Author Topic: Radio shack road phantom 4wd: hobby conversion  (Read 28791 times)

Tyco Bandit King

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Radio shack road phantom 4wd: hobby conversion
« on: January 30, 2013, 20:28:38 »
I converted this radio shack road phantom 4wd dual motor to a full hobby car and now it runs on 11.1v lipo. Stock it ran about 15mph on 7.2v but just off the conversion and 11.1v lipo it runs an easy 25mph+ and accelerates waaaay quicker. It's actually really fun to drive now that it has power and handles amazing for what it is. It used to struggle in grass and now it flies through tall grass.

Update: 550 12t motors are in and now it easily goes 40mph+++. Also went from 10 tooth pinions to 13 tooth and it definitely helps top speed

Electronics:

Vxl-3s esc
Fm radio
Traxxas 2070 servo
5400mah 11.1v lipo
Traxxas Titan 550 12t

Video: I was putting around for the first few mins and had a few full throttle passes towards the end. i can get pretty close to full throttle off the line but dont want to be too hard on the gears

http://i1214.photobucket.com/albums/cc484/4runnerhouse/A0834D24-2300-40A6-AFB8-275ABA1353E8-15502-0000101946A31106_zpsa99c6523.mp4





« Last Edit: February 17, 2013, 13:01:31 by Tyco Bandit King »
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Tyco Bandit King

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Re: Radio shack road phantom 4wd: hobby conversion
« Reply #1 on: February 02, 2013, 11:48:15 »
The 550s are mounted but the 10t pinions are too small so I've got 13t pinions to mount. Good news is it will pick up 25-30% more speed and will be less likely to strip out the gears
« Last Edit: February 09, 2013, 00:41:09 by Tyco Bandit King »
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Tyco Bandit King

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Re: Radio shack road phantom 4wd: hobby conversion
« Reply #2 on: February 16, 2013, 19:33:54 »
The 550 phantom is done and it hauls sooooo much ass!!! On 8.4v its faster than 11.1v on stock motors but on 11.1v with the 550s its crazy fast. It rockets to top speed and I would say it very easily does 40mph+++.
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Tyco Bandit King

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Re: Radio shack road phantom 4wd: hobby conversion
« Reply #3 on: February 17, 2013, 13:02:00 »
Just made a video at the baseball diamond
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stussels

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Re: Radio shack road phantom 4wd: hobby conversion
« Reply #4 on: February 17, 2013, 19:32:00 »
wow, i need to talk to you about what components id need to do my junk up!  thats impressive performance there ;D

Tyco Bandit King

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Re: Radio shack road phantom 4wd: hobby conversion
« Reply #5 on: February 17, 2013, 20:13:56 »
Yeah man let me know what you wanna work on, I love modifying the old cars to haul ass.
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stussels

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Re: Radio shack road phantom 4wd: hobby conversion
« Reply #6 on: February 20, 2013, 23:13:20 »
pm'd

kimsbored

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Re: Radio shack road phantom 4wd: hobby conversion
« Reply #7 on: April 10, 2013, 13:47:20 »
Nice work with the conversion, do you have any more pics of how you used the larger pinions? and are they 48p?

Tyco Bandit King

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Re: Radio shack road phantom 4wd: hobby conversion
« Reply #8 on: April 11, 2013, 23:07:42 »
I haven't taken any but I can tell you all I had to do was drill through the holes on the motor mount where it originally was used to mount to the transmission. The holes line right up with a 540/550 motor. When I drilled them at first I put a factory sized 10t pinion on and thought it was strange because it didn't even touch the spur gear even tho it was stock size. So I went with the biggest possible gear that i thought would still fit which was a 13t. The mesh was too tight so I opened up the mounting holes to shift the motor slightly outward and now the mesh is perfect.

Since the gears are 32 pitch they actually hold up well to full throttle punches
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moonchild61501

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Re: Radio shack road phantom 4wd: hobby conversion
« Reply #9 on: June 02, 2013, 14:38:36 »
I have a question for yuh, I just picked up a road phantom and it doesn't work. ive already tested the motors and they do work...seems the circuit boards fried. the only issues I have are 1-the AA terminals in the car are corroded and covered in acid, can that be replaced? 2-if the steering servo works, do I need to replace it? also wondering I have a 9.6v hummer (nikko) that is on its last leg sadly.....could I swap its electronics into the road phantom and use it that way if it worked?

sorry for the 20 questions but I just got into rc as a hobby, well more the hobby grade end of rc...nikko, tyco....well they don't make cool fast cars anymore. so on to the next best thing.

I know its not cost effective to throw in the ballpark of 300 to revamp a toy grade car, but from what I saw you had done to yours I think it worth it!!

Tyco Bandit King

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Re: Radio shack road phantom 4wd: hobby conversion
« Reply #10 on: June 09, 2013, 23:35:44 »
After modifying loads of hobby cars for high speed runs, hill climbs, mud bogs etc I will tell you as cool as it is I actual enjoy modifying nikko, Tyco, new bright and radio shack cars more than the hobby cars. If you like your road phantom at all or the hummer I will say it is a ton of fun after modifying them and seeing them haul ass. The road phantom is a well capable car and with the conversion will spank a slash or stampede around a baseball diamond. The hummer is also a great one because they handle well and are light so they are fast with little power.

If you want to keep it stock just first try to clean the contacts with sand paper or a dremel disc. I personally would just convert it. It's really easy to setup a servo and just running any hobby esc will make it faster. You can always just run the stock motors on 8.4v which will fit. I ran mine on 11.1v until the stock motors started burning then converted to twin 12t titans. 8.4v with a hobby esc will make it run around 20mph

I just now got done converting a nikko trailblazer to a hobby car and it is now more fun to drive then it would of been years ago. I'm running 8.4v and a really old modified brush motor but it wheelies soo good I can carry a wheelie all the way down the street.
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moonchild61501

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Re: Radio shack road phantom 4wd: hobby conversion
« Reply #11 on: June 12, 2013, 13:00:49 »
thank you for answering my questions!! I tried asking a few of the hobbytowns in my area and ill say their customer service is quite lacking!!I would like to keep it as stock as possible for awhile, im not used to cars that go that fast...the fastest car I ever had was tycos 9.6v scorcher...but I also like to jump my cars and that car wasn't meant for that!! id eventually upgrade the motors. the biggest problem I have with the hummer is the the plastic piece that connects to the servo and wheels cracked years ago, and ive really not found anything that could replace it, so after a lot of trial and error I finally found a fix that's holding together after some pretty harsh bashing, a few cartwheels and its still good. Quiksteel really works when you reinforce it!!

if I go and buy an esc, do I need the 4 AA batteries? the whole esc/radio was shot... gotta go aftermarket with that. what would you suggest for a moderately low cost set up (radio, transmitter, esc, maybe servo?) you said any hobby esc would work, do you mean literally any? its a shame that I found it in such shape really, it doesn't look like it got used much. the tires and basically everything else is new. I think the previous owner drove into a lake or something from the water damage...

I really want to tell you that I really do appreciate the help you've offered me. its never easy being new to something (but not) having to ask the stupid questions lol. im hoping toget it running soon with a new paint job! ill defenitly have to post when its done!!

Tyco Bandit King

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Re: Radio shack road phantom 4wd: hobby conversion
« Reply #12 on: June 16, 2013, 10:55:50 »
First off, no problem! I enjoy messing with the old nikko/RadioShack rc's and bringing them back to life. I can help you modify yours as much as you want. If you go to hobby town USA they won't have a clue how to get your car goin unless its a newer hobby car. I used to love the place back in the day but when it comes to real custom it all just flies over their heads.

Once you convert to any esc you won't need the 4aa's because it will run off whatever battery pack you use. The aa's were just used to power the servo but you won't be using that either. The best way to set up your car with hobby electronics without spending a *censored* load at a hobby shop is to buy them on eBay. You can either buy a car that's ready to run with nice electronics but has a bad chassis or such, then you can get it for cheap. Then just pull off the electronics to get your car going. Yes, ANY esc will work.

The only hard part on a hobby conversion can be when you setup the steering servo. Some cars you have to engineer the servo to mount right while others can be super easy and with a little cutting the servo will drop right in. Luckily the phantom is an easy swap. After figuring out how to mount the servo then you need to setup the servo arm so you can connect your steering. I'm currently running my stock steering arm just by using a tamiya servo arm mount and the radio shack arm and "C" sit right on top. It works great for minimal mods but with all my mods I really need to convert to hobby arm and run adjustable tie rods to tighten it up.

Is your hummer the 9.6v digital proportional? If so, every car I've had on that chassis has the same problem with the arm cracking and the wheels wanting to toe out really bad. I had the f150 version back in 99 and it did it because I took the front bumper off and hit a hard bump. I just got a 99 jeep version of that chassis and its got the same problem. I am goin to convert it to a hobby car real soon with 540 and will post that one too.
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moonchild61501

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Re: Radio shack road phantom 4wd: hobby conversion
« Reply #13 on: June 17, 2013, 16:29:32 »
i was actually probably use the setup you have for the servo, its pretty low cost, bout 20 bux so that's an easy one to get. I was hoping to keep the steering stock on it if possible, but with no idea what the servos actual condition is its just simler. thanks for the tip on the servo setup by the way!! I would have been pretty well lost without it!

the hummer isn't digital proportional, but nonetheless those front tires since its been back up and running....I keep having to tap it tight again, not that big a deal, takes maybe ten min start to finish. I am looking to get m4 1.5 inch bolts, nuts and washers, then I can just put a bit of locktite on it and be done!! but its still awesome having it running again, it can take a beating again. its like having a brand new steering arm!!

my wife has a newbright h3. ive never been a fan of newbright but its got fake front shocks!!! and is slow as hell. Im currently also attempting to figure out how to make the shocks useable, and putting a 380 in it, just for a little more power. im assuming I gotta go full hobby if I want to swap the motors? not sure if I want to take it that far but hey who knows!! look forward to seeing what else your working on!!

Tyco Bandit King

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Re: Radio shack road phantom 4wd: hobby conversion
« Reply #14 on: June 29, 2013, 09:45:37 »
Is the h3 a 6.0v or 9.6v? I've got a silver 6.0v h3 with fake shocks that someone gave me and I'm gonna convert just for the sake of it. I might run an 11.1v till the electronics fry to see what it'll do. As far as shocks go, if its got moveable control arms then installing shocks is easy. If not its a bit of work to make suspension.
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