Yellowshaker gave me the heads up on a robot supply place.
I found a small, high torque metal geared motor in the voltage and rpm range that should work. The size is perfect since they are designed for small robots, I'll keep you guys posted when they arrive and I can play with them.
I have an old DBC 2 chip, RX-18 and a bunch of motors and servos, hopefully I'll have a possible battler here. The only issue would be sound, but I guess I could use the HL setup or get a small board for the RC2. I'm not going Benedini here.