Vintage Associated RC200 - My first car

[o0zarkaWater]

New to the forums and the hobby.

Wanted to post some pics of the car I picked up off Craigslist last night.

Most likely not the best one for a first timer, but once I saw this car I knew I had to have it. I LOVE the look of this thing.

Best I can tell (from the box!) is that this is some sort of Associated Racing RC200 or something around that time frame. Late 70's, early 80's.



It also came with a footlocker full of extra parts so I think I should have most everything to get it running. I know that I will need to buy a battery pack, as the seller took it off once this thing was in the box for a couple years and didn't want it to explode. That's my first real question. What would the best way to figure out what type of battery pack this thing needs?

I've sent off an e-mail to a local RC Tuner to get a quote from him to see what it would take for him to get it running. I would love to learn it myself as well, but also kind of just want to run this thing.



Thoughts? Tips?

 

[mrbones]

Buddy, your post has had 98 views and no one wants to get involved here so I guess it's me. The answer to your battery question is a 5 cell 6 volt hump pack. You can get one anywhere for less than $10. And then after looking at what you have here and your intentions, this is what I see. If you are just wanting to get into the nitro car hobby and have some fun, you don't want it to be this thing. This car looks like it should be in the Henry Ford Museum in Detroit as one of the first RC cars ever made. It is probably such a problem child that it will cost you $$$$ to get it going. First off, you don't know the quality of the engine. If it's shot, you're going to need another. Second is the radio system. I don't know what that transmitter is but I think you should not trust it. You need a modern system that has a fail safe build into it to safely shut it down in the event that it wants to take off and run people (or animals) over. What you need is something in good shape to get started in the hobby, not this car. You need something that works the way it should or you will end up hating the hobby and dropping out because you get frustrated with it. (or worst yet, going out and buying an electric car, and we really don't want you to do that!) So if you think you might want to get into the hobby and pick out a nice set up, this is the place to ask the question. I'm sure the guys can recommend something real nice to get you started.

 

[cbaker65]

@mrbones is right!
The car was intended to be a track racer in its day ,an not a street ride ,there is not a very good suspension on
it for the street!
If it was me that acquired that ,I would definitely list it on e-bay as a collectable ,believe it or not ,
a collector would be all over that to add to their collection on a shelf ,so it still holds a value to
a collector!...
I would not touch it or run it ,as it is a nice vintage piece of RC history!.....

 

[marauder]

That’s one sweet piece of history, but as stated you’ll spend a fortune basically replacing all parts to make this one road worthy all the while devaluing something someone somewhere is eagerly waiting to fork over cash to relive their first radio control experiences or experience with that particular model. I agree keep this on display or post for sale and wait for the buyer to come along. I suggest if you’re new buy a new kit/rtr so you know what has been done to it and when repair or upgrades are in order you have a parts diagram with detailed information on part numbers and what goes where. I’m short you don’t know what’s missing in a used kit if it wasn’t present when you repair or replace. Make sense? All things considered you’ve found a great resource in this forum. Good luck, and welcome aboard!

 

[o0zarkaWater]

Thanks for the replies!

I had e-mailed Team Associated to see if they had any info, and they directed me over to rc10talk.com since it seems to be geared more toward Vintage Associated cars.

I got lots of replies very similar to what you guys just said in that this is a rare car that I should not attempt to fix or drive. Parts will be impossible to come by, so it's not worth breaking.

This will go on the shelf for now.

In the meantime I picked up a Revo 3.3, and am working on replacing the engine and a few servos in that to get it ready to run. I'll be reading around the forums and possibly posting for tips and tricks on that one.

Here's the rest of the stuff in the box, including what looks like a 90% complete second RC200 chassis.