Build Thread The most interesting Team Associated SC10 in the world

[CertifiedMike]

The final obsessive classification and packing.
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You forgot one.

I knew a guy who had Kyosho parts like that stashed around.

The person with the most parts...


Needs their head examined!

 

[Spksh]

Needs their head examined!

Hey now, that's my emotional support wall of parts!

 

[RustyUs]

Now this rear chassis brace... that's a snapped ballstud. I didn't notice when I did the disassembly, but you can see from the wear pattern that the previous owner just moved to the outer hole. I thought it was the left front that took a beating, but maybe it was the whole left side?
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(But seriously, how do you snap a ballstud like this?)

You found it (weak spot). It was quite common for the rear ball studs to snap.

The better solution was/is to move to Team Associated's HD ball studs which (back in the day... they were from SC10 4x4) use a slightly larger threaded shaft.

 

[Spksh]

You found it (weak spot). It was quite common for the rear ball studs to snap.
The better solution was/is to move to Team Associated's HD ball studs which (back in the day... they were from SC10 4x4) use a slightly larger threaded shaft.

That’s great info! The original SAE studs (#4-40, 4.3mm ball) are a pain to find anyway.

 

[Doom!]

This thread reminds me of buying a house and finding all of the hidden problems that need attention.

 

[Spksh]

This thread reminds me of buying a house and finding all of the hidden problems that need attention.

Except in this case I'm kind of in awe of the ingenuity, instead of asking my lawyer for the previous owners' new address

 

[Spksh]

OK, yes, I'm procrastinating. Here's my dilemma: I have enough used parts to build out a creditable SC10, but I also have enough new parts to build out a creditable SC10. Sucks to be me, right?

Right now, I'm leaning towards used parts, because this is my first RC in like 20 years, and I'm sure it's absolutely not like riding a bike. I'd had to smash up new vintage parts just because I'm rusty. The new parts can go into the SC10.2 and SC10b that I'm planning.

This is your chance to change my mind.

 

[CertifiedMike]

Build one from used parts, drive it, love it, run it.
Build another, shelf queen or at least a real pretty one... if you decide to run it later, after you are comfortable in the drivers seat again, its ready to go.
In the mean time, if you decide to paint an amazing body and keep it on a shelf, you won't have to go searching for yet another set of good plastics for your 'only driven to church on Sundays' car.

Hopefully you won't totally shred many parts as you get comfortable with the controller again.

I'm in the same boat as you. Its been a long ling time since I've been on a track! Very rusty and I'm expecting my first trophy to be for 'most walls hit'

 

[Spksh]

Build one from used parts, drive it, love it, run it.

Thanks for the encouragement. You're right, I don't want to worry about breaking new parts while I'm learning. That's no fun.

 

[Spksh]

Let's do this.

It always starts with the servo saver. I have a couple of used one-piece aluminium cranks, but let's go with by the book for now.

I ran the old rusty spring through the black oxide process, and it looks real nice.

I'm already glad I invested in a set of MIP hex and nut drivers.

A little 3-in-1 oil on the bushings, and we have a finished top plate. No stripped holes so far!

 

[Spksh]

Front bulkhead time.

It's... fine.

Let's replace those top three SHCS with something a bit more Factory Team...

The first of a few deviations from the instructions, but oof do they look good.

 

[Spksh]

Here's the next major deviation. I want to be able to run modern wheels, and that means ditching the fixed bearing front axles. Yes, the "hex conversion" axles and steering blocks are getting more difficult to acquire now, but this will be the difference between being able to race and... not.

Friends don't let friends skip their C-clips.

I ended up with 3x shims on each axle to eliminate the slop; 2 in the back, 1 in the front. I could have used plastic hexes here, but I've got these used aluminium ones, so why not?

We're going to use these cute black lock nuts, to keep with the theme.

 

[Spksh]

Front arms, with everyone's favourite hinge pin retention screws.

This is where I found the first stripped hole, in the left-hand side of the front bulkhead. I may go back and replace the bulkhead, or just squirt some thread lock down there. Another used aluminium part instead of new plastic.

And we'll stop here for tonight.

 

[Spksh]

RE: bulkhead, I decided to just squirt in some threadlock and carry on. May as well get as much life out of the part as I can.

 

[Spksh]

Front shock tower and body mounts.

Seems like the swivel bases on the body posts go missing, and I only had three used ones across several parts cars I've picked up in the last year. So, I grabbed some aftermarket parts (DRC-0823 DragRace Concepts Body Clips w/Swivel Pads). We'll see how they work later.

Another broken ballstud. This is the right side this time, not the left where we've seen all the previous damage. There's enough sticking out for me to use pliers to unscrew the remaining threaded bit.

More wear where the previous owner just shifted out one hole. They didn't change the other side though, so the geometry would have been slightly off. Enough to matter? I don't know.

 

[Spksh]

Front bumper.

I can probably hide this with the chassis protector sticker later, but it feels like there was a lot of "send it!" in this car's life.

More like a walrus or a hippo now.

 

[Spksh]

RPM ball cups because they're cheap. I've used these before, and it does seem like at least 2 of the 12 in every pack don't have straight holes - they end up screwing on slightly off-axis.

Don't our nickel-plated turnbuckles look awesome? I much prefer this over the sad-looking rusted black oxide look.

The front end is done, until we come back for the shocks.

 

[Doom!]

This poor car has seen a rough life of neglect, good on ya for giving it some love.

 

[Spksh]

This poor car has seen a rough life of neglect, good on ya for giving it some love.

I think someone loved this thing so much they drove it until the wheels literally fell off But yeah, it feels good to bring her back to stock.

 

[Spksh]

Let's do the drive train. I'm going with a gear diff because I just think they're neat. A ball diff might be "better" for the type of track I'll be racing on (outdoor, loose dirt), but I love the engineering of a gear diff and I honestly don't want to maintain a ball diff.

Used gears and outdrives, new seals.

5k diff fluid because I couldn't find great guidance on a place to start for tuning, until I ran across a stand-alone PDF from AE about assembling the B5 gear diff - they used 3k for fluid. I have some 3k coming now, and I might build another diff to compare.

#sext