vintage tamiya electrics

[minke]

Wasn't sure where to put this thread so putting it here.
I've decided to get myself the rereleased Hotshot and I have a technigold motor to drop in it. I'm still stuck for time, so no plans to race it hard, just bash about occasionally. The esc supplied is a tble-02s which can run brushless/brushed, but not sure if it is entirely suitable for my technigold. Ideally I want to go old school and keep the motor, use a nimh stick pack with Tamiya connectors but stick with 2.4ghz radio.
If this isn't gonna work I could always drop in my old Nosram matrix evo ISTC and get a 17.5T (max) brushless. This means getting a lipo that will fit, or getting/soldering a nimh with deans. I don't want to chew the gearbox up though.

Kinda stuck making a decision, so any help would be great.