Yup. It would be the best if you practice with the TT01 (unmodified), while building the drifter of your dreams.

I would suggest going online and learning as much about building up a drifter (most are made from touring car chassis, such as the Tamiya TA05, TA06, TB03, Hot bodies TCX, Schumacher Mi1, X-ray T2R, T3, T3'11, Associated TC5, TC6, and many more. If you could find a Tamiya VDF orYokomo DRB (get ready to spend a LOTof money), those are the best drifters around, and easier to driftthan your TT01 (most higher priced chassis are like that).Electric RC isn't that hard to get going, but I don't think your LHS will be of much help to you, at this point, as it seems those guys are not all on the same page.

Brushless systems need little to no maintenance, yes, but they are more prone to heat damage, as the LHS guys were trying to (unsuccessfully, as I would have been confused by their "advice", too) tell you. You do not need a lot of power for drift. In fact, most brushless systems are too powerful. I, myself am going to brushed systems, as they are less expensive. If you just have to have a BL system, get one with a 4000Kv motor or lower (10.5 is suitable). Anything higher than 4000Kv willjust make the car harder to drift smoothly.

You could try the Castle Sidewinder SCT (provided you can find one), as it is a low Kv system, and is programmable via the Castle link, and what those guys at your LHS were trying to convey is to gear the car so that the Novak would not overheat in any way. Novaks are notorious for going bad, if they are geared too high.