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The Associated RC300 BD (Ball Differential) - Developed in 1979. This fine specimen was built in 2008 using new parts (as stated in Ebay ad, lol). The oldest RC I have is my originally purchased in 1994 RC10GT. I've only read and seen the these old school nitro pan cars in the RC CarAction magazines. I never thought about purchasing one until i saw this beauty on Ebay. The pricing was great and the condition was awesome. The photos posted is exactly what came to me on 10/25/21 via USPS. It arrived with a K&B 3.5 engine and a McLaren CanAm body. The body is great but unfortunately the holes in the rear are off, but not to fear, i ordered and received a replacement McLaren body from Delta Plastiks USA. The pipe resembles the Paris Racing AL650 but it is polished and not anodized. Romulus22 suggested the chance that it may be a McCoy/Paris collaboration from past information but that's as far as identifying the pipe goes.

Im currently freshening up the car as far as oiling bearings and making sure engine turns over smoothly. The clutch bell spins on a set of bushings which i wish to replace with bearings. I want to get it running and take her out for a spin. Im keeping my fingers crossed for that. I purchased a spare spur gear, diff rings, diff balls and an extra bottom chassis plate as precaution. The simplicity of this car it what caught my eye. No suspension. Fiberglass chassis plate and top deck. Alloy rear engine pod. No springs on the front wheels like that on the RC10L. Direct drive solid axle and ball differential.











Header and Pipe





Top fiberglass plate was modified to fit a modern fuel tank. A fiberglass piece was used to bridge the gap and secure the tank.





K&B Engine and pod area








Wheels and front steering linkages







RC300 and RC10DS size comparison




New Delta Plastiks McLaren body on left and some spare parts.




No rust in engine, needs minor wipe down and oil






??? Question ???

In my search for more information on this model ive come across photos which shows a brace that spans the rear of the axle mounts and is secure by these screws. Is this something that was stock or was this more of a mod that racers added afterwards?


Photo of brace from Associated website


Any info regarding brace is greatly appreciated.

Wow Alex!
That is mint!!
Congrats man!

That's going to look nice once you've cleaned it up

sandkil wrote: ↑Tue Nov 02, 2021 4:15 am Wow Alex!
That is mint!!
Congrats man!

Thanks Man!!! I really lucked out with this one as a few other vintage associated cars were posted after i negotiated and purchased this one. The others were not even close in good condition as this one. I am a happy camper Thank you Erik for all the period correct paint scheme ideas you sent my way!!!

Dadio wrote: ↑Tue Nov 02, 2021 4:46 am That's going to look nice once you've cleaned it up

Thanks!!! Ive already started the process...going to work on cleaning up the tires a bit and polishing up a few of the metal parts. afterwards i will work on the trimming and perfectly mounting the body. Paint scheme is still up in the air but i have a few ideas now thanks to Sandkill

Oh wow, what a beautiful example from the early years of RC.
I'd reckon that with foam tires, no suspension and that nitro engine, this will require some very precise throttle control.
It will be great fun, no doubt.

My very first exposure to surface RC was watching cars like this run in the Penny's parking lot with my dad. We were out and about and noticed a gathering in the back corner of the parking lot and stopped to see what was going on. I'm guessing this had to be sometime in the early to mid 1970's.

Anyway, thanks for posting some great photos and bring back some memories.

XLR8 wrote: ↑Tue Nov 02, 2021 10:02 am Oh wow, what a beautiful example from the early years of RC.
I'd reckon that with foam tires, no suspension and that nitro engine, this will require some very precise throttle control.
It will be great fun, no doubt.

My very first exposure to surface RC was watching cars like this run in the Penny's parking lot with my dad. We were out and about and noticed a gathering in the back corner of the parking lot and stopped to see what was going on. I'm guessing this had to be sometime in the early to mid 1970's.

Anyway, thanks for posting some great photos and bring back some memories.

Thank you Doug! Yes, it will be a handful with no suspension involved. My pan cars (12L & 10L) in my younger days had suspension flex in the rear and very minor suspension springs in the front. I suspect it will be like controlling a nitro skateboard with a nice body

Wow, that's a great first exposure to RC, especially being with your dad. Mine first exposure was being shown a nitro on road car at a very early age but not seeing it in action. The second was via a purchased RC CarAction magazine in the mid eighties. My last exposure and seeing them in action was in my 20's, thanks to my neighbor who had a bunch of different RC including a handful of RC10 buggies. That's what got me hooked.

Beautiful example of vintage AE goodness

MarkyDents wrote: ↑Tue Nov 02, 2021 3:05 pm Beautiful example of vintage AE goodness

Thanks man!!! I will update this thread as i do more to the car. Today i was able to start trimming the new McLaren CanAm body and got the mounting holes done perfectly. The slightly crooked body was getting to me. The rear mounting holes were off by under a centimeter but to me it felt like inches.

Wow that’s badass so clean

What’s up with the DS you used to compare size !?!
Looks like alot going on that needs mentioning !
Got another thread for that machine ??

KidAgain wrote: ↑Sun Nov 07, 2021 2:34 pm Wow that’s badass so clean

Thanks buddy! I truly lucked out when i got this bad boy. I want to get this car singing again and get some runs in

MarkyDents wrote: ↑Sun Nov 07, 2021 3:09 pm What’s up with the DS you used to compare size !?!
Looks like alot going on that needs mentioning !
Got another thread for that machine ??

HAHAHA , thats my RC10DS white parts special. I got two DS cars in trade. This is what i did with one of them...The black and white theme was at SandKill's suggestion which was killer. Here is a build thread https://www.rc10talk.com/viewtopic.php?p=445631#p445631
and here is an updated photo.

I was told that the red net wire cover make the DS look like is has a FLUX capacitor, lol

That White parts special also inspired me to build one

https://www.rc10talk.com/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=43905

Hey Lobo,

The tuned pipe on your car is a Steve O’Donnell Racing
“Fat Pipe.”

This was Odonnells ‘answer’ to the Paris AL100 & AL200; the
on road longer body versions of the AL650.

Great pipe… I love the billet wire mount O’Donnell used back then

& beautiful chassis

Here’s an O’Donnell Fat Pipe I had years ago.

Duratrax sold a pipe in the early 90’s called a
“.10-.12 Hi Performance Tuned Pipe” that was actually made for Duratrax by O’Donnell. By far my favorite 1/10 vintage pipe for high-end. Absolute screamer.

See how the top pipe in the pic has that same billet wire hanger mount as your pipe?

In the 90’s, most of the Duratrax nitro parts were actually made in the USA, by smaller machine shops.