Team Associated RC8.2 Build – Part 1 – Chassis/Steering

The 1/8th scale nitro class is one of the biggest and most prestigious racing classes in our industry. Being one of the top dogs in this class, Team Associated has had quite a bit of success with their RC8 nitro buggy. Recently, the A-Team conjured up some new parts for their 1/8th scale for the Worlds and were very happy with it’s success. I will be doing an online build of this new generation buggy, the RC8.2. Enjoy.

The Build – Part 1
We’re going to start this build off pretty simple…the chassis and steering posts. Not to bad.

Build Notes:
I would suggest having a pretty large, uncluttered space available for this build. While not a huge car, there are quite a few parts. You don’t want to be dropping any of these in your carpet.

Have lots of towels around. Three fluid-filled differentials and four large shocks can make a mess.

HAVE THE RIGHT TOOLS! I can’t stress enough how crucial it is to have the right equipment to build this car.

As you can see, we have the RC8.2 here, complete with Reedy 121VR-ST .21 Competition Engine, Reedy EFRA approved Muffler and Header, Reedy 1700mAh LiFe Receiver Battery Pack, Team Associated XP DS1313 Throttle Servo and XP DS1015 Steering Servo. That’s a complete setup, other than tires and fuel. I will be figuring those out in the near future when I get closer to running it.

Here is a good example of the tools you might need. I HIGHLY recommend a cordless driver. This will certainly help in building this car and relieve the pain involved from doing it by hand. The Makita unit is endorsed by Team Associated and is a killer product! I’ve used the cheaper brands before and can tell you this one blows them all away.

Install the side guards and steering posts as shown. Don’t forget to put a dab of loctite on the screws for the steering posts. Only a DAB will do. Don’t get crazy with this stuff.

We will build the steering next. Start by pre-compressing the servo saver spring a couple times. This will help the spring take a set before installation.

Applying black grease to this location is very important. It helps keep the servo saver from sticking and causing erratic steering inputs.

There are no instructions on how much to tighten the servo saver thumbscrew, so I tightened it up this much (see photo). More will give more responsive steering but at the cost of possibly blowing out your servo. This is probably a good place to start.

Thank you, thank you, thank you! The A-Team has re-built the turnbuckles on the RC8.2. Yay, as I don’t like doing turnbuckles. For giggles, I checked the length to match it to the instruction manual…SPOT on! Do pay attention to the direction of them as stated in the manual.

Assemble the top deck. Again, a DAB of loctite is all that is needed.

After you have assembled the steering, slide it on the steering posts. Your build should look like this. Verify that your turnbuckles are installed correctly.

Install the top deck. More loctite on the top screws. Attach the chassis brace with the nut and screw.

Steering complete! Rotate it to make sure there is a nice, flowing movement in the steering.

Part 2 – Assembling the differentials.
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