Well, after tearing the car apart and putting it back together I'm still not 100% happy with how you have to lay it out.
Tamiya has photos posted that show the ESC with the leads facing the inside of the car... which is BS because they would get worn rather quickly with the nut from the spur gear shaft.
I'm totally frustrated as there is no proper way to set this car up that I can tell.
AWESOME car, just not meant to be setup brushless. FWIW, it works amazingly well, I just hope I don't get T-Boned and destroy a $200 ESC.