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"I swear this is the last one." Yeah...fat chance...

Some of you probably saw this one on eBay not too long ago. I thought it looks interesting, so I picked it up. RPM bulkheads and steering knuckles, nylon rear hub carriers (might be RPM?), A&L steering rack, Ti turnbuckles, Jammin' (?) upper deck, belt tensioner, Andy's front and rear arms, 2mm belt and diffs. Interestingly (not shown in the pics), the diff pulleys are black rather than the usual white. The '91 Works has white 2mm diff pulleys, so I wonder where the black pulleys are from? The owner did mention that he colored the non-black parts black, so maybe they were dyed?

Not too crazy about the chassis and shock towers being painted black, but it's a pretty smooth finish. The four screws on the bottom for the motor mount are not countersunk, so I'll have to replace those with proper screws. I'm neither her nor there on the Kyosho shocks, but I do like the gold and black look, which reminds me a bit of my Lazer ZX (http://www.rc10talk.com/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=32109&start=15). I'm thinking silver/gold flames into a black body would be appropriate here. Not sure if I'll do it on the provided body, which is missing the protective film and has a few scuff marks. Overall quite pleased, though. I have a rear swaybar that I'll probably add to this, and maybe change a few other things (e.g., gotta fix the downtravel on the rear shocks).

So you got that one.. I had my eye on it too but decided not to go for it since I am building one similar to that one already down to the Kyosho gold shocks.. you may be able to strip the painted parts unless it will be a shelfer.. I would think the paint would flake off with use and not look so great.. otherwise maybe you could swap them out with stock graphite or carbon.. that would look good!

nice yoke though.. I like it..
Shawn

This one is certainly a shelfer, so no need to strip the paint. I think it'll grow on me. I do like the idea of having an all (or mostly) black chassis.

I went through it today and redid the shocks. The rear springs were actually cut, so I tossed those and replaced them with proper Kyosho black springs (also did the same for the front). Also shaved the rear lower deck a bit, to bevel it out more at the back of the rear arms, to get more rear ride height. There were self-tapping screws in the RPM bulkheads. I'm guessing that's how the RPM bulkheads came? Replaced those with hex screws. Also added a TBG 870c undertray. It's a bit narrow, but it fits well enough. Haven't installed the rear swaybar yet. I have two of them and put at least one of them aside for my runners if I need it for tuning. The other one is NIP and I may or may not install it. We'll see.

Next step is the body...

For the top of the RPM bulkheads they are self tapping.. going to swap out mine as well.. going to go hex throughout.. the blacked out look is nice but I have a set of trinity neon yellow wheels for mine that I will use along with a another set of some 2.2 for running that I may dye since they are white.. still getting parts for that one though.. just need a couple turnbuckles for the steering and my custom towers and top deck to get building the roller.. I am just being lazy though..

Shawn

I think I just figured out how I'd like to paint the body for this one...

http://www.sennafiles.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/lotus-1986-senna-paul-ricard-1.jpg

Let the decal hunting begin...

Decided to take off the TBG undertray, because it actually doesn't fit quite right. TBG make three undertrays for the YZ10, and the only one that fits correctly is the Pavidis undertray (which should work on the '93 Works and up). The 870 undertrays are too narrow and that pushes the side pods out. Then the body doesn't fit correctly.

More concerning than that, though (since that's just a piece of plastic) was something I discovered on the rear shock tower last night. It appears that the previous owner was not able to mount the inner rear camber link ball studs in the original position, due to too little space between this ballstud and the rear bulkhead (uh...mount the ballstuds first, then mount the tower on the bulkhead!). So they drilled a hole that is a bit higher up to allow for more clearance. As you can see quite clearly, these holes are not well aligned. So now the rear suspension geometry is cockeyed. That's a blemish I want to get rid of, but since both the front and rear towers are painted, I'll have to replace them both to avoid a visit from the fashion police. Wonderful...

How do you like the rpm bulk heads? I have 1 car that going to be all decked out in rpm bulk heads, and using andys or rpm arms,, and rpm hubs and knuckles. I like the belt tensioner in the back bulk head. All my cars now days are built to be runners. So, do you think the rpm bulk heads will hold up?

I can't speak for traxxas people, but back in my day you couldn't break a rpm part. The magnesium bulkheads on the other hand broke a lot. For a runner, I'm sure you will love the RPMs

I love RPM products. They are indestructible.

That being said, I can't speak with authority for the RPM bulkheads on this chassis, because it is not a runner. Brandon G used RPM bulkheads on his 870c at the VONATS a few years back, so he could probably speak better to them. I would say, though, that my main concern with them is that they are completely open at the front and rear, and so you're just begging for dirt to get in there unless you close them off with lexan or something. Other than that, I don't see any problem with them in principle.

My take is to use the RPM bulkheads only for a shelfer, since these parts are quite rare, unless you have no other choice. I use the magnesium bulkheads on my 870c runner and have yet to break one, despite running it pretty hard in several races with modern 4wd buggies and some 4wd SC trucks. Just don't drive it like an ass and you'll be fine

Good points. Ill see about a front cover. Looks very nice all black. I like those gold shocks too!

Yeah, it's pretty cool. I'm just pissed about the rear shock tower. I may order a front/rear set from Fibre-Lyte.

Hey bummer about the shock tower!

As for the TBG undertray it was the exact issue i had and i think a few others on this forum. As you say the other under trays seem fine but i guess they r designed for slimer chassis. What about the shell did u have an issue fitting it on the front bulkhead cap at all?

Great idea re paint job, maybe a bit of gold in your flames may look cool too! I do like the black look!

The shell that came with this car, I think it's an original. It fits fine. I have TBG shells for the other 870 and some of my other YZ10s and they fit no problem.

As for the paint job, gold and black would be pretty cool. This body, though, has a few scuff marks and no protective film on the outside, so I don't plan to use it. I'm considering a TBG Apache body for this, but a body like that is so wild that it's better with fluorescent colors, so we'll see. I have a Lazer ZX that will need a painted body, and gold/black would go well with that also. One of these two will come to the dark side.

Hmmm well i guess i just got a really bad example from TBG in that case. It tore as well so. But what. An u do right. Yeah was thinking black and gold like the old F1 John player special after your Senna inspired paint job. Which is i still think one of the most stunning shells i have seen...the simplicity just makes it stand out!

Thanks

I have wanted to do a Senna tribute shell for quite some time and have had 1/10 F1 decals sitting around for a few years now (originally purchased for a 15th Anniversary F103 that I never built - still NIB sealed). I was always a fan of the old Marlboro McLarens, precisely because of the boldness of the paint scheme. It is simple, and yet somehow putting that Marlboro text on there makes it so pretty. How ironic, considering how deadly cigarettes are. I don't see people writing "Chernobyl" on their cars, but they'll put "Marlboro" just about anywhere...