So its been a year....

...And I haven't done much.  I built the Kyosho Scorpion, and recently sold the never-run, not-yet-painted car...because I fell off the wagon.  I am going through a bit of a purge period, trying to winnow out everything I really haven't used, and focusing on what I actually drive.  I'm still driving LunchMoney, and have cleaned and sorted all the parts for my vintage RC10 rebuild.  Now its just a matter of re-assembling it and getting it running again.

I've also been bitten by the club racing bug, and am building a 1/10 touring car chassis to race in the USGT class at a local track on the weekends.  I'll probably also post pics of my latest acquisition...a vintage Kyosho Nostalgic Series Cobra!!  Stay tuned for updates.  

Scorpion teaser

I couldn't resist the urge to pick up the rerelease of one of the initial ROAR National Champions, the Kyosho Scorpion. 

I've previewed it before, but the fine folks at Kyosho have modernized the classic buggy kit for modern power -- it should handle mild to moderate brushless motors, and upgraded a few parts, like using aluminum for the suspension arms.

Reading RC Car Action's blog series on this car makes it sound like a fairly easy build, so hopefully I can get it assembled in short order. 

I also picked up Spektrum's new DX4C transmitter, as I want to try out the AVC functionality, so stay tuned for a write up on that, as well.   

RC10T Rebuild

Last year I was able to acquire 2 early 90's RC10Ts. 

I was going to rebuild one as a runner, and keep one as a shelf queen, but then decided to give one to my brother, as we both had one of these trucks as kids. So I'll be rebuilding the one on the left above for him. I'm gonna go "Ultimate Combo" style for him, and include everything he'll need. 

Here are a few shots showing the condition of the truck. All in all, not bad for a 20+ year old truck!!

The transmission is SUPER clean. 

All I had to do was re-lubricate the ball differential and add some Team Associated diff lube to the gears. 

So far I've also replaced the unknown weight shock oil with Team Associated 40wt fluid and rebuilt them. 

I'm working on restoring/rehydrating the original tires, and waiting for an order of ball posts and a steering turnbuckle to arrive. 

I'll be installing a basic Reaktor stock brushless system, and a Spektrum DS2L DSM radio, which will be covered in the next update. 

RC10 Worlds Car build - part 3

Here's an update that goes up through a finished chassis. 

The rear bulkhead and shock tower:

Stealth transmission installed:

The finished roller:

I really enjoyed this project. I used a JR metal-gear servo for guidance duties:

Here it is, ready for tires and electronics:

I used a Speed Passion Reventon Stock Club Race ESC and 17.5T brushless motor, which was super easy to install and required NO soldering!!

And all ready for body & paint:

I used Pro-Line Dirt Hawg tires since I'm mostly going to be bashing with this car. The tread is perfect for general running around, and the compound is quite durable. 

In the final update I'll show the body's paint job and wrap up this project. 

RC10 Worlds Car build - Part 2

So I promised a post about the front end of the Worlds Car. 

Here's the front suspension, mostly assembled. I hadn't finished building the shocks yet, so this is how the build stood at the end of day 2. 

I also teased some aftermarket parts.  Instead of just buying bearings for the steering, I picked up JConcepts aluminum steering upgrade kit and their aluminum front nose tubes. Just for a little bling factor. 

Here's the JC steering kit installed. 

Stay tuned for the next update. I'll cover the rear-end completion and the transmission install. 

RC10 Worlds car build - part 1

I started building the Worlds Car re-release about a week ago. It was a thoroughly enjoyable build, and everything went together smoothly, for the most part. 

I won't give a blow-by-blow, photo-action account of the build, partly because I really want to highlight a few things, and partly because I don't have pictures...  :-)

No, this isn't a vintage ball differential...it's a brand new unit. 

The Stealth transmission mostly assembled. The gears are a little tight at some points in the revolution, so instead of using the clear lubricant, I put in black grease. This is a tip from a Team Associated employee, posted on RC10talk.com. The transmission should free up a bit as it wears in. 

Assembled

Showing the V2 slipper. 

In the next installment, I'll be starting the front end. Here's a teaser of a couple goodies I'll be using. We'll just say that finely machined aluminum is a little blingy... :-)

Stay tuned for the next update!

Lunch Box Build Update 10 - front suspension upgrades

Lunch Money now has a 'proper' suspension up front, with the conversion using the CRP FX10 setup. This upgrade is very helpful as the suspension now maintains the same camber throughout the range of the motion. Here's the suspension uncompressed :

And compressed:

Kinda hard to see, but note how the angle of the tires relative to the ground is constant. (Above)

Here's a close-up of the right arm, showing the Arrma turnbuckle, Tamiya Mini CVA oil-filled shock, and the CRP arm and knuckle. 

And here's the left side, slightly compressed. 

The bolt seen on the top of the steering knuckle is a M3x20, which I did not have, and was lucky to find at Lowes. 

Heres how I mounted the inner pillow ball for the control turnbuckle:

Basically drilled into the front chassis piece, secured with a locknut and medium thread lock. 

I did have to modify the arm where the hinge pin slides through. This is because the shock would hit the steering rod, preventing full articulation. I cut about 1/4" off one side and flipped it over to the other, basically using the piece as a spacer. 

The "spacer" is on the right (to the rear) of the shock. You can see the mark used to make the cut near the front. The brass spacing sleeve fits perfectly in there. 

This mod was pretty easy to do, once I had the right pieces-parts. I used the shock 'pogo springs' from the original kits "shocks" on the front which are a really good match, providing a plush, but not soft, ride. All in all I'm very happy with this hop up, and since it is from a pre-Lunch Box model (the FX10), I feel it keeps with the theme of a 'retro' build. 

Classic Kyosho videos

I was looking on YouTube for videos of classic Kyosho cars and found a couple of what look to be promotional videos for various classic cars. Here are a couple links: 

Optima Mid, Raider, etc:

http://youtu.be/7G73JF3YEjI

and: http://youtu.be/jBtETAqgaCs

It's amazing how far today's technology has come, in terms of speed, handling, and power. Seeing these classic cars zip around really illustrates some of the great history of this awesome hobby. 

RC10 Project update

It has definitely been a while since I provided an update on the vintage RC10 project. I have all the parts, I think...

-wide front arms

-correct front shocks

-Stealth transmission

-MIP constant velocity drives

-RC Screwz full stainless screw set

-diff rebuild kit

So...I just need to make time to actually, y'know...rebuild it!

Of course, now Team Associated has re-released the Worlds Car kit...

So...chalk up another 'must have' kit (that's actually on the way!)

Kyosho joins the vintage scene!!

That's right!!!  The venerable Japanese premium car company has joined the "re-re" movement with an upgraded version of the original Scorpion!!  This version has some minor tweaks to allow drivers to use modern brushless motors, while still retaining all the character of the original, scale-look car!

Here's a teaser shot:

And here's a forum posting on RCGroups:

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2152492

This is definitely on my list of Vintage cars to own!

Time to get back at it!

This post serves as a bit of a renewal of this blog. I've recently really enjoyed running Lunch Money, and decided to do a couple mild upgrades. I've added Tamiya's mini CVA oil shocks (and probably have to change out the oil for some heavier stuff...and upgrade the springs to some a bit stiffer. 

While I have added the light set to the original van body, I am not super happy with the top-heavy running characteristics.

To fix this, I'll be topping LM with a Parma Lunch Box Lexan body...MUUUUCH lighter, and better for bashing!  

I'll also be adding a Tamiya Sport-Tuned 540 motor, for just a lil more "oomph", and better wheelie-holding power. Another great thing about this motor is that it will work with the stock ESC. 

Finally, I will be addressing the niggly handling by:

- Upgrading the front suspension arms with lower FX10 arms, and some turnbuckles to make a 'poor man's double wishbone' setup. 

- Adding the 3rd/5th shock mod out back to even out the rear axle pivot characteristics and improve rear traction. 

Stay tuned for updates as I complete Lunch Money's latest hop-ups. 

Tamiya Lunch Box Update 9 - Decals & Chrome

Finally paint is done!!  I was at last able to get a coat of clear gloss enamel on in a layer I was happy with. Not too glossy, but enough to sparkle:

So I was able to start my favorite part, decals. This is the time in the build where I think the model really starts to come alive, and get its personality. 

I had to figure how to poke a hole in the lightning bolt for the rear body mounts and not destroy the decal. Slicing a small cross on the sticker was easy, but it wasn't until I looked at my paintbrush...it has a perfectly tapered handle to slide it in and ease the decal into the cut hole. 

Which gave me a nice, clean mounting hole:

Then I added all the chrome bits:

I have to say that taking the extra time to 'silver' the license plate holder was worth it. I think it adds a touch of class:

Same with the little divider in the front windows:

The only thing that really surprised me is how heavy this body is. I've read a lot of comments about it on several forums, but I wasn't prepared for the sheer mass if this beast. I may pick up the Parma Lexan body for running, and use this one as Lunch Money's display top. 

All in all, I am very happy with how it came out.

Now I can't wait for the milled aluminum body mounts.  I also need to figure out how to protect the body from the clips, as I noted during a test fit they had the potential to gouge the paint. We'll see. 

Project teaser!

So I have a side project that I'll be working on over the next few months. Here are a couple pics to pique your interest:

Stay tuned for more on this project!