old rc10 questions

[sskickinz28]

Hi guys, my name is Jim, and I'm new here, with a couple rc10 questions. A few years ago, my grandfather gave me a couple r/c cars, which I just found out (thanks to this site) one of them is an old rc10 with an A stamped into the chassis. I want to fix this thing up and use it, but I don't know what to buy for it, since I know absolutely nothing about these cars, other than what I read on this board. It has an old Shelby Cobra body, which is beat up, so I want to replace it. The motor says it is stock, and I'm pretty sure the car is all stock. The speed control says "Futaba speed control with reverse mc 112b", the steering servo is a Futaba fp-s132h high speed, and the reciever is a Futaba r102je. So here are my questions- Is this just an rc10, or is it an rc10t or a buggy or something else? Are my electronics any good or should I replace them? I want it to be fast, what should I buy for it as far as mods? Any help here will be appreciated, I know absolutely nothing about r/c cars, and I would like to get into the hobby.
Thanks

[scr8p]

it's just a standard rc10 buggy.

if you want it to be "fast", your gonna need to ditch the esc and stock motor in favor of a modified motor and an esc that can handle the lower winds. then you could possibly run into problems with the trans not being able to handle the power. so, you'll need to upgrade the old trans to the beefier stealth. your also gonna want to look into getting a new battery pack and most likely a new charger.

to be honest with you, being as though your new to the hobby, i wouldn't do much of anything other than take the car apart, clean it up, and put it back together. get it running the way it first the way it is. your gonna have to buy some stuff right off the bat (battery, charger). i'm not trying to discourage you or anything when i say this, but you might find out r/c's aren't your thing, so there no sense in dumping a ton of money into it, only to find there no real interest. i've guys dump thousands of dollars into r/c's to see them race for one year, and never to be heard from again. get it running first...... then go from there.

[j.d.roost]

I agree. Don't worry about making it "fast". Buy a cheap Nimh pack and charger. Put some aa's in the transmitter and see if you like it.

To be honest with you getting "into"
rc with an old vintage car may not be the best idea either. It makes it hard to get parts and you don't know if the radio equipment is any good (nothing leads to frustration more than a glitching car). Don't let me bring you down either, RC IS FUN!! Just give it a little "test" 1st to see if it's for you.I would take it apart clean it and put it back together. It will help you learn what the cars are all about. We can help you if you get stuck on re-assembly. Take your time,work in a clean space and take pics if you can to remind you how it came apart. The manuals are available on-line too.
Have fun

[longboardnj]

i agree with what they said, get it running.. here is a link that will help, look at the first one listed http://www.theshreves.com/rc_stuff/rc10history.htm the rc10 is a great piece of rc history to own. a little piece of advice. when you buy the charger and battery learn to use this in an open space and take it easy on it. i say this cause when i started out in this hobby id find nice rc cars like this and destroy them. i really regret it now. if you use it and like it they have new ready to run rc cars and trucks that do 35 mph for $150.you just add the batterys you used in your rc10.. and you can beat the crap out of them all day long.. if anything breaks you can buy all the parts (they stoped making alot of the rc10 parts)..

[sskickinz28]

Thanks for the advice guys. I'm not planning on racing this or anything, I just want to get it working good so I have something to mess around with. The battery pack that is in it now is a 3.6 volt 1200mah. I didn't even see any of them on Tower Hobbies, can I get a 7.2V or something or will that cause problems?

[wts873]

It will use any 7.2 pack that will fit. You will most likely need to turn the pack lengthwise to fit. Also make sure your charger is compatable with the type of batteries you use. ( Ni-cd , Ni-mh or Li-po) Most new chargers will carge all 3, but make sure before you buy. Check to make sure all the plugs are also the same. If you have a local hobby shop, they can help you out with these details. I hope you have fun with it!

[sskickinz28]

cool, thanks

[scr8p]

if you want to get into this on the cheap to see how you like it, you can't beat one of these for the price.......

http://www.promatchracing.com/proddetail.php?prod=1806ST

to be honest with you, if the battery that is in your car right now is in good "visual" condition, i might be interested in it. i need it for a restoration, not to use.

i haven't really looked at entry level chargers, so i don't know what kind of price your gonna be looking at. i'll do some looking around.

first thing i would do after you tear the car down is wash that black paint off of the chassis. lacquer thinner... or any paint reducer should do the trick.

[longboardnj]

take a look.. these are some cheap ideas to get started.. chargers.. http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&P=9&I=LXJC33 or better http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXSG85 5 hour chargers are cheaper but who wants to wait 5 hours.. with these chargers i just charge my batterys till the battery feels a little warm(not hot) they will only charge nicad batterys not nimh but a nimh charger will be $50+ ..even though scr8p found the best deal ever on batterys here are some from tower hobbies http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXJA83&P=M http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXAFD2&P=ML http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXDNY2&P=ML http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&P=9&I=LXDND9 i use 1900 cause they are more powerful then the 1500 but the 1500 will work fine

[j.d.roost]

I had one a few weeks ago that looked just like that (black paint) I filled up a tin with thinner and let the chassis sit in there for 20 min. Worked like a charm.
If you look at my "tale of two projects" post you can see how it turned out.
I guess a black chassis was hot back in the day ( I think I went the Swiss route on mine )

[Four]

take a look.. these are some cheap ideas to get started.. chargers.. http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&P=9&I=LXJC33 or better http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXSG85 5 hour chargers are cheaper but who wants to wait 5 hours.. with these chargers i just charge my batterys till the battery feels a little warm(not hot) they will only charge nicad batterys not nimh but a nimh charger will be $50+ ..even though scr8p found the best deal ever on batterys here are some from tower hobbies http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXJA83&P=M http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXAFD2&P=ML http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXDNY2&P=ML http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&P=9&I=LXDND9 i use 1900 cause they are more powerful then the 1500 but the 1500 will work fine

Good advise. I used to run those piranha packs as well. They get the job done for cheap on the right set up.

[wts873]

I'm very happy with 2 venom 3000 packs that I got for $20 a piece. Amazing how much more run time than the old 1500 sport packs I had.

[longboardnj]

I'm very happy with 2 venom 3000 packs that I got for $20 a piece. Amazing how much more run time than the old 1500 sport packs I had.

true.. i was at my parents house today running old 3300 race packs ,much more fun...but i only have nicad chargers at my house and dont want to spend the cash on nimh charger(i think the cheapest is like $60)..anyone make nicads higher then 1900??

[j.d.roost]

They still make 2400 nicad packs.Not sure if they stopped at 2400 or not. I know that's when I moved to the 3000 nimh cells back in the day. Just pop 2400 nicad pack into google.

[longboardnj]

They still make 2400 nicad packs.Not sure if they stopped at 2400 or not. I know that's when I moved to the 3000 nimh cells back in the day. Just pop 2400 nicad pack into google.

yea theres a problem with that.. even if you get a good deal with these 2400 nicads that you can find in google, they may be low power batteries.. im not an expert on batterys but the best example i could give is the old hobby shop i used to go to in nyc. asked the guy if he had any nicads better then 1700 (all i had at the time were 1700s) he said yea 1800 and 2400..they were a good deal so i took both..long story short they had good runtime but did not have the power or speed of my 1700s, not even close..so if anyone knows of a nicad pack thats better then 1900 or even just a real good nicad that they use let me know..