RC10 Edinger stripdown and restoration to JPS livery

[Ferruz 11702]

Motor and dust cover are now installed.

The motor seems fine after a good clean and some TLC. I had to re solder the cables and the filter capacitors. I wonder how it could even run consistantly, the way it was: the wires were simply twisted around the contacts! Anyway all good now. Happy with how the dust cover turned out, at least from the functionality point of view: cracks are repaired, and it now sits tightly where it should, doing its job. Esthetically speaking I can't cheer too much though: it clearly shows where I did the repairs (btw I've used some transparent duct tape which also happens to be vintage, after 25+ years in the garage), but fortunately that part will be almost fully covered by the body shell, so it'll only be noticeable with the body off.

Small price to pay  as it allows me to keep the original, now cloudy looking dust cover. In case of any inconvenience I'll just get a new one later on, but for now this is it with the mechanics!

Next step is now the elecronics.
Many options, many -too many- holes already drilled in my gold pan. I ain't drilling any more, that's for sure.
Due to my driving style I was hoping to be able to put the battery all the way to the back, but my packs (the usual 7.2 6 cells) don't fit unless I force them in, stressing the chassis, which I don't want to do.
So it turns out the battery will have to go in lenghtwise, which is fine, and at least it turns out I'll be able to install the servo further in the front without having to butcher the tub any further.

Speed controller, receiver and switch will go on the sides, so what's left is to figure out some sort of tray, posts or straps to hold the battery into place. A little thinking and tinkering will hopefully bring a solition to that.

So, st this point it's time to start thinking about the body... here's what I will be working with: black ps paint, a fresh JPS decal sheet from MCI, and a late '80s (...or so it seems) Dahm's body.

This quirky, foil-wrapped aftermarket shell didn't exactly win my heart at first, though in time it definitely grew on me. If only the roof was more angled with the windshield! Instead of that aerodynamic slope up... meh. But I liked it enough to decide to keep it.
The spraying part won't be of much interest: it'll be all black, so any real graphic work will be done using decals. That's to be figured out, there's a few options that this decal sheet allows.
By the way, if anybody has any info on this body shell I'd be interested in knowing.

More progress soon to come!

 

[GTodd 1346]

Looking good man!!!! 

The body looks like the Turbo Mirage Body from the latter RC10s ie Worlds and Team Cars. 

[Ferruz 11702]

Thanks a lot for the info! I looked it up and it really does look like it. At a closer look there are a few details that are different, especially on the back, so mine is probably an after market one by Dahm's. Might end up getting a wing after all, I'll see after I decal it up!

[graemevw 823]

I run my battery lengthways too. I used the original battery tray but double sided taped it to the chassis rather than drilling new holes. 

Its been track driven and crashed a bit and it's not come loose.

[Ferruz 11702]

@graemevw thanks, good to know. Do you find that the lenghtways battery impacts the driving a lot compared to the other way?

Anyway I'll ll still have to figure out something, as the car came with no battery tray. By the way, it came with this set of batteries that I didn't really take into consideration from the get go. They are quite compact, with 8 AA sized cells, 9.6 V and 850mAh.

Do you think they're worth a shot before i set up a battery tray for the 7.2s? 

[graemevw 823]

I never drove it with the battery side to side so i dont know.

As for those other batteries, id ignore those completely. They are the wrong voltage, have a low mah rating and look awkwardly shaped. 

[GTodd 1346]

Oh man Tyco rc!!!! Those are for toy grade rc from the late 80s early 90s. Kind of like Nikko. They did make a super cool hover craft.

[Ferruz 11702]

Thanks guys! Exactly what I thought but now I have no more doubts  I will keep ignoring them. I'd gladly give them away or sell them off for a buck on local trading sites, if it weren't for the times we live in!

[Ferruz 11702]

Was it a thing, in the '80s, to wrap the body shells in foil instead of painting them, or is it just the previous owner that was particularly out of whack?

Odd! Well, works for me as now in theory all I have to do is unwrap it and I'll have a nice unpainted body to work on

 

[mtbkym01 4008]

37 minutes ago, Ferruz said:

Was it a thing, in the '80s, to wrap the body shells in foil instead of painting them, or is it just the previous owner that was particularly out of whack?

Odd! Well, works for me as now in theory all I have to do is unwrap it and I'll have a nice unpainted body to work on

 

I’ve never seen this done before

[Ferruz 11702]

The steering servo is finally installed. This took a while, also because I decided to stick to the original "piano wire" of the kit  instead of more modern rods and ball cups.

At this point I've chucked on the electronics just for a moment, to tune the steering and to check that everything worked. All good! 

So next will be the battery. I Still need to figure out how to hold it in place.

Speaking af electronics, this is the speed controller.

It came with the car and looks pretty aged to me, though it's electronic. Is it one of the first generations of ESCs? Once again, any info on this part would be appreciated.

Working on the tire lettering in the meantime, and today I might also start stripping that foil off the shell.

 

[Problemchild 2149]

23 hours ago, Ferruz said:

Was it a thing, in the '80s, to wrap the body shells in foil instead of painting them, or is it just the previous owner that was particularly out of whack?

Odd! Well, works for me as now in theory all I have to do is unwrap it and I'll have a nice unpainted body to work on

 

That’s a really good idea

JJ

[GTodd 1346]

3 hours ago, Ferruz said:

The steering servo is finally installed. This took a while, also because I decided to stick to the original "piano wire" of the kit  instead of more modern rods and ball cups.

At this point I've chucked on the electronics just for a moment, to tune the steering and to check that everything worked. All good! 

So next will be the battery. I Still need to figure out how to hold it in place.

Speaking af electronics, this is the speed controller.

It came with the car and looks pretty aged to me, though it's electronic. Is it one of the first generations of ESCs? Once again, any info on this part would be appreciated.

Working on the tire lettering in the meantime, and today I might also start stripping that foil off the shell.

 

Ha, the same one came with my RC10. Pretty good esc for stock motors back in the day.

[Kayak 50]

I remember using the foil tape on the outside of rear wings, and 'buffing' with steel wool to get the look of the fancy aluminum wings.  The inside of the shell is something I've never seen before.

Been rebuilding an 'A' stamped Cadillac myself, trying to replicate the one I replaced my Superchamp with.  Thankfully, Associated repop'd the car, so replacement bits were so easy to source.  Going to be a runner, so I set all the original suspension plastics aside, bought new and dyed in the old scheme.  Body needs finishing, but there's a bunch of other projects all going on at the same time... my Superchamp, which has almost nothing left now that the gearcase turned out to have ruined bores for the bearings.; a 80's Wild Willy and Clodbuster that belong to a best friend husband and wife duo; a badly abused Samurai and the brother in law's Frog.  Everyone needs theirs fixed for them after being allowed to bash about with some of my runners...

 I know... purple and yellow with orange?  Even orange Sharpie on the edges of the shock towers!  The bright yellow with purple body will be an eyesore as well... but the car was easy to spot on the track

[Ferruz 11702]

Kayak your car looks quite funky! Please do post some pics when you are done the body.

So, as previously planned, I did some lettering on the rims and tires. I know it won't last 10 minutes once I start running the car, but still I couldn't keep from doing the crazy, almost useless job.
Turned out to be a tough one, too: the front tires are used, so I had to "guess" more than a couple of letters/numbers that were gone due to wear.

One funny thing turned out in the process: the "Schumacher C.A.T." font is quite different from one tire to the other, so even if they came in the same sealed bag they've got to be from two different batches   Ha.

[Ferruz 11702]

I've worked on the body shell. When stripping it, I found it had no cracks and barely any scuffs (it was hard to tell before, with that odd body wrap on). It also showed the poor trim job, but that was sort of good news as I got the chance to re-trim it.  Now it sits perfectly on the chassis.

I really liked how it looked once "unwrapped".

Usually I am all for bold colors but this time the bright decals had to go, given the livery I'm going for.

The stickers have been carefully peeled and religiously stored, I'm totally going to recycle them on a future project! The 'Dahms' ones are the only that didn't survive the peeling.

Here's the painted shell. I'm happy with how it came out, definitely better now than with that silver wrap

....and now the decals. It will be challenging to figure out these! Can't wait to start.

 

[Ferruz 11702]

Started on the decals today. Wow this one really takes a lot of patience.

But it's also a lot of fun

[Ferruz 11702]

The body shell is finally ready. It took a lot of patiece and pondering but it was well worth it, it came out exactly as I wanted it to so I'm very happy! 

It might get a wing, still debating that (but I'm working on something...) and it's screaming for a driver, but the body itself is done.

The pics aren't great and I haven't wiped off all the fingerprints yet but I'll take much better ones when the car is finished.

 

[mtbkym01 4008]

Looks fantastic Ferruz, great skills

[graemevw 823]

Love it!

If it were mine id fit a wing, but leave it clear with maybe a decal or two.

[Ferruz 11702]

Thanks guys for your comments and appreciation.

New updates, the battery housing is finally figured out.

Given the current situation, lockdown and all, I didn't wanna order any bits or parts and wait forever. Hence I was really committed to solving the problem with whatever I had on hand in the garage.

After a lot of thinking and some rummaging I came up with this solution... might be a bit overkill and rudimental, but it sure serves the purpose: now I can shake the chassis upside down full force and the battery won't shift a hair.

I know it feels a bit odd to see such plastic buckle on an rc car, but it's functional and after being a little perplexed at first it's growing on me now. I'm waiting for a driver figure anyway , which will either cover the buckle or have it slightly shifted in case it doesn't fit. I did fit the shell on and it looks like there will be room for both.

Besides the infamous buckle, this bracket below is the main part of the battery holder I devised. I trimmed it from some hard but slightly flexible packaging material, which already proved to be good for similar purpose when I used it on my Hornet some time ago.

 

So, all the ingredients are in the pan now! 

 

Wired up and ready to go.

I could say I'm getting close to completing the project if it wasn't for the driver still to come, not to mention the wing situation: still haven't made up my mind about that.

Nevertheless, the next pics will most likely show the built car so far.

[Kayak 50]

Ferruz, that John Player scheme has been a favorite since the first time I saw one.  Lovely, it's going to look fantastic. 

  Everyone's sheltering in place and staying home... except folks like me... deemed essential and getting to work every day... the only blessing is traffic has been non-existent… turning commuting into a joy instead of drudgery.  Weather is finally starting to warm up, so I'll be on to the nerve wracking job of painting a bunch of bodies, including the RC10's... eventually.

[GTodd 1346]

Nice man!!! I'm itching to get back into mine!

[Ferruz 11702]

The RC10 JPS is finally finished! 

For now, at least: the driver figure is on its way, but who knows how long that will take. At least I know how to paint i,  because I know "who" the driver will be...!

About the wing, even though I think it looks rather good without it, I decided to put one on eventually. I might replace it with a bigger one in the future, for now I went for this bold little wing and I like how it looks. A bit odd, but quite unlike any other I can think of.

Took it for a one minute spin in the patio, it drives smooth and turns sharp and as agile as a snake, wow! To my driving standards at least, the feeling is amazing. Too bad now that it's finished I can't bring myself to dirty it up yet! I guess it will find its good spot on the shelf for a while, so I can enjoy the clean car and the smell of new tires for a little longer! But of course, I'll drive the heck out of it later on.

Anyway, hope you guys like it, comments are always welcome.

Thanks everybody for the contributions, help and insight.

[mtbkym01 4008]

Congrats on an awesome build, Looks fantatsic