My RC10GT Rebuild

[Monkey Wrench]

Alright fellas! I'm inviting you all on a journey, a journey to rebuild my RC10GT that I bought (used) and, well, it ended up being in worse shape than the pictures let on, so I'm going to tear it down to nothing and bring it back, kind of like they did with Lee Majors in "Six Million Dollar Man" (for us old farts that remember that AWESOME show!)

Anyhow, here's where it stands right now. I have done basically nothing to it, other than wire a new switch in and redo the linkage. It actually looks respectable now, compare to how it arrived. It came with six pairs of rims/tires, only one of which is useful. The others were either balder than a baby's butt or the rim's were stripped out.

I'll update this as I go, just in case you're interested. I'd really like to get your input and advice along the way. The goal: one fast, bad-ass little rig! I'm looking forward to this project, and I hope to get a lot of insight and ideas from all of you!

So, without further delay, I present "Thumper":

This last pic. are a few of the upgrades I'm adding. I'll put together a list for review and comments as well.

 

[ZANDOR]

The first thing I would do is replace the chassie..
And wtf is that holding the shocks on??is it a plain ol bolt and nut?

Second thing I would do is get a one piece pipe.

 

[Masterskiman]

RPM arms in your upgrade kit is a great move...They also carry a nice front bumper that will definetly help with those front end bashes.
A high torque servo is a must for the steering along with a 5 cell hump pack works nicely.
My son runs the RC10GT...I just fix it!
He loves it because it's fast.

 

[beason]

you got a good start there.. cf towers, rpm rear bulk. and then your "upgrades". you will have a good ride after your done. I've heard the front tube chassis braces are weak. that bumper works GREAT!!! saved me a few times already, what tires you going with? oh and if that .18 is good then that is one nice mill..
here a shot of that bumper.

this is a very strong truck. i beat the snot out of it sunday and finaly stripped the idler gear in the trans. the only thing i want right now is metal gears and the rpm 3 deg blocks.

 

[HeartBreak]

Not a bad score there, monkey man. Only thing that begs a question; does the engine run?

 

[Masterskiman]

Yeah..Thats the one Beason. Keeps stuff far away from the front arms and the shell.
What kind of tires are on the rear?

 

[beason]

some big burrly things. i run in grass so i needed the extra traction. ill have to get back with you on the exact name of them. there not that heavy, and pretty stiff so they grip well on loose stuff. but they wear down really fast. even in grass.


found um.. proline dirt paw tires here a linky
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXDT92&P=ML

that bumper makes for some wickid looking tumbles. and the cartwheels seem to go on forever. but nothing gets hurt

had it pogo on me a few times. that is an odd sight.

monkey if your running around on grass, check out those tires, they work great!! but as i stated they wear out a bit fast even on grass and dirt.

 

[.21Rc10GT]

Is there a big block in the future for this one?

 

[Monkey Wrench]

Heartbreak: That, my good man, is the $100.00 question! It does have good compression, but that doesn't mean it'll run! We'll see when I break it down to clean it.

Beason/Masterskiman: I'm digging that bumper like an artifact! Gonna have to get one.

Zandor: I like the idea of a new chassis, being I'll have it taken clear apart, but I'll have to see if I can find one a tad on the cheap side and I'm leaning to your thinking on the pipe as well.

The one question I have right off the bad surrounds the header pipe. Hard to tell from the pictures, but as it breaks around the head, there is no downward angle, so the muffler literally sits a good half inch to three quarters off the deck. My concern is when I want to put a lid on it because I'm thinking I'd have to cut a good bit of the body out to clear the pipe and stinger. Any thoughts on a replacement header that angles down after wrapping around the head? I may take it to my LHS and see what they have, but if someone has had a similar experience and found a solution, I'd appreciate the tip!

 

[beason]

I'm not rely folowing you but the bodys for this truck have a buldge on that side for the pipe. and the stinger should point down.

heres a shot with the body on. note the bulge for the pipe

and the stinger just pokeing out the bottom

edit: i reread it and understand a bit more now.. (duh) ill check mine when i get home but i dont think my header angles down ether. but hey it fits so no biggy

 

[Monkey Wrench]

Oh, OK then. Understand, this rig was SUPPOSED to come with a body, but it didn't, so I'm going off previous experience.

.21RC10GT: Yes, a BB is in the vision. I sent a PM about the mount.

 

[HeartBreak]

Monkey, that's the pullstart header. To get to to 'wrap down and around to near the deck', you'll need the non-pullstart header, and a nonpullstart engine, starter box, and flywheel/engine mount.

If I remember right, AE makes a pullstart body. It's for the RTR.

 

[Monkey Wrench]

Ah, I get it now! See? Learn something new everyday! Thanks HeartBreak, that clears a lot up!

 

[HeartBreak]

No prob. The only downside to that pullstart header is that the only body that fits (that I know of) is the AE stock RTR body. I think Proline might make a body to fit it. But, I'm not sure.

The only other thing that I see different on your GT is the front C blocks. It looks like the previous owner converted to Kingpin-Ballstud. The original setup is like Beasons.

 

[Monkey Wrench]

Latest News: Alright, pulled the mill and took it apart. Turns out it's in worse shape than originally thought. The compression is worse than I thought and was confirmed by the LHS (who races RC10GT's, by the way). It still has some life left in it, but doesn't seem to be much. So, as I had a $40.00 store credit hanging and he was having a sale on mills, I picked up a Hot Bodies .18. Yeah, I know they're not the absolute best mills out there, but for only $20.00 cash, can't beat a brand spanking new mill either! Also picked up the RPM bumper.

Hopefully I can get some more digging done on it over the next few days! Thanks for all the tips so far!

 

[savagefan04]

Monkey,

how goes the build? any feedback on that hotbodies .18? i just picked up a GT and it looks like the engine will last for maybe another gallon...so, i'm in the market for one and need some feedback.

 

[Monkey Wrench]

Still in process! I'm having a real problem getting the throttle/brake linkage the way I want it. Once I get her rippin', I'll let you know.

 

[savagefan04]

sweet keep me posted

 

[Monkey Wrench]

OK folks, need some help. Got it all back together and took it out to run it. The OS .18 that came on it fired right up and seems to be OK for the time being, so I'm sitting on the Hotbodies .18 for now.

The problem I'm having is, it seems like the tranny is tight (for lack of a better term). I seemed to really have to give it a lot of throttle to get it rolling (which may indicate the clutch shoes are worn), but when I get off the throttle, it stops without any brake. Thought the brake was dragging so I adjusted it, but that wasn't it. When the car is off and I move the throttle servo to open, there's no free rolling.

I replaced the gears in the tranny with Robinson Racing gears and put grease on 'em. I've tried fiddling with the slipper clutch on the spur, but it doesn't seem to be the root cause of the problem. Anyone else experienced this after putting RR gears in? Any other suggestions on where to look for problems? I've tried ruling out the obvious, but I'm not that experienced with RC10GT's.

Thanks!

 

[HeartBreak]

Okay... Easy enough

Have you tried to spin the tranny without the spur gear on the slipper shaft? To remove the gear, just take out the two buttonhead screws out of the spur. Try spinning it then.

How about with the cvd's out of the drive cups?

Once it's isolated down to the gearbox, did you put ANY shims in the transmission? It should NOT need any shims at all.

Did you put bearings in the trans case? There should be a total of 6 (not counting the two in the diff).

Did you check the bearings for smoothness?

Hope that helps ya track it down...