I got one for christmas in 1985 (9yrs old). I used the mechanical speed control because we couldn't afford a novak. I also used the motor that the kit came with. I traded it for a skateboard when I was 12yrs. My bestfriend still owns the car

My first RC car was the Tamiya Lunchbox. All my friends had various brand cars and trucks. So much fun for 10 minutes at a time

I raced that car in the 80's. At the local track stock and modified miss those days

You weren't a "man" until you have blistered your fingertips on one of those mechanical speed control resistors, lol!

A classic among all classics. These have aged extremely well. I have mine and runs beautifully...a total beast. All of the modern cars draw lineage from it. Mine is 1987. Mostly stock except for motor, esc and battery. Still ridiculously fast.

No Stamp ( light gold) Very first gen A Stamp (gold) 2nd gen AB Stamp (gold) 2nd gen with Stealth holes added B Stamp (black or gold) 3rd gen with Stealth holes C Stamp (black) Worlds Light weight chassis (milled)

Matt they actually did have electronic speed controllers. They were so expensive. I remember it being like $125 which in 1984 was like WOAH. also the radios came with 2 servos so it was like throwing away money if you bought an esc. Cool you and I are about the same age. My dad got us in the hobby in 1984 with a Tamiya FOX.

Awesome. Looking forward to more of this! I was 8 in 1984 and drooled over the grasshopper in my youth.

Nice! Love those early RC10. Battery is mounted weird in that one. Mine were always straight. The battery tucks into that shock tower pocket. Servo tape is strong enough to hold servos. Memories... Every battery charger I had from 80s & early 90s had that big dial timer. You plug-in the battery and set the timer for 20 minutes. Listen to the timer click for 20 minutes. If the battery was still cold set the timer for another 5 minutes. Repeat till battery was warm. Lol. Oh and the old school 4-pin Dean’s connectors, way before beefy Dean’s t-plug. In the 80s I had Novak ESC and switched to Tekin in early 90s. Checkout the Tekin 410K... it’s wild. Orion batteries were the bomb and Trinity Green Machine motors killed it.. Memories. My favorite was first gen RC10T (91 or 92?). Those were so easy to drive compared to buggies. And my second favorite was a RC10 gold chassis with stealth transmission (89-90? Can’t remember was very young) so not as vintage your awesome buggy.

In 86 all of us in our neighborhood got hobby grade RC's. Most of us got Tamyia's, one Optima, and one got the RC-10. Saturday's were so much fun at the track.

I had a mechanical speed controller in my Kyosho USA-1, which at the time back in 92 was scary when it got stuck at wide open throttle. It and the Clodbuster were the biggest RC trucks at the time. Still a lot of fun back then though, can't wait to get the USA-1 up and running again.

All rc10s had servo mounts. On this car they were removed. I always dyed my nylon parts dark blue to match the body color. I missed that car so much. I had one of every generation of RC10 through the years. Raced the Winter Nats in FL circa 1991. Got to meet some really cool people.

I had one in 88 raced it at Perry's rc hobbies in Radcliff Kentucky I was 11 it was probably my favorite car of all time I have three of them now and still love them.

My first rc was a stampede with a mechanical speed control back in the early 90’s. This makes me want to rebuild an old rc.

I feel like everyone who was into RC in the 80's and early 90's had an RC10. It's such an iconic design.

Udisco is a company from Montreal’s on boulevard Decarie . Now closing down, but in the days, they were the biggest importer/distributor for major companies. I remember finding stuff with old price tags and it was amazing. They were in plastic kits, trains, collector’s edition of everything.

I had one of these 22 years ago. it was a later model than this but still similar. I bought it second hand and it was first "hobby grade" RC car. It was still considered an old model even back then but I liked it. Associated was a different company back then. I remember emailing them regarding spare parts and getting an email back directly from Gene Husting. If you don't know, that is like emailing Apple and getting a reply from Steve Jobs himself.

That's a nice motor and a great find. I still haven't been able to add one to my Kyosho brushed motor collection. Great video!

The RC10 prototype had a steering servo attached with tape, but all production cars had servo mounts. The wire wrap around the steering servo and throttle servo is just some kind of hokey repair in the past.

My first RC was a Tamiya Grasshopper with a mechanical Speed Controller :-) Greetings from Vienna!

Wow, super cool. I graduated in 1987, we built a track, and we're racing gold pans in 1985. We charged the RC battery's off are real car battery's, I don't think my charger even plugged in to 110. My servo is hard mounted.think that was a stock option. Can't wait to see the build.🏁🏁🏁🏁👽👻👍.

I had the first gen rc10 when it first came out. sold it ... then I bought the black pan /stealth trans and till this day I still run it once in awhile with the novak speed controller (called the rooster) Brings back the good old days of rc.

this took me back to being 10 and building it with my Dad.

3 step speed controllers, burnt fingers, antenna crystal flags.. oh when I was a kid things were different *LOL* , thats a beautiful buggy, I drooled so hard over the RC10

omg! My Grasshopper speed controller burned me more than once! They used to sell a rubber balloon cover to make it water proof. 🤣🤣🤣 lasted long enough to power up the car. 🤦🏼‍♂️

Looking forward to see how this turns out. You can race my Losi Jr.2 from ’91. I pulled out of a box after 20+ years replaced the Futaba Magnum Jr radio and Futaba 112 ESC with a 2.4 GHz radio and a Dynamite ESC and 20 turn motor. Then put on a reproduction body to replace the cracked original and it still rocks. I still remember parking lot racing it at the local hobby shop on weekends. Would gear it up so it would smoke a 1200 mah NiCd pack in 4 and a half minutes.

Needs the original shocks in the front and a chassis brace. Besides that it looks like you got a all original setup.

I’m so old. I used to sell those when I worked a hobby counter at a toy store. Never bought one though

Bought my first RC 10 in 1984, man that thing brought back some good old memories! Awesome car.

I seen that buggy come onto the scene in the mid 80's.Tekin was really big then.The Tamiyas were history after that buggy.I also remember Traxxas starting up on Shiloh rd.,in Dallas Texas.Traxxas had an esc also.Fun days back then.

That was a sick mod on the layout of the components! ☺️

She's a pearler! God place to start a resto from.

Great video! Restored my dad's RC10. Really looking forward to this build series!!!

The needle adjustment knob always turns up the rad factor for everything around you.

Nice find. You can still buy a body that would fit the gold pan RC10. Looks to be mostly original and in decent shape with a little bit of cleaning. Those tires are rare and I know the re-issue (limited) edition comes with similar tires that are made by Pro-Line. The Speed Controller is mounted kinda weird and I don't recall it to be that way (seems to be mounted kinda high). The 5 gearing gearbox must have been carefully filed and assembled to be that smooth as I recall those to be a paint to work with to get it smooth (especially in the early edition). Looking forward for the restoration video. Thanks for sharing :)

Looks like a solid car to start with.

It's so cool to see how much the hobby changed. But it's also cool to see how much has stayed the same. Wish I would have gotten one of the re-releases when they came out. Associated, if you're listening, Put out another batch of retro RC10 kits!

I’ve had 4 unique phases to my RC obsession. Looking back they usually last about 3 years then take a break for about 4-5 years. The best time was early 90s OG RC10T days (along with RC10 buggy, raced both. There were race tracks everywhere; BMX race tracks everywhere also. I guess birth rate has dropped & not enough kids in middle class to support booming hobbies), second best was early drift scene (I was actually living in Japan, drifting RC & full size cars haha), Late 90’s electric & gas Traxxas monster truck was probably 3rd best. And now current phase crawler/drift/buggy revisited with what seems like unlimited cash compared to younger years. Not having the money and wanting better parts was part of the excitement. Recently got latest RC10 buggy, the RC10B6.2, to relive the glory. I wanted to experience the transition from brushed to brushless. Pulled out an old Yokomo/KO Propo ESC and new $20 Reedy 17 turn motor. Drove it for a few weeks. Couldn’t figureout why they made it mid-engine. Was thinking old school rear engine RC10 handled much better. Switched to 8.5 turn brushless setup. It will do power wheelies now. Now I understand why they switched to mid-engine... the new motors have so much more power. But for 17t and up brushed motors the OG rear engine has better handling in my opinion. Anyway fun project!

my local track is going to have a vintage class so excited thanks for a great video

Nice Blowing up reciever pack.

I got one of those in 1988. The layout is a little unusual due to the Tamiya/Kyosho 3 step speed control. Low speed current was going through both resistors, med. went through one resistor, high speed was direct from the battery. They actually came with a resistor speed control. Under the rear shock tower is a pocket the servo would be in with the variable resistor above it and a wiper arm with a contact. (Much better than the set up on this car). For more info look up Bolink variable resistor speed control. Luckily ESCs weren't far behind. With the stock VRSC, the battery would be across the chassis. With an ESC the battery would tuck into the pocket under the shock tower and the battery holder was at the front end of the battery. The steering servo was mounted on the chassis using holes that are already there, but square to the chassis instead of the angle you see on this one. The original VRSC worked like an ESC, but with less "steps". The wheels ( like early Tamiyas) are beadlock. I changed up to the 2.0" wheels as soon as they came out! Low sidewall profiles for better performance. The 6 gear transmission placed the differential on the top shaft for external adjustment. I hope my little history lesson helps your understanding of how this worked. P.S. The BEC was originally to eliminate the receiver battery pack (battery eliminating circuit).

Very familiar with mechanical speed controls...hated them. Hahaha Esc's sucked, servo's were nearly "torque-less" but it was still an extremely fun time. Looking forward to this series. Oh...Good morning.

Go for Matt! I. Bet it'll be well worth the adventure.

This makes me miss my Kyosho Turbo Raider.. ahhh what a time.. I couldn't believe I stuck a 5900KV Brushless motor in there lol

Udisco was a distributor in Canada that imported the Futaba radios from Japan.

I use to keep a couple medium size erasers in my pocket so I could rub the contacts with the eraser to get better contact on the Msc.

I feel like I'm almost obligated to get a gold pan RC10 to restore back to it's full glory. When I was a kid and just learning the difference between toy grade and hobby grade RCs, the RC10 was my unobtainium and I had to settle for a Tamiya Falcon & The Cat from Traxxas (which, in hindsight, was pretty cool owning the first Traxxas RC) but now I'm grown and my parents can't tell me that the RC10 is too expensive. The only part that I would have a tough time deciding on would be doing a full factory restoration or going restomod and put modern electronics in it. The latter sounds like the better option so I don't quickly get bored and park it on the shelf.

There were esc’s at the time..1985 on forward. Novak, Tekin, Hobart... they were expensive. A Novak 1 was $140 in 1985. A Novak 4 was $80.. Also there were a few sets of mounting holes for steering servo.. same method we have now... mount nylon blocks to servo then blocks to chassis. Lastly charging was pretty much same as now except specific for battery type (nicad). Good ac/dc chargers monitored voltage, peak voltage, charged at various currents etc.. only thing most didn’t do was monitor each cell independently. Instead they sold matched cells with similar series resistance and characteristics.

I'll enjoy this project! I've been collecting RC10's for years.

There was ESC'S in the 1980's infact they existed in the late 1970's but they cost hundreds of dollars! I have a book on RC from 1983 that goes over how the hobby had progressed from the 1960's up until the early 1980's!

The original body and wing is a much better option if you can aquire one... Perhaps omit the wing. I cut my teeth on the Tamiya Super Champ and I was fortunate enough to upgrade to the gold pan AE-10 in 86 at 15 years old. Great memories... This will be fun to follow👍

I have two. An A stamp six gear and a b stamp with a stealth. Both of mine run the battery in the bulkhead pocket and the hold down front to back. The steering servo is secured with mounts to the servo then from the bottom. They both have futaba pistol grip pbk’s with actual futaba esc’s upgraded around 88-89. I started out with attack stick radio’s.

My 1985 Tamiya Boomerang looked almost like that inside. Massive electronics including the idiot esc. Lots of burns but tons of fun.

Rc history Very cool my local shop has just a rolling chassis and a few bits of one i think he was wanting to do the same but getting the time to do so has slowed him down

Woohoo! I’m a Associated fan boy from way back. I started with their RC10 T3 stadium trucks and buggies in 1997 after starting with Tamiya. Tamiya HQ ( and their awesome free track) and Associated HQ were only about 5 miles away from each other. Still run these every week for in my STEM classes for kids. Lots of great RC everything here in SoCal😎

Very great video!!! I was born 10 years after the original came out, but you did a great job in picturing how rc racing was back in the day! Thank you!

I like how many of the items are mounted at an angle. This rig kicks ass

Great Overview looks great. Cant wait to see how it comes along.

The electronics and charger are the cheaper stuff, I had a futaba attack radio, others had futaba magnum jr's or sports and a pro tech ac -dc charger. The battery mounts under the bulkhead. The hot electronic speed controller around that time was the Novak (orange box). Front shocks on yours are from I don't know what, and yes on mine at least the steering servo was held down by servo tape, i don't remember off hand if it was mounted at all. If you wanted around 85 or 86 you could buy the stealth transmission but you had to drill holes in the chassis. Good times, I raced mine until I got a 10 L pan car.

Great find.

So good to see SBG playing with Team Associated RC10. Roots!

I’ll definitely be following along with this build! This is gunna be pretty cool

This brings back memories. I had an original RC10 & RC10-T back in the day. Great performers! Wish I still had them.

Best episode ever!!!!!

this rc10t is complete ran maybe once or twice all out of the box including tires wheels and body. Just add your motor and electronics and go. Also have a novak rooster esc.

I've got most of one in a box. 87' ish I think . It had a mechanical forward only esc . I may have to play along.

Actually, the Kyosho motors were named after the time in seconds they - well, more or less - would take in a race to empty a 1200 mAh 7,2 V NiCd pack. 480 equals the 8 minutes you mentioned, with an average current of 9 A. That was more on the harmless side, leaving the hot versions to the Le Mans 360 (in a 550 can) and 240. I'd guess using the 480 was due to race regulations? (and, on a sidenote, not the completely fry the speed controller and Tamiya connectors)

Wow, thanks for sharing. I was 15 years old in 1984 with a part time job after school. I was making $4/hr here in Ontario..so looking at the price of that motor is eye popping. Wish I had one of these RC10's back in the day. Looking forward to the restoration.

Looking forward to this build.

Great video and car. I used to run rc 10’s in the late 80’s and 90’s. Wish I still had em. Looking forward to this build!!

Some of the appeal of these cars for collectors are the original electronics.

I had one when they came out good buggys. Looking forward to seeing her run again.

I had a RC10T back in the day (gen1), the worst part about those earlier cars for me was dealing with the servo tape and lack of mechanical mounting of the servo to the chassis. You had to use double sided tape, which would pull up over time and the servo would peel off the chassis. If you didn't replace it perfectly, to a clean surface, it would do it almost instantly when you started driving again. Over time, dirt/water/etc would work its way onto the tape and it would weaken, then you'd have to repeat the process. There also weren't defined mounting points, so you had to sortof guess if it was installed correctly. If I were building one again now, I'd look at 3d printing some mounts to drill on and install. I also think the Stealth transmission came in the B2, possibly the B3. I had a B2 and remember hearing about it, but it's possible I'm confusing it with the release of the B3 (it was a long time ago).

That is super cool! I'd definitely outfit it with modern electronics and such to make it reliable. Looking forward to this series!

Sweet find Matt!!

I still have mine in the original box.........still mint!😎👍

Old school cool. Looks like a fun challenge.

If this gets to ya , they have a clear classic on its way shelf queen..

Ampro is incredible brother. Dude engineers the coolest stuff. Can’t wait to see this broad go through her stages. Sick bro. Stay healthy

Dude awesome video. I have my A stamp still. Can’t wait to see how this one turns out.

You are lucky you got an AC charger! I had to hook mine up to a car battery. I helped a friend build an RC 10 in the late 1980s, yours must be older. I remember a resistor speed controller that didn't have reverse. Also, I've seen and raced with a LOT of RC10s, but I've never seen the battery mounted like that. Usually it was mounted down the middle of the chassis or across. I remember a battery mount almost integrated with the gearbox? Maybe your version didn't have that feature. Also, every racer I know had a BEC, even then. My info is probably 1987-1990ish.

Looking forward to this series. Much more interested in watching a restoration versus building an new old stock kit.

That radio in USA is a airplane (72 airplane only). Because the battery is to long for the place it need to be installed.( the battery is to be mounted side to side or front to back (the battery is to go into the opening in the bottom of the rear shock tower bunkhead.) The steering servos to be mounted to chassis with plastic mounts just off center. You need to replace the front shock (wrong shocks). I think you can go on to the AE site and down the instruction book and parts list. You can get new parts just need look. I think that car was sold in builder kit( no bearings just bushing, no body and no tires)

Love it! My second hobby grade car was a gold pan! Still have the original box! Neat to see these becoming popular again! Back in the day i built a scale sprint car around an rc10 wich i still have as well. Maybe i need to get that thing going again....hmmmm

Nice. This is my era. I still collect and build RC10s regularly. That’s a Parma Chenoweth body. That Lemans Spa 480 is a nice piece too. Funny, never seen anyone lay out the electronics like that in a goldpan before.

The RC10 Gold Pan World's edition was my very first hobby grade RC back in 1987. I desperately wish I could have picked up the re-release when they came out.

awesome starting platform for sure, cant wait to see this rig rip when you get it done.

It’s a way back machine. Brought back so many memories! I love your reaction to finding dinosaurs bones.

A very good base to start, rhere are some nice billet alloy wheels, upgrade shocks, and even re-re bodies. Man that steering servo is huge that would have suckedsome power out the battery, I used standard size it is light enough not to need a monster. I like this buggy but my father bought ne a Tamiya he had a Kyosho cant remember the models I got bored because never enough batteries and only lasted 5minutes, that eight minute motor was to combat others that over heated and melted all the solder joints in italong with rhe magnets coming unstuck I went through several motors. Then I saw the light and got myself a FG Marder buggy with 23cc motor, a TRAXXAS GAS Monster buggy and an MCD Chevy Trophy Trick Baja 1000 4x4 I raced all three the TRAXXAS was first to be retired a short lived run before discontinued, shame it had great potential. So in the two wheel drive the Marder and four wheel drive the MCD offroad racing, the MCD I also used onroad change the wheels shock's and added the big rear wing that looked like the Super Bee wing, but it was the best on track better that the other purpose built road racer's won a lot of races with both on and off with the MCD I ran it in the Outlaw class the TRAXXAS I converted to mini stock oval it lent itself to this in looks and chassis design did well until I could not get spares anymore about a year later (looking for another as a donor buggy) so from age15 till 22yrs old I raced gas,, and then years later again with the first HPI Baja5B in the UK but went back to the Marder our tracks not big enough for the 5B as too long and could not mod because it was already built to the specs at the time, I digress yes waffling still in lockdown stir crazy. Back to the RC10 I used to race my dads Kyosho for a few years but got red up getting beat by the RC10 and getting pushed further back in the finishing order as more guys got them lol be safe keep up the ace content. many thanks

awesome car a super classic

The esc at that time was the same size as a servo, Futaba had some. A A chassis may be the AE stamped on the front, I doubt Associate was thinking of those terms back then. FM was availible

Cool series. I need a hat like that

Good project choice....I still have two of that version with period electronics and a CE stealth trans. model. The two nitro versions the GT and the DS also are cherished. I will be following the build and it will be interesting to see what you do with it....

Amazing project! I'm really into my retro RC at the moment. I have most of my first RC (1984) a Tamiya F150 ranger and would love to get that back in full working order. Its a shame Tamiya couldn't re-re that particular model when they did the Sand Scorcher and Rough Rider

I was running a tamya sand scorcer when those came out and could never afford one with my paper route! Love to see it go brushless! Many a car burned to the ground with those old speed controllers. I think i still have a scar or two from those heat sinks.

Miss my rc 10

I have 2 gold pans yet. Thinking about updating 1 to be modern electronics and drivable.

I enjoy your videos very much Matt. Big fan my friend.

Come do the vintage buggy races at USTE 2021 Last year was a blast

There's a wingnut holding on the back tire. Slick. : )