10Talk.com.

[slotcarrod]

Nice first post and Very cool build! Welcome to the talk!

[JPAE07]

Nice 6 gear! Welcome to the board.

[Charlie don't surf]

A CW steering rack will mount up with some work-

ahhhhhhh, the infamous Batwedge Funny, I have a NIP LD wedge and Norrca Nats winning Superwedge but somehow never that one

Welcome aboard!

[littleVETTE]

sweet build. digging the raked foams.

[Phin]

Thanks for the welcome.

A CW steering rack will mount up with some work-

ahhhhhhh, the infamous Batwedge Funny, I have a NIP LD wedge and Norrca Nats winning Superwedge but somehow never that one

Welcome aboard!

Would that be work to the steering rack or work to the chassis?

These Batwedges are in very good shape but weren't NIP. Had they been the seller would have been able to list them more accurately on eBay and they would've probably sold long before I stumbled across them.

[Charlie don't surf]

Just the drilling and making sure of the clearance issues- the CW rack sat tight or fairly tight to the front tower which had a 15 reg rake, the RC10 has a 30 deg so you would have to mount it further back, might interfere with the other components or cause crazy steering geometry-

[Phin]

B2/B3 steering it is then.

[Charlie don't surf]

Not saying it is that bad, just might be

[Phin]

NP I get where you're coming from but I wasn't really married to the idea of using a CW rack so I won't be worried by abandoning the idea. Originally I had planned to use a DS kickup with Traxxas Bullet arms but with a set of RC10 front bulkheads mounted to the DS kickup the steering bell cranks can't clear the arms....that's when I started looking at the CW rack.

So the CW rack was originally a plan to solve a clearance issue, but, since the hamster changed direction in the wheel again, I'm now using a standard size RC10 kickup and it would be counterproductive to reintroduce the potential for a clearance issue by using a CW rack.

[SMOKE-DOG]

Nice intro. Looks good so far...

[AnonymousRC10]

Thanks for the thread as it is definitely a worthy thread to read on RC10Talk.com. I'm in a similar boat as you are with our RC10s at this point of time in our lives, so this is going to be fun! Good luck, and best of all - Have fun! I know I will.

[olderacer]

I think the bellcranks for Terminator based cars will work in a RC10.
https://www.kranzelshobbies.com/2010/10/aluminum-bell-crank-set-20-nose-plate-2/
http://jefferyracingconcepts.com/index.php?cPath=24
http://rcspeedshop.com/product_info.php?cPath=56_78&products_id=318
kinda expensive but well made.

[Phin]

Those JRC straight bellcranks would be nice but yeah expensive.

Thanks for the links, and AnonymousRC10 thanks for the encouragement.

[AnonymousRC10]

Those JRC straight bellcranks would be nice but yeah expensive.

Thanks for the links, and AnonymousRC10 thanks for the encouragement.

You're welcome