Help bring my RC10T back to life!

[vancerm]

Hi! My RC10T has been sitting in a closet since I left for college almost.. 20 years ago. My son discovered it recently and I thought it would be fun for us to get it running again. I was pleasantly surprised to find this forum full of similar stories, so I thought I'd reach out for help.

Here's the current condition of the truck:

More photos here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/od5Y2852zvRoytQq1

My goal here is to get a nice backyard / baseball field runner to have fun with. There's a good chance this will end up being a gateway truck to more in the future, so I don't mind spending a little bit extra if it will help me in the long run. I have a number of questions, so I'll get right to it.

It's a team truck, but I don't remember what iteration. Any guesses? The front arms and pins are pretty worn and I'm missing clips on one of them. The screws that hold on the front steering assembly to the chassis are pretty worn out and stripped too. Are there rerun parts available or would I have to find another similar truck to scavenge from? Is there anything else obvious from the photos or that I should check to replace?

I'd like to convert it to a brushless lipo. Long (~30 min) run time is more the goal than power. I have a charger and balancer from my heli that I can use. Motor/battery/speed control suggestions? I'd like something that wont destroy the tranny and diff if possible, but still fun to drive up and down the street. I'll definitely will want a low voltage alarm too for peace of mind (and incompetence). It has an 87t spur and 20t pinion currently. Suggestions for the pinion with a brushless to keep from smoking the drivetrain? Speaking of smoking the drivetrain.. are there any close to drop in replacements if that happens?

If this was your truck and you wanted something simple to drive around the neighborhood, what would you do?

Any help would be much appreciated and thanks again for this community. It's been really fun reading so many similar stories to my childhood. I'm looking forward to sharing my truck with my son. It's certainly not what I expected to happen when I was mowing lawns to save up for the kit in the 90's!

[R Cane]

Looks like it's still in pretty decent condition!

[Lavigna]

Your RC10T looks to be in good condition. Nice looking truck. A few years back, I also found my RC10T from childhood, and did a complete rebuild on it. I have a build thread on here if you have a few minutes - https://www.rc10talk.com/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=38723

My suggestion is to get a copy of the RC10T truck manual. They are available for free online, and likely on this site. From the manual you can get the part numbers for the pieces that need replacing. All of these parts should be readily available on eBay.

If you are on Facebook, join one of the vintage RC groups, like Old School RC. They are filled with great people who can always help. You can also put together a needed parts list, and post it there, and someone will likely put together all the needed parts in one simple package deal. This RC10Talk.com site is a great resource, but it has been quite vacant recently. The Facebook RC groups are much more active. I suggest exploring both for help and resources.

Keep up posted on the rebuild. Careful, it is addictive!

[scr8p]

How about we offer suggestions other than going somewhere else.

Well, you pretty much know you gotta rebuild the trans and shocks. Easy enough, the parts are out there. I'd start by tearing the whole truck down, cleaning everything, check for and replace any worn out parts (most are easily found).

As for a brushless setup, to me, I would just stay in the 17.5 range. Good speed and power, especially with lipos. Good run times, and you won't be tearing the diff up. Here's a combo that could get you going without breaking the bank.

https://www.amainhobbies.com/hobbywing-xerun-justock-zero-spec-sensored-brushless-esc-motor-combo-17.5t-hwa38020402/p453306?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI1uje5Pbc2gIVx16GCh1XGwd9EAkYASABEgI0pfD_BwE

You could always look for a higher end setup on ebay, used but in nice condition, for maybe around the same price.

As for lipos, SMC has good packs at reasonable prices. I'd go with shorty packs.

https://www.smc-racing.net/index.php?route=product/product&path=67_97&product_id=415

I'll let others chime in on a decent low cost lipo charger. I haven't looked at any in awhile, still using the Hyperion chargers I've had for years.

[Devilbrad]

Cool truck! I like the original body and with that being said...I would find a more modern body to use while playing around so as not to damage the original. Speaking of damage...in lieu of using the stock control arms, you may want to find some stronger aftermarket ones like RPM's. They seem to be more abundant than the factory AE arms. Good luck with the build!

[DaveM]

10T manual here,

for some reason it's in 3 parts,

https://www.teamassociated.com/cars_and_trucks/RC10T/Team/manuals_setups/

[RC10th]

Nice truck, looks to be in great shape !!

I'd run A 10.5 sensored combo with 5000mah LiPo.

[vancerm]

Thanks for all of the help! I've got a pretty good idea now of what needs to happen to get up and running again. I'm going to disassemble and evaluate what needs to be replaced and get to part hunting. I think I may order up a modern car too, so I can catch up with what's changed in the last 20 years and remember how to work on these with abundant available parts.

[Devilbrad]

Thanks for all of the help! I've got a pretty good idea now of what needs to happen to get up and running again. I'm going to disassemble and evaluate what needs to be replaced and get to part hunting. I think I may order up a modern car too, so I can catch up with what's changed in the last 20 years and remember how to work on these with abundant available parts.

I'm doing the same. About to pick up a new AE or Yokomo buggy. Still deciding...

[vancerm]

What would you expect for run time on a ~4600 mAH lipo for a 17.5t? What about a ~6100 maH? How would you expect that to change for 13.5t? This is just bashing around the neighborhood. I'm trying to decide what size batteries and motor to run.

[CamplinP]

My 2 cents worth would be to go with a more powerful motor and tune down if need be via the speed controller software. Then when you desire more speed it will be there. I use between 3500 and 4200 batteries. They run for quite a long time and charge in decent time. I personally like to have more smaller bateries and change them so the electronics can cool down and check for anything wrong with the truck. Charge time is highly depedent on the charger. Many batteries can charge at more than 1C now if the charger is up tp it.