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Hey now what is the difference in the years of the short white a-arms and the longer white a-arms on gold tubs ? and how can you tell if the car came with the short ones or long, or if the nose plate is changed from one to the other ?

GRIZZLY HERE. About the only way to tell IMHO would be if you have a list of different arms w/pics, what series of cars or trucks they were used on. COMPARE the info. the car owner provides and look for obvious differences.
EXAMPLE: IF SOMEONE HAS A GOLD TUB CAR THAT IS REPORTED TO BE AN ORIGINAL FIRST RUN, AND IT HAS A STEALTH TRANNY. IS THAT CONSISTANT WITH A FIRST RUN RC-10??????
Some other items would be harder to check as most parts don't have a unique part #. Well that's my$.02, GRIZZLY

OBTW, sorry for the caps, brain cell malfunction, GRIZZLY

if the car has a 6 gear trans, it should have short arms. if it has a stealth trans, it should have the long arms. i,m almost positive on this. someone can correct me if i'm not.

another way to check is to look at the championship edition's manuals... associated has both the 6 gear version and stealth version on their website... they also have the original's manual

The short arms only came on the original RC10. I think the longer arms first came out on the RC10 Graphite in 1989. I think that car had the 6 gear tranny still, then came the Championship Edition in 1990. The Stealth first appeared in 1992 on an updated version of the Champ Edition car.

The short answer is you can't really tell if the car came with short or long arms originally. But, there are a few clues for you to make an educated guess. Keep in mind all the parts of pre-B2 RC10's are interchangeable.

Fist, if the shocks are gold with gold caps, those were the first version of the AE shocks. You'd need to have the shock taken apart to know if it's a true original RC10 shock, they changed the design slightly after a few years, but you can't tell without taking the bottom apart.

Also, the front shock tower. The original had one hold and a rounded top. Later versions had 6 holes and squared off top edges.

First run RC10's did not have the stealth tranny. The RC10 was introduced in 1984, the Stealth didn't come along until 1992.

The nose plate is the same on all aluminum tub RC10 buggies.

There were gold tub Champ Editions with a Stealth. It's actually a very common car.

I've also noticed chassis stamps on the rear. Some stamped "A" for six gear only, and some marked "B" for 6 gear and for Stealth. It seems to me that pre-Stealth chassis would not need a stamp, so the unstamped versions might be a little more rare. Also, very, very early runs of the original RC10 have slightly different tires. They are not squared off, they are more round.

I'm very sure of most of the info above, but feel free to correct/add on if something is off.

it also seems championship editions commonly had black parts

The wider front A-arms were introduced with the Championship Edition in 91. (pretty sure it was 91)

Most of the changes between the CE and the original car can be seen in the front end. The most obvious change was the wider arms. The new shock tower was wider at the top for more mounting locations. The CE also used different spindles. The spindles on the original car were offset and were held in place with an e-clip. The CE's spindles are inline with the kingpin. The kingpin passes through the spindle and is used to retain it. The swaybar wasn't included with the CE. Check to see if the holes on top of the front suspension mounts have been used.

The CE had the original 6 gear transmission which was replaced with the Stealth later on. (not sure when) The rear axle carriers are a little wider at the top on the CE than they were on the original car. (.195 vs .160) I think that's the only difference in the rear.

Other than obvious things like different wheels and bodies, it's kind of hard to tell the cars apart. With spare parts you can turn your car into any version you want. It's not like collectors have to worry about matching #'s with these cars.

I hope that helps.

Electrohacker wrote:it also seems championship editions commonly had black parts

Those black parts you see are dyed. The CE's originally had all white parts. But, if you order replacement parts now, they'll be in black.

Dyeing the nylon was a popular thing to do back then. It looked cooler in black, and it was suposed to make the part stronger too. Don't know about the stronger part, but black did look better than the white, and it didn't stain or look as dirty after use.

sweet.. and the ce's changed to stealth in 92 original ce was 90... that's from the manual

Hey man, you guys are smart but i have a set of mint short a-arms, and a set of mint long a-arms boath in white, and a a stamped chassis, so which set of arms will make it more of what people like to have ? i love the long arems myself. i will have pic up soon of it . but thanks on all the post of this guys ryan.

I don't know what people like better. I myself prefer to run the longer arms because they work better. But, on a shelf car the short arms look really cool and nostalgic.

If you're going to run it, you might consider getting a pair of black arms because they don't make the white ones anymore.

I personaly hate it when you see a gold tub with black arms. It just doesnt look vintage. Im sure there were tons that had black arms but as far as the Vintage look. Short white arms are the ticket.



Dont tell me this buggy would look just as cool with gawd awful black arms?

I actually think it would look better. It would no longer be a box art replica, but it would look better. Black is as vintage as white. White is just factory. I remember seeing more black parts than white ones, before the black ones were made by AE. But, having said that I would never, ever dye white parts black today. I'd just buy new black parts if I wanted black ones today.

shorty is that your box art rc10?

if so its obviously very nice, but i'd like to know what paints were used.

and i only dye parts if they are stained from the sun or grease. i am a big fan on non-dyed parts but only when the white is REALLY white. to me, it just feels more 'old' if its gold and white.