RC10Talk - The Net's Largest Vintage R/C Community

Life changes and all of a sudden I'm without a garage and/or shop for the first time in my life. I can't afford to indulge in my adult hobbies, but if I'm not tinkering with something I'm pretty unhappy I've found. So I decide to get my 10LS out of the r/c box I put it in about 20 years ago, a box I've been dragging around with me since my mother found it in her attic when they sold their home ~8 years ago. I just want to clean it up and make it a driver.

I'm on ebay and other sites looking for odds and ends, trying to keep this reasonable. I'm thinking new body, wheels/tires, gearing, diff balls, grease, modern-ish motor & battery, keep it under $200. I don't know what happened or even how it happened. All I know is that I blinked and as my eyes opened I had turned a room of my place into an R/C-internet-nerd lair. I think I can explain it perfectly in two words "Shark Week" - It was exactly like that, but completely different. Some of you will know precisely what I mean. Some of you will be totally lost. For you people no amount of words will ever accurately get the point across.

So as I type this I think I have ~ten 10L/12L rollers of various sub-models. I just wanted to clean up the ONE I built when I was 11/12. It's certainly getting out of hand.


This is my OG 1 owner 10LS I built ~20 years ago as a kid. I didn't take it down and build it back up again. Just sort of a wash'n lube with a tire change then go run it a few times with a couple other kits of mine at the parking garage at my office on a Saturday. I don't remember the last time I raced, but I think it was summer of 95. Can't believe that was a little over 19 years ago. When did I become "old" ? Going to take it down and clean it up like the other two and do the wiring like an adult.


Made this pack with some of my leftover never used cells from the 90's. I couldn't wait for the batteries I ordered to show up and I figured this would be good practice (I have more I plan on using for display) especially considering I had no jig nor enough wire to do the job. This is all leftover stuff from my pit box I used as a kid.



The cells had never been charged so I figure what the hell, let's give it a shot, and to my surprise they work and work well. It's as if they are brand new. I'm getting several minutes of run time with various mod motors (no Idea about the winds, but I don't ever remember buying anything above a 17t) and I've got another mint set of 1700SCRCs still in the package.

Since the RC4Less wheels were orange they inspired a "gulf-like" livery. It's not done, still fooling with magnets and details.


So I bought this one off ebay, this is where it went downhill. I kept getting outbid on new chassis that would pop-up and honestly I didn't really want a mint chassis. I plan on driving the thing and didn't want to destroy a mint chassis. I just wanted something that's better than what my kit had. I think as a kid I ran about a thousand packs through it on concrete and the bottom of the chassis is well worn.





All the fasteners were rusted and it was super duty, but started to clean up pretty nice.







Initially I planned to just swap out the chassis from this kit and mine and resell it back on ebay, but after I got all the xxxx cleaned off it, litterally, this kit and it's box of spares had mouse turds all over, it started to look really good. Every piece of carbon was far less worn than mine. The bottom pod plate was hardly scratched. It's got a lightweight axle and hubs. I sort of want...everything. Additionally, if I swap all that is it even really the car I spent so much time with as a kid?



So I set out to find a beat pile of xxxx, a real turd, but over the years I've become a pretty good turd-polisher. This won't go as planned, everyone knows these things, but me.

So I bought this pile.





Mainly because of this picture. - Despite the overall shabby appearance the bottom looked decent. There's potential. So I took it apart and soaked ALL THE THINGS in WD-40 because in addition to rust everything had a weird coated residue. There was a very dark brown area on the left side of the left nylon pod and the same sort of things on the wheels. The wheels never bleached out. I'm thinking this thing survived a house fire at some point.



The bottom of the chassis started coming out really nice...Oh no, I don't think I can tear this one up either. I actually stopped putting effort into the topside because I didn't want it looking too nice (but I will go back and make it nice now, plans changed)





So it really started to come out nice. I surprised myself. I've got about 3 full sets of never used white stock wheels and I've got foams on the way for this car. I've got a vintage novak esc and speed control to put with it so I figure I'll do it up like the car on the box and top it with a clear body with some body details, but no paint, for display.




Those two are the only ones I've put work into "restoring" so far. The rest are waiting to be done or I'm waiting on them to arrive.

The invasion has begun;



I'm also working on this, my very first "hobby grade" kit, Losi JRX-2. It will be more of shelf-only kit. Awaiting the body now to do up like the Box-Art.



More pics to follow as I progress. I'm at work and don't have much here to post. In addition to the 6 various cars I had in that box with my 10L I've picked up 4 RC12 variants, another 10LS, a 10L2, 10L SS, 10LS-SS or whatever you would call a 10LSS with the updated front end, an LTO car w/cheetah front end, fiberglass 10LS (real bad shape) and a really bad 10L SS.

Wow! You sure are a fan of the pan cars! I can relate to your lair! I also like your used license plates as cars stands. I think that is a first. BTW, That Gulf like body is pretty sweet!

You've got some killer vehicles there, looking good

SFC K wrote:Wow! You sure are a fan of the pan cars! I can relate to your lair! I also like your used license plates as cars stands. I think that is a first. BTW, That Gulf like body is pretty sweet!

Going through my old stuff I only found one stand, but I had four license plates on that bottom shelf on top of that intake manifold. So I just clamped them to the existing stand and bent them over it. I added plastidip on the area the car sits on to grip it and some more on the bottom edges so it doesn't slide across or scratch the work surface. That really wasmy computer desk until a couple days ago. I was looking at buying a (xxxxxx) proper work bench of the Harbor Freight variety, but I just don't have anywhere to put it. So the computer desk had to become my new work bench. You know, sacrifices just have to be made.

Well, many of them were being sold together or as basically a car and a half. So some of the not pictured or hiding in the picture stuff was pieced together that way.

I really need to be working on things, building things, in my free time. So I also sort of decided to take on some of these to restore and resell on ebay. From the way the auctions seem to go I'll lose a few bucks on every one I complete I imagine. That's not even factoring my time into that equation and I don't care. It may not be a garage full of motorcycles or a fast car, but it's still enjoyable for me. It beats watching TV or pissing away money on beer.

Better picture of the JRX-2. Can't wait for the body to get here.



Thanks for the kind words on the body. My masking bled through on the rear fenders, but once I get through "massaging" the details I'm pretty sure no one will notice.

I understand about shark week. Plus this RC thing is an addiction. Almost like a fever... and the only prescription is more (cowbell).

Old and Nuts....lol

What a combo...."when did I get old? is a question we often find ourselves asking at some point in life and the end results is going "Nuts", lol.

Its seems like you got it good...The nuts part that is...But that means a great collection!

I now prefer to think of "old" as "VINTAGE"

I totally understand you on getting a beater to run, preparing it and cleaning it up just for that.

Then the cleaning becomes a restoration because underneath that grime you find a worthy specimen.

The end result is a very cool and good looking car that you dont want to run for fear of ruining it.

Back to square one....search for a beater to run.

"Nuts" is just a state of mind...HAHAHAHHA

You absolutely wrote a story I can relate to. Started off being a bit nostalgic and suddenly I have a ridiculously growing pile of old RC cars that I will never run. What a strange addiction. Great read. I hope you post more.

harold996tt wrote:You absolutely wrote a story I can relate to. Started off being a bit nostalgic and suddenly I have a ridiculously growing pile of old RC cars that I will never run. What a strange addiction. Great read. I hope you post more.

Same here, 6-8 buggies hanging on the wall, that I bought from guys on this site and I have never ran them.

Def a bit nostalgic, and it blew up from there. I use the dining room area of my place as a the hobby room, the girlfriend thinks it is ridiculous but not having a garage is a serious pain.

Nice collection, the Losi looks great.

This sounds exactly like my story. Had a yard sale 6 years ago and put all my RC parts and pieces out for sale. Kids asked what it was and I said, well they used to be RC cars until I took them all apart when i was a kid. They didn't sell at the yard sale. So i decided to put the pan car I had together. The next thing you know I have 6 pan cars I'm working on lol. Now I got into buggies and went nuts with those as well. I'm soon to have 4 of those. My favorite RC is my tamiya king cab though! I had one when I was a kid and now I have one again. In near mint condition as well!