AE RC10 JPS Superswede tribute
This all started with a very lucky find on a local buy&sell site a couple years ago.
The guy didn't know what he was selling and also, I didn't know what I was buying.
The ad advertised one of those much talked about Team Associated RC10 with some extras and the original box. Given the low price asked, I thought I'd jump on it to find out by myself what all the hype about this car was about.
I had read a bit about the 'legendary' RC10 on TC and various other forums, but besides the successful racing pedigree I wanted to feel the famous 'magic' of this car in first person and therefore I took this rare chance and bought it without second thoughts.
I walked home with the car in its original box + some spares, various batteries, remotes and a charger. Part of it was junk, but the car itself and the box were in good conditions, and the instruction manual felt like it was barely ever opened.
After some further research I found out that I had stumbled upon an early one, A-stamp Edinger as the address on the box also suggested. Didn't care too much about that detail though it felt good that it was one of the more artisanal, earlier cars. I even considered selling if off to somebody more into RC10 than I was but by then, after the first cautious approach with that weird aluminum chassis tub, the car was already growing on me.
It sat in its box for one full year before I dug it out eventually with clearer ideas on what to do with it, but even before momentarily storing it two things already got my attention: the well guessed suspension geometry that just felt so 'right', and the exquisitely artisanal feeling of the whole thing.
When I finally started the restoration, after the whole stripdown and cleaning of every component down to the last e-clip, I made sure to start with step.1 of the manual and kept following it to the completion of the car, basking in that mid-'80s feeling that literally irradiated out of that manual. In the introduction they said something like 'now clean up your workbench, grab a sandwich and let's begin'... what a nice way to engage the builder regardless of the age, just priceless! What manual would start like this nowadays? Compared to now, those were still slower times when things were built to last, and that instruction manual is so warm and down to earth that I would almost have expected some hand written notes at some point. What a precious experience it was.
Anyway, back to the actual build which I reckon started exactly one year ago. I decided to restore it as a runner, trying to keep things original with some flexibility: I didn't mind keeping the aftermarket Dahms' body and the nice vintage 2' inch HPI wheels. After stripping it down it was clear I wouldn't need much, I only had to get ball bearings (good ones from California, might as well), new rear tires and an aluminum steering rack set as the original felt quite fragile.
I started a build thread on TC and got a lot of suggestions and aswers from fellow members and RC10 experts (thanks a lot to all and especially @mtbkym01: thank you for your availability, help and support!).
Soon after the chassis was done, and it was time to start on the body.
This quirky vintage Dahms' shell looked like and old shoe to me! But still it had potential as it also reminded me slightly of a Formula1 silhouette, so an idea started growing on me.
I decided to go for one of my all-time favourite liveries, the black and gold John Player Special, and to do an off-road tribute to Ronnie Peterson the Superswede, one of my most admired Formula1 drivers that sadly never got to win the title he so deserved.
Shell got painted, and a decal set from MCI was perfect for the purpose. It proved to be a good idea as these graphics fit that body quite well.
Next was the driver. I scored a Tamiya one online, painted it and fabricated a couple metal braces to hold it where I wanted it to be. Some more artisanal work can be found under the driver as the car came with no battery holder: a couple strategically placed plastic retainers paired with a small velcro strap did the job just fine.
The rear wing is artisanal. I got a little bold and decided to take my chance at fabricating one myself: it was full lockdown everywhere and even if I could wait long, which I didn't want to, there was nothing online that I would have liked at that moment so might as well try my own.
I am happy with how the wing came out but also aware that many may cringe at the idea, which I understand: an original RC10 has its 'integrity' broken by some Losi front tires, Schumacher rear ones and an artisanal wing but whatever, this is how the car came to life and I love it just as it is :)
As a matter of fact, I have to admit I liked how this car turned out so much that I couldn't bring myelf to getting it down and dirty yet. It had a short maiden run just to check that everything worked and that's it, but I'm planning on taking her off the shelf and down to the road very soon. During that brief run I already fell in love with the handling and the sound it makes.
I hope to have a lot of quality RC time with it this year as soon as the snow melts.
Thanks for reading, hope you'll enjoy the pictures as well.
UPDATE 8/5/2021
The buggy is finally seeing some action! I started driving it a couple weeks ago, what a treat, what a feeling. This car truly is incredible.
Added a few action shots below, more to come later
Comments
Tamichael
Great colour scheme and nice story !
MAD-BEE
Great write up and mate this buggy looks fantastic! I love the JPS theme!
BH+Struggle
Absolutely love it - those Rc10s are so quirky but man are they great!
Well done - love the scheme and glad you kept to enjoy and RUN!
Awesome - thanks for sharing mate!
Cheers
Doc007
A great read, beautiful looking car and some super shots. Your choice of livery really works brilliantly with the gold tying into the chassis. Don't know much about these cars except I love this one.
Ferruz
Thanks a lot for the comments folks!
mtbkym01
Such a fantastic result mate, glad i was able to help a bit when you were restoring it. Edingers are very special as they are the birth of a 26 (or something like that) time world champion buggy. Great job mate
Tamiyastef
Absolutely love the JPS livery, very well executed! Nice write up as usual. I remember the JPS formula 1 cars from my youth. (yes I'm that old )
miniguy77
I love JPS in F1, and is even better in your RC10!
Ferruz
I'm glad you guys like it!
Cheers
SHY69
Nice job!
berman
Stunning! I had a A stamp in a Edinger box, but sold it before restoring it. Love what you've done with it!
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