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

Hello all, new to the forum,

I've been messing with R/C's on and off sense my dad bought me a Savage 25 for my 10th birthday, so about 10 years now.
I never really worked on them myself however, until recently when I got back into it, Boy, was that a mistake..

On to the main reason of this post.

My uncle at some point bought a RC10T. I am unsure when he bought this, or if he bought it new or used, but The truck was given to us sometime in the early 2000's and has been sitting sense.

I recently started thinking of getting the thing fixed up and running, I think it would make for a fine club truck. Much better than the rustler I've been tinkering with.

Here's the problem, Where do I start?

I know exactly what I want the truck to be, (Brushless 17.5T running 2S Lipo) and I know some of the things that require attention so I figured I'd try the forum dedicated to RC10's.

The hardware is very rusty (and some of it is completely missing) I wouldn't count on this being salvageable. Ive seen screw kits on eBay for about $15 bucks, But I'm not sure how good this will be. I'd prefer the entire truck be hex head, not the Phillips on the bottom of the truck and the rest appears to be hex, However I'm not a picky man. Advice on a quality screw kit is all I'm really after. If i have to have phillips on the bottom of the truck, so be it.

The Turnbuckles are also very rusty (And again, Some are missing). I'd like to replace them. In the box of stuff the truck is in, I have RPM Ends so I might be able to use those, But again, Not sure where to look for a good turnbuckle set.

I'd like to convert the truck to 12MM Hexs. The original wheels are all here, which is nice, however the tyres are glued, or at least the front tyres are, However the drive pins slot directly into the wheels, im not sure how crazy I am about that. I'd imagine it would be much easier to convert to hexs then find factory wheels.

Will the transmission hold up to the power of modern brushless motors, with a 2S Lipo? I have not had it apart yet, however it feels very smooth and nice, the cups will need replaced though, they are again, rusty. In the case the transmission isn't up to the job or needs new gears, can these be found? Or are there other options for transmissions. Please note, the current plan is 17.5T Stock class, I've heard some people say the stealth transmission can handle modern power, others say it will not. Very confusing.

There is no body. I'd rather not spend $100's on a factory original body, or even less for a reproduction body. As nice as the stock body is, I'm not a particularly big fan of supporting knock off bodies. (This is my personal opinion, if you want to do the opposite, by all means don't think I'm here to tell you you're wrong) What body will work with the stock body mounts? I think I remember seeing someone running a RC10T4 Jconcepts Finnisher body on their RC10T In a Vintage Offroad nationals video, Will that work on the stock body mounts? What bodies are easily obtainable and work in general for this truck?

Being a bit lucky, My uncle at some point purchased MIP CVD's for this truck. The package hasn't even been opened. Well, mostly. I worry that with age these might not work out, does anyone still make CVD's for this truck?

Ill include a photo of the truck (I'd add more but sadly my phone broke today, Unlucky right? Atleast I have one..) Is there anything missing that i haven't yet mentioned? I don't have a manual for this truck. I'll print one out, but still curious if theres anything I need that anyone can spot.

Lastly (For now) Whats a good way to just clean this truck up? Im sure there will be more things that need be replaced or fixed, but those are all the things I can see for now. The truck overall is in very nice shape, from what I can tell, it's never seen dirt, never even ran to be honest, But its still dirty from sitting for many years.

Sorry for the long post, and I appreciate any information that anyone can give me.

Looks great .. First go to team associated and download the manual, it will give you the appropriate part numbers for everything an since the re release most stuff is available... The transmission built to specs can easily handle 17.5.. The RC10T2 and T3 bodies fit easily enough never tried a T4 but it can't be too hard... Repop original bodies are on ebay usually around $30 from team blue groove... Strip it down remove bearings an I would wash each part with dish soap and some scrubbing brushes. I usually polish the hinge pins an ball studs in a drill or dremel with simple autosol metal polish. Check the bearings if dodgy go to avid rc they are $1 each,probably want new rod ends if you are getting new turnbuckles anyway.. I usually use the team associated screws,if you want stainless go team knk hardware... Get new e clips,and shock rebuild stuff and some green slime and put it back together...

Standard wheels are still available and depending on the axle size of the new cvd's you can use T4/GT2 wheels,hex requires some work especially on the front, the rear is not a problem if you have 3/16" axle size.... The standard kit rear axle is 1/4" an has specific wheels to suit, the 3/16 axle is available in a cvd kit or you can just buy the axles if your new set doesn't have the 3/16 axle... The 3/16 axle only requires the rear hub bearings to change with them and if not in the cvd kit you have they should fit the cvd bone no problem....Good luck

+1 for the standard wheels. Bully is pretty well bang on the money for technique, tedious, but worth it. The last few trucks I built I ended up buying a few sets of Lundsford turnbuckles from the ebay rc chop shops, much cheaper and hard to go wrong.

If your axles are complete, you could just get some of these.

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&W=001059421&I=LX2948&P=K

I wouldn't worry about the 1/4" pin drive with a 17.5t. You can also modify the t4 hexes* with a 1/4" countersink to fit the 1/4" rear axle if you want to go hex; I used a drill press to get the depth right.

* http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXDDYM&P=7

So you're not really wanting to "restore", you actually want to modernize and run it. Totally fine, but the two are very different, and the advise on parts will vary greatly depending on your route.

It's easiest to just keep the Phillips head screws for the under side of the chassis. Most of the smaller ones are already hex. If you do want to change any, just remember they are S.A.E sizes, not metric.

I run a RC10T that looked almost exactly like yours. Like, really, exactly. It has since been converted to Castle brushless, shorty lipo packs, and a different front shock tower that allows me to run a buggy body but keep the long front shocks, and I also run buggy wheels. But what I started out with was exactly what you have.