Memory Lane
Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 3:12 pm
Hi everyone,
So I just moved across the country from Massachusetts to Oregon. While we were packing up the house back east, I ran across my old RC-10 and decided to throw it on the moving truck figuring I'd give it to my boys someday. So here we are 3 months later, and of course we have the one room in the new house that is still full of boxes. Well I dug out the old car a week or two ago, charged her up and low and behold, it works great! I'll post up some pics when I get a minute, but I figured you might want to hear a little of the history. (and no, it's not the boys' toy, it's MINE!)
My first "real" R/C was a Grasshopper, which I think I managed to break the first week I had it. I started talking to some folks at the LHS and at the time, (1988?) the RC-10 was the name in town. I saved up my pennies and bought a used gold-tub from some neighbor kid. And the fun began! There were no off-road tracks in my area at the time, so I quickly realized if I wanted to race, some modifications were necessary. For racing options the local clubs had weekly carpet racing in a school gym. Just about that time, someone opened a big paved, banked oval track in Wilmington, MA. (anyone remember that place?) Before I know it, the car had been lowered, mid-engined, and running foam tires (man, I miss the smell of Paragon!) It went through many, many evolutionary steps, but all started with that gold-tub. I did pretty good racing at the local track, and was learning alot about car suspensions and electricity, so my parents fully supported my new hobby. ALL my allowance went into the RC-10 and before long it had a graphite chassis, custom suspension (front shocks in rear, with a custom shock tower, solid front suspension with an on-road type spring suspension, Andy's a-arms etc) The mod I remember the most was when the Stealth tranny first came out. What a difference over the 6-gear! and my first Novak speed control - 410-M1c. There were also many other mods that didn't work, like that Hyperdrive belt system that I think I used all of once. (still have it if anyone's interested)
Since I now live in rural Oregon, there's not too much good pavement to drive around on, so I've been converting it back to buggy duty. I should have taken some pics of exactly how it was when I dug it out, but oh well.
I was excited to find this message board and see that there's plenty of old kooks like me who still have fun with these "vintage" cars. It's also impressive how many new parts are still available! I have access to a machine shop, so I've been able to make some parts myself, but gotta love eBay!
Well, rant over. Looking forward to sharing stories and advice with you fellows!
Dave
So I just moved across the country from Massachusetts to Oregon. While we were packing up the house back east, I ran across my old RC-10 and decided to throw it on the moving truck figuring I'd give it to my boys someday. So here we are 3 months later, and of course we have the one room in the new house that is still full of boxes. Well I dug out the old car a week or two ago, charged her up and low and behold, it works great! I'll post up some pics when I get a minute, but I figured you might want to hear a little of the history. (and no, it's not the boys' toy, it's MINE!)
My first "real" R/C was a Grasshopper, which I think I managed to break the first week I had it. I started talking to some folks at the LHS and at the time, (1988?) the RC-10 was the name in town. I saved up my pennies and bought a used gold-tub from some neighbor kid. And the fun began! There were no off-road tracks in my area at the time, so I quickly realized if I wanted to race, some modifications were necessary. For racing options the local clubs had weekly carpet racing in a school gym. Just about that time, someone opened a big paved, banked oval track in Wilmington, MA. (anyone remember that place?) Before I know it, the car had been lowered, mid-engined, and running foam tires (man, I miss the smell of Paragon!) It went through many, many evolutionary steps, but all started with that gold-tub. I did pretty good racing at the local track, and was learning alot about car suspensions and electricity, so my parents fully supported my new hobby. ALL my allowance went into the RC-10 and before long it had a graphite chassis, custom suspension (front shocks in rear, with a custom shock tower, solid front suspension with an on-road type spring suspension, Andy's a-arms etc) The mod I remember the most was when the Stealth tranny first came out. What a difference over the 6-gear! and my first Novak speed control - 410-M1c. There were also many other mods that didn't work, like that Hyperdrive belt system that I think I used all of once. (still have it if anyone's interested)
Since I now live in rural Oregon, there's not too much good pavement to drive around on, so I've been converting it back to buggy duty. I should have taken some pics of exactly how it was when I dug it out, but oh well.
I was excited to find this message board and see that there's plenty of old kooks like me who still have fun with these "vintage" cars. It's also impressive how many new parts are still available! I have access to a machine shop, so I've been able to make some parts myself, but gotta love eBay!
Well, rant over. Looking forward to sharing stories and advice with you fellows!
Dave
