Inside Look – RC10EGT Pro Build

Before the explosion of 1/8th scale racing, there was a time period where gas-powered stadium trucks filled the heat sheets from top to bottom and perfectly bridged the gap between the exciting, fun-filled 1/10th electric racing with real enduro style racing that incorporated pitstop strategy, teamwork, and car/tire wear. Then, when the Team Associated RC10GT hit the scene, 1/10th gas truck’s popularity blew up and so did the popularity of the RC10GT platform. It was widely loved for its fun driveability, parts availability everywhere, and magically became the introduction to nitro racing for most racers in that era.

For a time, the RC10GT was the industry’s foray into racing nitro cars. But, unfortunately, the time was limited as things move fast in the world of RC racing as 1/8th scale vehicles soon took over the nitro racing scene. Then, RC10GT’s were slowly being left at home but never forgotten. Fast forward nearly 20 years with the flock of current modern stadium trucks being released as mid motor trucks, definitely brought us back full circle as a lot of RC10GT nostalgia and chatter filled the air.

Starting us off with the RC10EGT build is the JConcepts Hi-Flow stadium truck body. Although uniquely different than the original RC10GT body, there are still a lot of similarities between the Hi-Flow and could be considered a more modern, tougher rendition of the original. Popular for its classic truck shape, the Hi-Flow is definitely a real winner in terms of styling mixed with race-winning performance.

From front to back, the project starts off with a JConcepts designed 3D printed bumper piece courtesy of Shapeways. Having a rounded bumper that allows for better body fitment leads to more body options and the inexpensive 3D printed bumper is simple yet effective. Check out the front bumper at our Shapeways store.

Towards the middle of the RC10EGT build, we really get to see the build in full glory. Instead of the standard black anodized chassis, this one stands out with an awesome custom blue anodized finish making it unique from the rest of the builds out there. With polished nose tubes and raw aluminum accents, really make this build shine. As you can see the RC10GT was mid motor before it was cool. The gas tank is now fitted with a Reedy lipo HV battery and the engine replaced with a Reedy Sonic motor and to be honest, it looks so natural and awesome!

Utilizing one of the biggest game-changing developments in RCs, the Team Associated Stealth Transmission with ball diff has remained relatively unchanged since its introduction and over the years and has become the transmission designed utilized by everyone else in the industry. Although not the first to come up with the 3-gear transmission, AE definitely paved the way in this area.

Borrowing from the successful RC10T, the front of the RC10GT is unchanged and still using the smaller bore shocks, springs, and pistons. Of course, we had to utilize our JConcepts RC10T front shock towers for this build giving it that extra flare while still maintaining the classic good looks of the RC10T era.

Being one of the 1st gas racing trucks ever produced, the RC10EGT build uses the stock pieces that are very similar to the same caster block and spindle setup we use today. The only real difference is that there are no adjustments to raise or lower the spindle. It’s been a while, but one thing we don’t miss is the E-Clips! Check out those old school e-clips!

We wanted to match our front carbon fiber tower so we created the RC10GT rear tower based on the updated RC10GT ‘Factory Team‘ tower with the wider shock mounting locations. Although this part is a prototype part, we will be releasing more information on this part shortly. **Update** We’ve just uploaded a 3D printed RC10 EGT Rear Bumper to our Shapeways store to help people complete their builds.

In outfitting the electric version of the RC10GT, there was only 1 brand we wanted to go with that carries the name synonymously with the Team Associated RC10GT movement and that’s Reedy. Taking over the steering unit is the Reedy RT1508 HV Hi Torque servo. With 187.4 oz of torque at .10 sec speed, the RT1508 is more than enough power at 6.0V and when switched to 7.4V, the 212.4 at .08 sec is beast mode with value.

There’s no doubt the Reedy 510R is an all-out competition ESC. With many race wins under Spencer Rivkin and Dustin Evans, the 510R has proven itself at the highest level and it’s feature rich program box makes it one of the most popular ESC’s out there.

The newest generation Reedy S+Plus motors have quite the following and have proven to be very competitive with smooth power delivery and high RPM redlines. The S+Plus motors do carry the nostalgic “Reedy Sonic” motor hype around them from the glory days of modified brushed motors.

As of now, JConcepts does not make an RC10T specific Fin Titanium Turnbuckle set, so we pieced together our own for this build. We also tossed out the stock ball studs and went with the bigger B6 ball studs and B6 ball cups for way more consistent fitment. The stock stuff just popped off too easy and we wanted a truck that you could actually race and not just sit on the shelf looking pretty.

The steering system is all stock with ball bearing bellcranks and tricked out with Fin Titanium Turnbuckles keeping things looking stylish and tidy.

Since the original RC10GT was built using a gas tank instead of a battery, a new 3D printed RC10EGT Battery Hold Down was developed to install a conventional Lipo battery. This, along with the motor mounting system took a bit of design and ingenuity to get going, but overall happy with the outcome.

By adding the JConcepts Dirt Webs with Dirt Tech insert to the modern retro build, this will probably be the biggest benefit to lap times. As tire tech improved greatly over the years, the latest generation of tires take this retro build and puts it into a whole new level.

One of the major pieces of the puzzle was the motor mount system. Since this was originally designed for a .12 size nitro engine, we needed to find a way to mount up a brushless motor system. It just felt natural to create a JConcepts RC10EGT Honeycomb Motor Plate to give it the JConcepts flare. Since this is a prototype part, the production motor plate will be anodized black and consist of the elegant aluminum chamfer highlights that JConcepts is known for.

One of the hidden components to getting the Honeycomb Motor Plate to work properly is the motor plate/chassis brace. This machined aluminum block will also be anodized black and structurally bridges the motor plate and chassis to give more strength to the motor mounting system and chassis.

The last piece that you’ll need to get the brushless motor mounting system to work is the 3D printed Motor Plate Spacer. This acts as a spacer that allows you to crew the tranny case to the motor plate giving the transmission housing and motor plate more structural strength. With these 3 units, the motor plate, the motor plate brace, and motor plate spacer, the 3 gear Stealth Transmission in the RC10GT can readily accept a brushless motor system and convert your GT into a totally electric RC10EGT!

If you have questions please feel free to write a comment below and thanks for checking out this edition of Inside Look!