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So I took my dads old RC10 Classic that he smashed into a pole when he was carpet racing years and years ago and rebuilt the front end. I didn't do much if any work with the transmission and motor other than make sure the transmission still spun freely.

I was driving it in the backyard and a stream of smoke came out around the motor. Now the motor will not run. I can see black on the windings so I'm assuming it's done for.

I put a NiMH 3000mAh in it which is the only thing I changed on it. My question is, Did this battery do it or was it just because it was the original motor in it? It's running:

NOVAK T-1X ESC
FUTABA FP-R102GR

The Motor just says "Team Associated Off-Road Stock", the brushes looked fine

And it does not have a Stealth Transmission.

Either way what motor can I use to replace this one, I'm not looking to upgrade to brushless just yet, but I want to get it running again and will spend the money for a good solid brushed motor maybe even one with a little more power?
How and what should I do to ensure this doesn't happen again?

This is my first real RC car and it was also my dads, It means a lot to me to keep this running and I don't plan on cutting corners on the parts, you get what you pay for.

it was likely a tired motor, could be any one of a couple of things. Could have a burned brush, or smoked a winding, or something else wrong with the brush hood.

If there was nothing wrong with the motor to begin with, the nimh battery would not have caused an issue, unless you strained the motor for a long time, like stalling it or running it in a fashion where it was really loaded.

I have also had the luck to getting something steel sucked into the motor from the vents, such as a screw or washer, which can jam the motor and cause it to smoke.

there are a few stock type motors available still, though not too many, ebay would be an option, or someone like amain or tower hobbies. with your electronic speed control, you can run almost any reasonable wind, from 27t down to 14 turn or so. if you happen to have a local hobby shop, they might also be able to help. stock motors are 27 turn, 540 style.

Thanks for the advice, I ordered myself a new Reedy Radon, Hopefully everything works out. I appreciate the quick response, I saw it yesterday and ordered it soon after.

If he had it set up for carpet racing, and you ran in in the back yard, I'm assuming on grass, what probably happened is that you overloaded the motor since it was likely geared for low-load onroad racing. For off road, and especially for running through grass, you will need a smaller pinion / larger spur when compared to running on road / carpet, which would run a larger pinion and/or smaller spur.

It sounds like you have the original 6-gear transmission. If you can count the number of teeth on the motor pinion and on the spur gear (they should also be stamped somewhere) that would be a start an making sure we keep your new motor running for a while