While visiting poundland which was in the process of closing down and having 50% off sales I spotted a super cheap 1:24 RC car. It boosted full forward/back and left/right control which means even if the electronics are junk (which they are) the chassis would be suitable for a fun conversation.
The original car in the box for a whole whopping £2.50!
I ran it around on my desk a bit where it hit a top speed of.. 2mph! Scale speed according to the box is over 100mph! Apparently lol.
So first I ripped out all the electronics entirely and went straight to work inserting a Turnigy brushed 1:24 high KV motor, 10A brushed motor speed controller with forward/reverse. And lastly a micro Futaba Fasst receiver.
The steering ran on a brushed motor on a gear which needs converting for servo drive. I bonded a servo horn to the original rack so pushing the arm forward and back will turn the wheels left and right.
Initial tests on my desk using my power supply at 7.2v showed the motor would most likely eat the gearbox, but for £2.50 who cares.
The original steering connection between servo and rack was getting caught on the top plate quite often so this only did for testing on my desk.
A small Turnigy Nano-Tech 450mAh 2S lipo at 7.4v and 65-130c output fits perfectly in the stripped out AA battery compartment. Meaning its super easy to switch the battery with a balance lead plug connector coming in from inside the car.
The second attempt of a steering rod worked much better by coming up and over the top plate, however the shape is rather weird to ensure it does not interfere on the car shell itself.
And thats it! A cheap RC car converted from junk electronics @ 2mph to a beast (relatively speaking) that will eat its own gearbox in the end.
And yea... it ate its own gearbox eventually LOL :D