A simple question:
Just bought a 2nd hand Cen ATX - great car but the brakes dont really work. What's the best procedure to get to and change the brakes? eg. Do you have to remove the back wheels, shocks, suspension arms, etc. in turn or can you remove the whole back axle setup in one chunk to get to the brakes?

Before you start dismantling the brakes, just do a few checks first to see if you cant save yourself a bit of trouble.
First, are the batteries fully charged, are they 6v or just the standard AAs'. Low power will quickly affect servo performance.
Second, make sure the brakes are adjusted properly. When the brakes are applied at standstill, try to push the car to see if the brakes resist. If not, it could be that the servo arm isn't moving far enough to engage the brake fully.
The only reason I think it could be something other than the brake pads is because they wear very slowly (in my experience). I have had my car for approaching three years now and my original brake pad still works ok.

Thanks.

How much resistance should there be when you apply the brakes? When I push the car by hand you can tell the brakes have been applied but the wheels still turn when you push. Is that normal? - I was expecting them to lock-up.

Ideally you should have to push pretty hard to overcome the brakes. When you start to push, the wheels should grip the floor and the front shocks should dip. It should stay this way until the tyres loose grip and start to skid.

Just to check:
I've got an Acoms remote which has got a switch by the throttle lever - I assume this is to increase the throttle travel and decrease the brake travel. I've assumed it should be set so the majority of the travel is for the throttle and only a little is for the brakes. Is that right or should it be 50/50 throttle and brakes?

Please excuse my ignorance. Been trying to some some guides on the internet but can't find any. Think my questions are too rudimentary!

You are right to say the majority of the travel should go to the throttle. It takes far more servo movement to fully open the throttle than it does to fully operate the brake. You can adjust the pressure on the brake lever by moving the small collar on the brake connection so that it will engage earlier and more firmly when the servo moves. It is often a case of making small adjustments and testing after each time, time consuming and boring but better than a full throttle impact into the kerb. Hope this helps.

Thanks Scouser, I'll give it a go.

If you increase the throttle trim on the TX it ceates a high idle until you hit the brakes The best place for the trim is nutral. Ajust the brake manually, and the throttle on the carb. Then you can use the trim to up the idle for startnig cold, and adjust the brakes when they start to fade with out . If your TX has end piont adjustments you can make the sevo push more or less, but I would adjust the brake so they work good with the trim 50/50 (0 thotle 0 brake). Then use the trim when you need it.

I've got a Sanwa SRM-102 installed as the throttle servo at the moment - think it's got 3Kg/cm torque. Is that sufficient or should I look to buy a more powerful one? If I was to buy a new servo for the throttle would it be just a just of replacing the Sanwa with the new one or do different makes have different connectors to the radio gear? ie. would I have to buy another Sanwa if I keep the same radio gear?

the standard servo should be fine for throttle and brakes. save ur cash for other upgrades.