Project: Team Associated SC10

SC Stands for Short Course and Street Cruiser

Short Course racing in RC has become hugely popular due to the scale realism and the platforms they are built from. Durable, race-bred trucks, realistic wheels and tires, and a slew of aftermarket bolt-ons certainly take your SC truck to the next level. While I’ve put many manufacturers offerings on the track at one point or another, I’ve never really taken the time to ‘prep’ a Short Course truck with some scale attitude. For this project, my canvas started life as a Team Associated SC10 RTR. After much debate (with myself…sort of a one-sided conversation), I decided to just go with a less-is-more simple approach; something you might see on the street as well as out in the desert. Welcome to my dual-personality truck; Short Course / Street Cruiser.

Electronics
Real Short Course/Street Cruiser trucks typically don’t ignore the powerplant. Simple add-ons, like headers, exhaust, intake and maybe a tuning computer all add some additional ponies without being overkill. With that in mind, I decided a mild upgrade would be more realistic than some super-awesome high-level race gear. For starters, I replaced the stock servo with one of Team Associated’s DS1015 units. More torque, faster transit speeds and a cool heatsink case, this servo had no problems steering the truck in the direction I wanted. Moving rearward, a Thunder Power 5000mah 40C LiPo battery pack provided the juice to the recently released LRP Short Course Modified ESC/Motor Combo. This combo, while not necessarily ‘mild’, is a perfect upgrade for people that want more tire-shredding power without spending the dough on the higher end equipment. For control, I wrapped my grubby paws around Futaba’s 4PK. Great feel and great control, it’s hard to beat this radio setup.

Chassis & Suspension
My original plan was to make minor chassis and suspension upgrades but, seeing as most full-size truck owners go for broke in this department, I figured I should too! For strength, the A-Team supplied some lightweight goodies; carbon suspension arms, carbon hinge pin brace, carbon upper front bulkhead and Factory Team servo mounts. To add that weight back on, but in a good, color-coded fashion (Short Course trucks are not necessarily lightweight anyway; but they do look good!), Team STRC provided some killer red aluminum parts; front and rear shock towers, steering knuckles, caster blocks, battery strap, rear bulkhead brace and rear hub carriers. Threaded Factory Team shocks were built with the A-Teams race setup to ensure proper handling. I would certainly suggest installing titanium turnbuckles on your truck but, for this project, the blue turnbuckles would have clashed with my red theme, so I kept the stock ones on. For added protection, I installed a stout RPM front bumper and skid plate. You might actually have to jump your truck off a 3 story building to break this front bumper (I think that might void your warranty so don’t do it).

Body, Wheels & Tires
The body, wheels and tires are the first items you see on any SC truck. Because of that, I wanted it to look killer even before you saw all the hop-ups under the hood. Initially my paint scheme was going to be close to the Team Associated’s Bully Dog RTR colors so I, eh, sort of cheated. I removed all the stickers (except for the front grill and lights) and used the factory-painted body as my base. To add my own personal flare, a RPM roof light bar and front bumper buckets were installed and fitted with RC-Lights lighting kit. RC-Lights sells a bolt-in kit for the full set of RPM buckets. To set the SC10 off even more, custom-fabricated window nets were made using the mesh from my girlfriends lunch bag (sorry Danna). And to wrap up the body, I added an exhaust pipe to the side of the truck that I found in my parts box.

I was going to work in some killer aluminum bead lock wheels with scale tires but, after speaking with Josh over at AE, he turned me on a cool trick I could do to the stock wheels. Taking the SC8 bead lock rings (and screws), you can attach them to the stock SC10 wheels! It does require a little work (the screws basically ‘wedge’ the ring in place) but the results are…well, see for yourself! Realistic bead lock rings that hold on tight! I think that’s a pretty good money saving idea if you ask me!

The Drive
Project SC10 was never intended to be a race truck. Yes, replace the body (with one you can beat up) and you can race it, but my purpose was a fun, realistic basher that you could run day or night (thanks to RPM and RC-Lights). Not having a lot of local ‘hot-spots’ to bash in, I was lucky to find a rather large dirt pile that some kids were using as a BMX track. Unloaded and ready to go, the SC10 pulled away shooting huge roosts of dirt from behind it. The SC10 jumped great with the race-level suspension setup, and long, drifting power slides were easily controllable thanks to the 4PK and the upgraded power system. After a few tweaks to the suspension and correct adjustment of the slipper, the multi-terrain tires fell right in line on the loose terrain. In addition, the slight increase in weight made the truck feel stable through some pretty knarly bumps.

Final Thoughts
I like the way Project SC10 turned out. I think the looks would appeal to a true Short Course driver and a hardcore Street Cruiser. With so many different ways to create a personal SC truck, you many never see two that are the same. That being said, MY project SC10 is only in its infancy. I have a few additional upgrades that were not ready at the completion of this article. I will be posting some teaser pictures in my RC Driver blog with a complete build up coming soon (well, maybe…are these types of projects EVER complete?) In the meantime, start creating your custom Short Course/Street Cruiser creations! I’d love to see what you come up with.

Parts Used
Team Associated
RC10.com–
• FT Servo Mounts, #1779
• FT Carbon Front Suspension Arms, #7447
• FT Carbon Rear Suspension Arms, #7449
• FT Carbon Top Plate, #9567
• FT Carbon Front Hinge Pin Brace, #9565
• FT Front Threaded Shock Kit, #9633
• FT Rear Threaded Shock Kit, #9634
• Red Beadguard Rings, #89409
• LRP Short Course Brushless Combo, LRP80585
• XP DS1015 Servo, 29167

Futaba
Futaba-RC.com–
• 4PK 4-Channel 2.4GHz, FUTK4900

Team STRC
TeamSTRC.com–
• Aluminum Caster Blocks, STC7919R
• Aluminum Steering Knuckles, STC7921R
• Aluminum Rear Brace, STC9564R
• Aluminum Rear Hub Carriers (1deg), STC9584-T1R
• Aluminum Battery Strap, STC9814R
• Aluminum Rear Shock Tower, STC9824R
• Aluminum Front Shock Tower, STC9825R

RC-Lights
RC-Lights.com–
• 12 LED System For RPM Canisters, RCL112

RPM
RPMRCProducts.com–
• Roof Mounted Light Bar Set, 80922
• Front Bumper Assembly, 70902
• Light Canister Set, 80982

Thunder Power
ThunderPowerRC.com–
• Thunder Power 5000mah 40C LiPo Battery Pack, TP5000-2SPR

Gallery