Revitalizing an OLD RC10

[LJH]

Hello All,
I am the original owner of what I believe is a very early RC10....I cannot seem to be able to find a stamp on it. Anyhow, the car is pretty much 100% complete and I am thinking of making it a runner again, when I was in high school I used this thing A LOT and it shows plenty of wear but I was pretty good about maintaining it and as I disassemble it I am amazed to find all the bearings totally smooth and the gears in the gear box all look good....IIRC I changed out the "big" gear in the gearbox with some aftermarket item. I have not played around with RC car in quite some time but have been very active in RC E-flight and gliders for the last 15+ years. With that said I have started tearing the car apart to clean it up and I know I need to address a few things.

-Motor and ESC- Having flown e-powered planes for all these years and been through the brushless "revolution" I would like to install a brushless package in her. I have done some reading and it looks like a 3000KV motor seems to be middle of the road in term of performance? I am not looking to break any speed records and start blowing up drivetrain parts but I would like it to be quick yet driveable, would a 3000KV motor be a good choice for a 2S set up? Could I go with a bit higher KV motor and still remain reliable? What would be a good ratio to go with suggested motors?

-Shocks- A couple of the shocks have no dampening at all so I imagine the seals are not doing their job. I believe the bottom is just a "O" ring but is there anything that I would specifically need to rebuild the shocks? What weight oil is a good all around weight? I believe the springs are either silver or gold....hard to tell. Any tips on using different springs?

-Differential- If I remember correctly you needed to use some sort of silicone greese on the balls of the diff? Any recommendations on where to get that? BTW I had replaced the stock spur gear with a 48P one at some time. Also about the only thing missing from the car is the plastic cover that goes over the differential....are they still availabe?

-Body- I have the original body and while it is not totally beat upbut if I am rebuilding this thing I would not mind putting a shiny new body on it to make it look pretty.

-Any other items that should be addressed?

I am sure all these subjects have been covered a 1000 times before but I find the search function of this site a bit tedious and while it is no excuse my time is a bit limited right now.

Any help would be highly appreciated.

Thanks all.

Cheers,
Jim

[REMJ666]

Welcome and you will find a ton of info here...

[Russ Winn]

Hello and welcome to the site, Jim. There's a lot of great info here, if you don't mind browsing.
I've had various RC10s since 1986, and am currently running a 6gear at the local dirt oval. I'll put my 2 cents in, but I'm sure other members have some better ideas.

Brushless setup- I'm running a 13.5 (3300kv) with 5000mah Lipos with no issues at all. I was worried the 6gear wouldn't handle it, but it's plenty fast for the class.
Shocks- Original parts are tough to get, unless you go to ebay for spare complete units. HPI makes bladder tops for inside the caps (modern equipment). They're better than those nylon rings. If they're not leaking at the bottom, don't sweat it. Try using thicker oil (40-50wt). Associated makes buggy spring sets in about 5 different strengths, and they're direct fit.
Diff- I've always run my diff balls dry. Dirt sticks to grease and becomes like valve-grinding compound. The 48 pitch is correct for modern gears. Try RJSpeed for direct fits. You can still get covers on ebay, unless another member knows elsewhere. I don't even bother with them, personally.
Bodies are a dime a dozen on Tower and other places. I like to use velcro on the sides of the tub to hold it in place.

Other items: Ball cups. Any Associated cups will work, or you can use Dubro screw-on types (4-40 ball and rod).
Bell crank. It's the achilles heel of the car. They're big bucks on ebay, but if you suck it up and get a better one, you won't regret it. If you do, get a Kimbrough servo saver for safety.

I still race a 6gear version with very little mods, and have been extremely happy. Again, welcome to the addiction.
-Russ

[suby56]

if you just need o-rings : http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&W=001571397&I=LX2594&P=K

associated: http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&W=001571397&I=LX2593&P=K

this also has c clips and the bottom plastic washer/cap piece, but those e clips don't work too well for me : http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&W=001571397&I=LXJJ17&P=K

body: http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&W=001571397&I=LX2697&P=K

This is a good thread on bellcranks: http://www.rc10talk.com/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=16582&hilit=steering+bearings

[LJH]

Hello All,
Thanks for the replies, This past weekend I stripped her down and did an inspection of all the parts and decided to completely rebuild the 6 gear transmission and replace all the bushings with bearings. I was shocked to see that the 6618 shaft was very visually worn where it goes into the bushing on the far side of the differential gear. Found both the 6614 idler gears and 6618 shaft NIP. This rebuild will not be as cheap as I was hoping but I figured the car is worth it considering how many hours of run time it has on it and how bullet proof it was back in the day.

I also stripped down one of the shocks and all the "O" rings looked fine so I just cleaned them and will fill with new oil. If they leak quickly I will rebuild.

I ended up getting a 3200KV 4 pole motor....I really wanted sensorless but did not want to spend the money necessary to get there and doing some reading it sounds like 4 pole motors work out OK.

Now I just have to find what "safe spot" I put my NIP nose and support tubes that I bought decades ago to replace the bent one on the car.....it is driving me nuts not being able to find it.....I know I put it somewhere safe.

One last thing is the spur and pinion, upon inspection I still have the 32(?) pitch spur gear, can I still get a 42 pitch spur? And what gear ratio should I shoot for with a 3200KV motor and 2S?

Cheers,
Jim

[Russ Winn]

One last thing is the spur and pinion, upon inspection I still have the 32(?) pitch spur gear, can I still get a 42 pitch spur? And what gear ratio should I shoot for with a 3200KV motor and 2S?

I think you meant 48 pitch. If so, 81 tooth is the same (multiply 54 tooth spur by 1.5). I'm running a 20 pinion/ 81 spur, with no issues. I did run a 23 pinion just as easily. The motor and battery is fine for the 6 gear tranny, you just need to watch motor temperature, and gear accordingly. Try RJ Speed for spur gears. They drop right in.

Good luck on finding your parts.....

[knucklebuster]

Russ, the Kimbrough and Associated are also a direct fit. IMO Kimbrough is a higher quality.

[Russ Winn]

Russ, the Kimbrough and Associated are also a direct fit. IMO Kimbrough is a higher quality.

It's been many years since I bought a Kimbrough gear. You used to have to trim the lip on one side where the balls fit, because the diff rings would bottom out on the gear before touching the balls...but that was many years ago. Good gears, just a little work putting them on.
I didn't know Associated even made 48pitch gears for the 6gear...Thanks for the info.

[knucklebuster]

I'll check my 6 gears. The childhood runner needs a diff rebuild, one on the shelf has an aftermarket gear.

[ASC6000]

the o-rings that seal the shafts are fairly universal, cheap and easy to replace.
You might consider finding a used noseplate and sell the nip one to fund the build.

[knucklebuster]

Russ, the Kimbrough and Associated are also a direct fit. IMO Kimbrough is a higher quality.

It's been many years since I bought a Kimbrough gear. You used to have to trim the lip on one side where the balls fit, because the diff rings would bottom out on the gear before touching the balls...but that was many years ago. Good gears, just a little work putting them on.
I didn't know Associated even made 48pitch gears for the 6gear...Thanks for the info.

I will have to look more closely. I always through in diff balls and go!

[Russ Winn]

They could've changed design over the years... It's been the late 80's since I bought a Kimbrough.

[LJH]

Starting to see parts showing up.......kind of cool finding NOS parts.

Getting pretty excited to get her built.


Cheers,
Jim

[LJH]

ASC,
After seeing what a NIP nose goes for I thought the same thing, I won a used, but straight looking, nose on fleabag the other night for $2.00.

Cheers,
Jim

[REMJ666]

Post some pics...