Help me make my RC10T great again

[EMC]

Hey Associated fans,

Back in 1992 as a 15 year old I lusted over the magazine article touting the new team truck and eventually got one. As a 40 year old I still have it. It has been sitting in my garage with its Futaba Attack-R 75mhz AM 2-stick controller and 6-cell Nicad battery packs which still work great.

Besides some deformed rear stub axles, it's in great shape. I refilled the shock oil on the rear shocks which were a little low, but otherwise it's completely functional. I ordered some new rear stub axles off ebay and will be all set for some modernization fun.

This truck has the old futaba servo for steering, and a Novak 410-M5 ESC which has no reverse, only brake. It has a litespeed motor mount with heat sink.

What is my best path towards modernizing this truck for a brushless motor and lipo batteries? I assume I will need a new ESC, new 2.4ghz radio/servo, and some modifications to the battery tray area, new charger, and new lipo batteries, and a new brushless motor. Anything I'm missing? Any suggestions for which components I should go with?

Also, is there such thing as litespeed connectors in existence anymore like the type I have in my photos below, or will I need to change to traxxis or other type?

[Lavigna]

Very nice and clean truck. I really think you are better off going through and cleaning the truck, and leaving it vintage.

I rebuilt my original RC10T from when I was a kid, and added modern electronics. I drove it for a few minutes, and then it sat, as I didn't want to damage it. I ended up building it back with vintage electronics.

If you gave it a thorough cleaning, got everything sorted, maybe added a few vintage hop ups, I think you would be very happy with it. That is just my opinion though. Great truck.

[EMC]

Thanks for the response, I think you may be right on being better off leaving it vintage. I wonder if the old nylon parts may not hold up well to the power of the modern motors and the increased speeds would certainly be less forgiving on the steering and suspension linkages.

[EMC]

One complaint I have about vintage nicad battery packs is the short run time. Would this old ESC be able to handle newer NIMH packs and would it increase my run time very much? I think I can get about 4 min max off the old cells. If I were to get a low voltage cutoff could I potentially run this old 410-M5 ESC with lipos?

[TRX-1-3]

A 2S Lipo is 7.4v and the 410 M5 is designed for 4-10 cells which would be 4.8v-12v. So yeah you could potentially run it on 2S which would be plenty for what you want to do. Your run times would be back up give or take depending on what motor you are using and your gearing. The low voltage alarm is a good idea. I've run a 2S with a 27T brushed motor through an LRP Indy 600 with no issues.

Just what I've done. I guess it depends on if your Novak is still working correctly after all this time.

[EMC]

A 2S Lipo is 7.4v and the 410 M5 is designed for 4-10 cells which would be 4.8v-12v. So yeah you could potentially run it on 2S which would be plenty for what you want to do. Your run times would be back up give or take depending on what motor you are using and your gearing. The low voltage alarm is a good idea. I've run a 2S with a 27T brushed motor through an LRP Indy 600 with no issues.

Just what I've done. I guess it depends on if your Novak is still working correctly after all this time.

Thanks! I will give the 2s lipo option with low voltage warning a try. If it fries, I can always modernize my ESC. I'm using a stock motor that is only about 25,000 rpm. I have a backup motor too. The old 410 M5 is still working like a champ with nicads.

[jwscab]

I would just upgrade to a lipo pack in the 3500-4000mAh range and run it as-is otherwise. Keep an eye on motor and esc temps. Get the right battery charger and protection equipment. If you end up with radio problems, a 2.4Ghz upgrade is smart. A lipo alarm is a nice to have.

[blk05wrx]

Cool truck. That looks just like mine that I pulled out of storage about 5 years ago.

I ended up selling the M5 ESC on ebay and did pretty well. I picked up a Castle brushless system, which is total overkill. I've since upgraded to 2.4Ghz and recently I added a new servo. The output from the Castle wasn't enough to power a digital servo since it's about 5 years old.

The batteries are amazing these days. I picked up Lipo charger and two 5000mah Lipos. The truck is so fast I've pretty much broken every A-Arm. I have my original RC10T that I've modernized and race on the track. I just picked up a shelf queen brand new build that will be just for hanging on the wall.

[EMC]

Cool truck. That looks just like mine that I pulled out of storage about 5 years ago.

I ended up selling the M5 ESC on ebay and did pretty well. I picked up a Castle brushless system, which is total overkill. I've since upgraded to 2.4Ghz and recently I added a new servo. The output from the Castle wasn't enough to power a digital servo since it's about 5 years old.

The batteries are amazing these days. I picked up Lipo charger and two 5000mah Lipos. The truck is so fast I've pretty much broken every A-Arm. I have my original RC10T that I've modernized and race on the track. I just picked up a shelf queen brand new build that will be just for hanging on the wall.

Nice! I don't have a ton of nostalgic feelings for this truck necessarily, so I may do the same and get it out there for some fun. It is amazing how many replacement parts are still available. Kudos to associated for supporting their old stuff so long. I did pick up a 2s 4000mah venom battery that fits great and a low voltage alarm. It breathed aome new life into it for sure. One thing I hate is the large futaba servo arm angles for steering. I'm looking at low profile models to clean the steering up. Do you think the "spec 17.5T" brushless motors would be gentle enough while still giving some new speed on the 10T? Also taking a peek at the new 2.4ghz radio offerings.

[blk05wrx]

Cool truck. That looks just like mine that I pulled out of storage about 5 years ago.

I ended up selling the M5 ESC on ebay and did pretty well. I picked up a Castle brushless system, which is total overkill. I've since upgraded to 2.4Ghz and recently I added a new servo. The output from the Castle wasn't enough to power a digital servo since it's about 5 years old.

The batteries are amazing these days. I picked up Lipo charger and two 5000mah Lipos. The truck is so fast I've pretty much broken every A-Arm. I have my original RC10T that I've modernized and race on the track. I just picked up a shelf queen brand new build that will be just for hanging on the wall.

Nice! I don't have a ton of nostalgic feelings for this truck necessarily, so I may do the same and get it out there for some fun. It is amazing how many replacement parts are still available. Kudos to associated for supporting their old stuff so long. I did pick up a 2s 4000mah venom battery that fits great and a low voltage alarm. It breathed aome new life into it for sure. One thing I hate is the large futaba servo arm angles for steering. I'm looking at low profile models to clean the steering up. Do you think the "spec 17.5T" brushless motors would be gentle enough while still giving some new speed on the 10T? Also taking a peek at the new 2.4ghz radio offerings.

Yes, I'd pick up a Reedy spec 17.5. That's all you should need. And it should work with the new digital servos also. They should be smaller in size. I picked up Traxxas 2.4Ghz and Traxxas 2075 Servo for less than $50 and they get the job done. I didn't want to invest too much more until I start racing it on a regular basis.

[EMC]

Project complete. Truck runs like new again.

Parts replaced/upgraded:

V2 B4 top shaft and slipper assembly/81 tooth spur
Old school MIP 1/4" CVD axles, T2 CVD bones and CVD rebuild kit.
Hobbywing justock xerun ESC
Ecopower Slingshot 17.5T brushless motor
Savox 1251MG low profile servo (big improvement)
Futaba 3PV transmitter with the standard 302 reciever.
Proline trencher tires, associated lightweight one piece truck wheels.
Purchased larger pinions and a few smaller spurs to try.

Other things done:
Rebuilt the stealth, cleaned and relubed the diff (it was in amazingly good shape for 25 years old)
Replaced some of the chewed up ball ends and steering linkages.
Used servo mounts instead of servo tape this time.
Replaced shock oil (shocks were also in great shape).
Set up gearing at 25/81 (worked great with the large trencher tires).

[joey_zrl]

Nice parts list! Do you have any pics of it all installed? I think a 17.5 BL motor or a 19T brushed is perfect for these older models.

[EMC]

Nice parts list! Do you have any pics of it all installed? I think a 17.5 BL motor or a 19T brushed is perfect for these older models.

Yes, not as nicely color coordinated as some builds here but a taste of the rainbow and nicely functional:

[NomadRacer]

Fantastic! I dig your colors, particularly the motor and sensor cable to ESC.

[joey_zrl]

That's a tidy setup. I really like the tires. The esc/motor plugs...are they power poles? I've only seen them in red and black.