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

Hello, RC10Talk! Let me start off by introducing myself;

I've got a small stable of RCs, but I'm definitely not a rookie anymore. I got my first real RC back in 2006, a Revo3.3 that drove me absolutely around the bend with broken arms and an engine that no amount of adjustment would ever richen. When it finally #$@%ed me off badly enough, I sold it and dropped out of the hobby for a couple years.

In 2009, I came back in style and picked up an HPI Savage Flux. Over the past six years, I've beaten the living crap out of it and it's never disappointed me. Of course, I modified it a lot over the years, leaving out all the cosmetic crap. The parts list on it is insane, but the highlights are the CF chassis, aluminum bulks, center diff, and XL2/1650kv powertrain. I've had it at the Columbus Monster Jam a few times and taken it off the car stacks to heights well over 40' without damage...

Along the way, I picked up a Slash 4x4 Platinum and added a few small mods, including a MMM2/2200kv. It's been up to around 90mph, and I'll be shooting for 130mph with it come spring. I'm also building a high-speed truck based on the Savage platform, using dual motors. There's also a heavily modded MERV VXL3S/3500kx that's driving me nuts...

So, yeah, not exactly a rookie.

But I am new to the RC10 thing. A week ago, I picked up an old gold-pan and a Hot Tricks from Facebook. Both need work, but I think I got a decent deal.

The gold-pan is an A-stamp with Futaba servos and receiver, but it has an old sweep speed controller that I might just see if I can get working, for the heck of it. The chassis is in great shape, the plastics, not so much. I'll probably replace all the plastics right off. The original shocks are dry, but smooth. It's got a bumper I can't identify, and a CRP Kydex nerf bar. The motor is garbage, though, and all the soldering looks like it was done by a five-year-old with a curling iron. I'll be doing a racing build on this, or possibly a brushless high-speed build.

The Hot Tricks is the same story, a bit rough, but salvageable. The plastics are in better shape, but they'll get replaced anyway. This one I'd like to do more of a resto on, since it seems to be fairly uncommon. The chassis is in good shape, and it's got an old speed control that I'd love to keep, if it works. It's also got an old Proline front bumper, and foam oval tires with GOODYEAR painted on the side. The motor is actually missing the endcap, but if I can find the right Futaba AM transmitter and crystals, I'll keep the other electronics. I won't ever make a shelf queen, but a nice running resto would be cool.



Anyway, I've been lucky enough to get great advice from the Savage crowd, and to gain enough experience there to GIVE good advice, too. I'm glad to see the RC10 crowd seems to have that same level of helpfulness and experience. I hope to learn a lot from you guys as I work on these two buggies. Lord knows I have questions. These little buggies are so simple compared to my Flux, but I haven't got a clue when it comes to brushed systems.

You've got a good start. There are a LOT of knowledgeable people here, so you should be able to get answers to any question you've got!
Nice to see someone somewhat nearby...

I hope so, because I have my first newb questions:

1. What's the difference between the stock A-stamp transmission and the Stealth trans?

2. Will either the stock trans or the Stealth trans handle something like a 3800kv brushless on 3S?

3. How in the cold hells do I get the wheels off? I've got the knock-off undone, but the rims will not budge. This is the gold-pan, with the aluminum outer half. Is there some trick, or do I just pull until something gives?

4. Is the oringal body for the Hot Tricks still available somewhere? I can't seem to find it.


R Cane, Ashland isn't a bad drive for me. I'm a truck driver, so an hour and half is a milk run. Might have to go bashing sometime.

Hi FluxAscender,

1) The Stealth is a better design less gears less drag,and because it has a slipper clutch.

2) Yes as long as you rebuild them first.

3) It goes on a taper which can be hard to remove, keep pulling, maybe try some wd-40 or

Penetrene first.

4) Probably not , TBG (Team Blue Groove) does some reproduction bodies on E-bay, I'm not sure

maybe you could just use a RC10 body?.

http://www.ebay.com.au/dsc/Radio-Control-/2562/i.html?_sop=15&_from=R40|R40|R40|R40|R40|R40|R40&LH_TitleDesc=1&_nkw=tbg+rc10&LH_PrefLoc=2&_pgn=2&_skc=50&rt=nc

Cheers, Dave.

Your stock trans is called a 6-gear around here...found that out the hard way when I was a noob, and I asked about an internal part of one (a very obvious part once you become familiar with that trans).

Yes, I'm not too far from you. I have 2 brothers that are more like neighbors for you, one in Reynoldsburg, and one in Blacklick. Neither of them are RC heads though. Well, the one in Reynoldsburg really wants to get into RC aircraft, but he has little spare time right now because of his job.

Unfortunately, there is next to nothing for options where I am for running, unless you just go out in the street. I'm in Loudonville, a tiny little village in the middle of nowhere. Mostly around here, I hook up with my brother in law and some friends and we go crawling at his place...he's on about 120 acres with a good sized pond and some nice woods and ravines...great for crawling...not great for road or dirt track cars. When the pond is frozen over, it's a hoot getting some cars out there on the smooth ice and sliding around. My EMaxx does ok around here, but it's a beast and will go through about anything. One of our crawler friends nearby has a weed-overgrown dirt track at his place that we used like 15 years ago for go karts, and we are trying to talk him into converting it into an RC road course, but he's pretty busy. Some day...

I've got around 33 or so vehicles now, about 50/50 between electric and nitro (I much prefer electric - the nitro will likely get sold as I get them serviced and cleaned up), and not a single one of the electric is brushless. I just don't have anywhere to go to use that kind of speed...besides, I think deep down, I like the more complicated aspect of all the extra nuances of the older vehicles. Nostalgia and all, from when I was a kid.

I'd get a runner gold pan and shelf that one myself.

The really early RC10 had the much lighter gold ano...is that what I'm seeing on your Hot Trick car? Or is that just lighting differences from the camera angle?

I think the Hot Tricks does have the lighter color anodizing, but I'm on the road now and can't check. I'll try to remember this weekend.

As for not having places to run except off-road...




I think I can handle that, lol. Savage Flux HP, Castle XL2, Traxxas/Castle 1717 Big Block 1650kv, ALZA center diff mount, FLM aluminum bulkheads, PlatinumRC Carbon fiber extended chassis, Hot Racing diff cups modded for thicker bearings, GPM diff gears, all Class 12.9 hardware, Savox SC-1256TG servo, Hong Kong HD nylon arms...


Beatnik, the Hot Tricks will be a running restoration. I won't bash it, but it's not going to be a pure shelf queen. The A-stamp is going to get a brushless conversion. I'd rather build what I have, the way I want it, than buy a rebuild from someone else.

BTW, R Kane, if you really want to get your buddy to convert that old track, get a group of guys to commit to doing most of the hump work and set up a rotation to take care of maintenance. If he really is willing to have the track there, jump on the opportunity and take the WORK part of it off of his hands. Makes it a heck of a lot harder for him to say no if he doesn't have to do the labor.

Yeah, I thought of that, we've all been pretty busy too. I'm gonna try harder to get some help and get it done this spring.
And nice rig