Totally not car audio related but i'm juiced about this!

Jstas

I have an RC truck that I used to race competativly when I was younger (14-16 years old). Just before I turned 17, the two local tracks I ran at closed within 2 months of each other and I had no place to race. So I was reduced to pounding around my backyard with a disgustingly fast electric RC stadium truck. It got pretty beat up in 3-4 years and I was replacing the usual wear and tear parts (do you believe that tie rods were considered wear and tear on the truck?) but nothing major ever bit the dust on me. The truck was 5 years out of production and parts were very difficult to come by. I guess it is a testament to the quality of the truck that it worked so well for so long.

Anyway, the transmission ate itself up. The diff plats got scored and would not spin properly on the shaft that they were supposed to ride on. This ended up causing the truck to lock up one wheel while the other spun. It would make nothing but left turns even with the wheel turned to the right. The gears ended up stripping out and it was a real shame. Even at 6 years old, the truck was still very competative in its class. Lack of availability in parts meant that it wasn't going to run again for a while.

Well, the other day, I looked at eBay on a whim and found a guy who was selling a complete truck, just like mine, with spare parts and electronics, including a controller. He was cleaning out his basement. So I grabbed the whole kit and caboodle plus a pile of spare parts for about 120 bucks! Now I'll have 2 trucks on the same chassis with a good transmission and a ton of spare parts!

A bunch of people here at work have the gas powere RC trucks and they all tell me that the electrics are slow but they haven't seen a decent electric put together well. No I can fix mine and show them what a real electric RC truck can do! I'm like way stoked and I can't wait for the truck to get here!

OK, enough of that. Back to our regularly scheduled programming!

RuSsMaN

What model did you/do you have?

That brings back some memories. I had a 'Frog' back in 6th or 7th grade. My buddies had RC-10's, Hornets, and Grasshoppers.

We would save EVERY last penny we made cutting grass buying upgraded suspension components, tires, motors. ALL the local hobby shops carried a HUGE selection of parts back then. I know of 2 shops now, with a thin selection.

Fun times. I've got a stock Tamiya 'Monster Beetle' now, purchased a couple years ago when I was feeling retrospective - time to dust it off again.

Cheers,
Russ

Jstas

This is the auction that I "won". I used "Buy It Now" so I didn't really win.

Losi Junior T

Mine looks kind of like this but my body sides are longer. I don't know why he cut his so short. Lets stuff get in and screw up your electronics.



I tweaked mine out the wazoo. I have the same NOVAK speed control but I have the modification that ends up eliminating reverse. It eliminates reverse but increases the voltage to the motor so you pick up a few extra RPM. I also have heat sink mods done to the speed control. I have modified RC-10 steering arms for the rack. They allow me an extra couple degrees before steering stop in either direction. Helps in tight turns and if you tag the brake hard, you can power slide around the turn. The extra degree of turn also helps in counter steering. Made powering out of a skid easy as pie!

I'm going to cannabalize his steering servo and transmission and go from there. I have my motor all setup with cut brushes and heat sinks. I also have an aluminum front shock tower support. Its stiffer and doesn't bend so turn in is lightning quick. The only other thing I am going to grab off of his truck is maybe tie rods. The rest is spare parts. I'm going to use my pinion and spur gear though. The nice thing about his truck is that he has the ball bearing kit rather than bushings, like my truck has. So I may even end up using his entire chassis and swapping my parts. Gotta see teh condition of the parts when I get them.

The Junior T was the bargain, entry level truck when I started. The pro-model that replaced the JRxT and teh JRx-pro was the LXT truck and the LX-pro. The Junior T was lighter than the LXT but it has bushings instead of bearings and the LXT was slightly stiffer. But it was easily fixed with the Junior T. Alot of serious pro racers were buying the Junior T for the chassis and swapping in the bearing kit and LXT suspension. The trucks were seriously competative and they totally embarrassed the Team Associated guys. So much so that most of the RC-10 racers were jumping ship to the Team Losi camp. The TRAXXAS started making decent stuff for once and Team Losi started experimenting too much. That was when I started college and lost all time for everything else. I got out of it very reluctantly. Right now, my large hobby of actual racing of full-sized cars is expensive and on hiatus until after I get married and find a domicile for myself and my significant other. I find I go bonkers without some kind of automotive stimulation of some sort. So RC cars are the next best thing for me.

Keep in mind though that my truck is nothing like anything from Nikko or Tyco. While companies like Taimiya and Kyosho are good companies to get starter kits from, they aren't on the same level as the Team Associated, Team Losi, HPI, Bolink or TRAXXAS levels. I always envied the Japanese companies though because they had really slick bodies not like the lexan press-molded bodies that I have. Then again, my Lexan bodies weight less than a pound, with paint and stickers. The Taimiya bodies were usually 1-2 pounds. Every ounce counts man.

OK, I gotta stop talking about this otherwise every post is going to be a freaking novel!

Jstas

BTW, this dude has a pile of stuff. Check these out.

Tamiya Wild Willys Jeep




Also, a very nicely done TAMIYA M4 SHERMAN-HOWITZER TANK

This paint job, done this well, would have run you about 250-350 bucks to get done professionally. Freaking impossible to do it without an air brush too.



Here is an HPI Nitro RS4

HPI Nitro RS4

This chassis was one of the first gas ones like it and it had to be the wickedest one out there. Way fast, handled like a slot car. Lots of parts available for it too. This one is a good buy at about $220 for a "Buy It Now". In new condition, they were going for about 350-480 bucks. Worth every penny though and still competative racers.

RuSsMaN

That truck looks like it would haul ****, I don't doubt it.

Team Associated made the RC-10, right? I remember my friend and his dad each had one and they actually competed with them. It seemed no matter what I did to my Frog, those damn RC10's always stayed one step ahead, beit speed, turning, stability over obstacles....you name it.

I and my other friends never did any competition, just goofing around in the alley, backyards, and schoolyards and we had a friggin BLAST.

I had forgotten about Willie!!! What a GREAT model. It did actually pop wheelies, didn't it? Now you've got me remembering all the other Tamiya models, the Lancia, the Brat etc. I don't know much about the other brands, short of the RC10. Tamiya was what was sold at the 'main' hobby shop that we could actually ride our bikes to in under an hr, so it was what I was exposed to.

Wish you hadn't ever made the post, I could blow some money REAL quick now on memories of my youth.

Cheers,
Russ

Wolfmag

I was really big in to RC cars as well during my youth & younger adult hood even. In fact, I even worked at a hobbie shop for about 6 months (Castle Hobbies in San Jose, CA).

I still have a RC-10 B3 (buggy version 3) that I bought & put together right before I quit & lost interest. I drove it a whooping 2 times with friend's 9 turn modified. The thing was, to say the least, a bit fast. I used to race the cars that drove up my street (mostly unsuspecting parents driving home, lol). One time I did it to my friend and he said he was going 40+mph and I was gaining on him. The car is still in mint condition (like I said, drove it for 2 times - two battery charges which equates to like 4 mins with a motor like that, lol). The body isn't even painted.

It's been sitting in my closet for a few years now. And with each move I've been taking it with me thinking one day, I'd mess around with it again. However, I don't think I'll ever bother now that I'm so busy. I have a Futaba controller (pretty high end if I recall) plus a bunch of other electronics & accessories, ie. speed control, charger, etc, if I haven't lost it all. If anyone here wants to adopt him, I'll let him go for pretty cheap. It will give me an excuse to clean out my damn closet.

-k

Rogue Torino

Hey Jstas if you ever need any extra parts for that truck send me a e-mail (roguetorino@charter.net) I have a lot of extra parts for the JR. T and LXT.

Jstas

AWWWWW YEAH!

It's back in action! New set of shock seals and higher viscosity oil to stiffen it up a bit. Also got a new set if HPI wheels for the dirt tires plus I transferred the bearing kit! It's faster than I remember it! Gonna wreek some havoc on a few gas trucks soon!




Rogue Torino, what kinda parts and stuff do you have? I may very well take you up on your offer. Especially if you have a decent body. Mine is all cracked up and the body I got sucks total ****. If I can find a new, uncracked body, that'd be great.

Rogue Torino

got all kinds of stuff. Tons of suspensions parts, the three piece wheels(don't have to glue tires on them) i have a lot of parts i'll have to check my boxes again to get a total inventory. i haven't really touched my lxt or any of the jrt parts in quite awhile. If you can't find a body anywhere's over there i think there's a few other bodies that'll fit the truck fine.