RC10GT find and cleanup

[fbmstar]

Came across this thing a few weeks back. It's amazing how well these things can clean up. This took me about a night and a half, with not much more than an ultrasonic cleaner and a handful of beers. The chassis had a decent bend in it, but I was able to get it about 75% straighter. Didn't touch the bottom. Still trying to figure out if it's worth the time. Maybe re-anodize, or paint? I'm actually unclear what the original finish is on this. Seems too thick to be anodized, but the truck seems too clean to have been re-worked. What do you all think? The engine in the "after" pics is an AE .15 engine I bought brand new about 10 years ago to build a custom car, but decided to go electric due to the sound. I've been debating on trying to make it work with this thing. The muffler really doesn't fit either, but I threw it in cause it looks empty w/o it. Opinions?

[Frankentruck]

That's a nice truck. I think it would be a fun runner. If doing that, then I'd run it a while to get a feel for it before working on the underside of the chassis.

That's also a nice granite inspection slab. Definitely a good way to check chassis flatness.

[coxbros1]

Please keep it nitro....I am begging u

[fbmstar]

That's a nice truck. I think it would be a fun runner. If doing that, then I'd run it a while to get a feel for it before working on the underside of the chassis.

That's also a nice granite inspection slab. Definitely a good way to check chassis flatness.

Thanks. I might get it up and running again one day. Probably gonna back burner it for the time being.

[fbmstar]

Please keep it nitro....I am begging u

No need to worry, there are no plans to convert it to electric.

[Maxell27]

Getting back into RC and never tried nitro, is it worth it to get an old RC10GT?

[juicedcoupe]

Getting back into RC and never tried nitro, is it worth it to get an old RC10GT?

If I was going to venture into nitro for the first time, I'd probably find something newer. Dealing with a (no so) cranky old motor might ruin it for you. Remember, these trucks are truly antiques.

Like many vintage RC's around here, I think guys feel some connection with certain models.

[fbmstar]

I don't have much experience with nitro, but one thing i'm realizing after receiving this particular truck is that the engines are very hard to come by. Looks like the crankshaft needs to be really short. There's even modification details in the manual to modify engines that were available at that time. This might have been changed in the GT2, or perhpas the later version of the GT's by using the blue chassis? Haven't looked into it too much, so not 100% on that.

If you're looking to drive one... nope, not worth it. Get something newer that has parts available.

[RC10th]

The GT era was fantastic!! Nitro can be a bit of a learning curve but engines of that era were pretty reliable also, especially the ABC sleeved engines.

[LoboNYC]

Sweet RC10GT and great job on the cleanup!

The RC10GT was and still is a great truck. I myself have 5 of them, black tub and blue flat pan.

The Modification you speak of is very simple. The crank case on most engines were long. All that is required is to cut a piece of the crank off to make the threading area shorter. OS made a "S" version that stands for short crankcase in order to avoid the users from having to shorten the crank themselves. Ive shorten many of them with a Dremel cutting disk, just make sure you cover the engine with plastic (especially the carb) in order to avoid metal debris from entering the crankcase.

The engine in the photos has a marine engine head on it, so unless you intend to devise some sort of cooling setup i advise you replace it with the car version head (this is for the GT or any car you intend on using it for). The marine head will not provide the cooling that a truck (or car) requires.

Period correct engines are indeed hard to come by if you want to restore the truck. If you are looking to get her up and running then you can EASILY get a Traxxas Pro .15 short crank with pullstart. You can also search for a Thunder Tiger Evo-12X short crank with pullstart but those are getting hard to find. You can even drop in a .18 in this truck.

For the header you may need to hunt it down. Currently, there is a purple version on ebay but you will need to search and decide to buy it now or get it lower by bidding for it. Your decision.

Hope you get her running as its a very fun truck either in the dirt or on a parking lot.

[fbmstar]

Thanks for all the information, Lobo. I'm still not sure if I'll ever do anything with this truck, but this is most helpful should I decide to.