The Thunderbolt Chassis is what started off this idea. How can we make something that can be used by the larger population? How can we make something that will have parts readily available to the typical user? Who's parts can we use to make this car the car that will remain available? Our answer came from one company, Team Associated.

Through designing a chassis that will easily accept the parts from an Associated's kit, we have developed the Thunderbolt. The Thunderbolt is a car that will be able to stand the test of time by using the same parts as the 10L which itself has lasted many years through new versions and hop-up options. This is a unique advantage for the Thunderbolt and for the manufacturer's that make parts for the 10L, as those parts will be able to be applied to this car as well.

Here are some features of the Thunderbolt:

• Uses standard 10L3 or 10L4 parts, which allows you to easily convert and existing pan car.

• Most all of the Hop-Up parts available on the market for 10L3 or 10L4 cars can be used on this car.

• With the Thunderbolt being as versatile as it is, you can swap between the three different front-ends as you choose.

• If you prefer the more realistic look with A-arms, you can install and mount the Spitfire front-end.

• The standard Butterfly chassis will allow you to switch between a long and short wheelbase, just like a pan car!

• Already drilled holes allow you to easily install a HPI or many of the Tamiya front wings

• Battery configuration allows you to distribute the weight of the batteries more towards the center part of the car giving you a balanced car for both large ovals and tight road courses.

• Allows you to use a standard Associated Nerf bar on either side of the chassis to help protect your rear tires from impact with the wall.

• Easily change from a Pan car to an Indy Car in about a 2 hours and back

Putting together the Thunderbolt is fairly straight forward. Mount the T-bar from your 10L to the Thunderbolt chassis, move the shocks, mount the front suspension arms to the butterfly plate and you are pretty much set to go racing! The whole installation can probably be done in about an hour or two, however you may find it a good time to take your 10L apart, clean it and rebuild it. You may also take this opportunity to add some of the many hop-up parts to the car in an attempt to gain an edge.

Also with most hobby stores carrying Associated parts you can build up with car from scratch. You wont have to have owned a 10L to build this car, you can buy all the necessary stock parts or go right to the hop-ups to make it a vehicle to have the ability to do some advance adjustments with! You can find out what parts are needed by looking at the 10L part list. You will not need the chassis, front bumper or top chassis brace to name the major items that are not brought over during the conversion.

The Thunderbolt comes with the main chassis, the butterfly plate and the rear upper mount. Additional items that would be needed are the screws for the butterfly.

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