Pinewood Derby. WTF, I can't do any car cheap... WE WON!!!

[GeorgeInNePa]

lol

My 7yo son (Thing 2), is in his first year of Cub Scouts. This is our first Pinewood Derby car. I found websites like you wouldn't believe...

The car has some of it's weight epoxied in, I still have a tungsten canopy to epoxy on, but it has two coats of primer on it now. The weigh in is this Friday and the race is this Saturday.

I have pre-polished axles to hang the all machined, trued wheels on. Yea, I know, I'm sick...

He helped sand it before the primer and I'll have him help sand between coats of paint.

[Mike P]

I remember when I did Pinewood Derby in Cub Scouts, that was fun. So was the Regatta boat racing!

Have fun & good luck to you guys! :)



...

[-Ray-]

Sweet! Nice going George. You better video. I'm just saying.

[GM_Fan]

My father was a council commissioner for scouts. Dads from our pack built a pine wood derby track with electronic win lights at the end. This was in the late 1970s/early 1980s so it was "advanced" back then. We hauled that track all over the place for different packs to run their races. The simplest cars seem to do well.

Post some pics and get some video. I haven't seen a derby race in years.

[GeorgeInNePa]

This one's pretty simple.

It has a rounded nose, the body is just over 1/4" thick, most of the weight is concentrated just in front of the rear axle. It also uses a high riding front wheel. ;) One of the front wheel holes is drilled 1/16" higher than the other 3. Less friction from 3 axles and wheel hubs, so it will roll faster and it runs fine on 3 wheels.

[johnh]

Yeah the hardest part with normal kits is getting the nails..er axles in so that the are true and stay true...

[GeorgeInNePa]

Yeah the hardest part with normal kits is getting the nails..er axles in so that the are true and stay true...

Our Den Leader said we could drill the holes. The slots on the bottom of the block weren't perpendicular to the body, so I had to redo them anyway...

[Mike P]

I want a small video clip.... :D



...

[fiveoh]

Ah good memories... I used to wet sand and polish the axles of my car for hours. Also put some graphite on them. No one else had any idea what to do back then. Won 2 years in a row.

A video would be cool!

Good luck to your son!

[IcePickFreak]

Yeah vids and don't forget to post a slip! ;)

[G8Smitty]

I think that one of the other keys (since you are drilling your own holes) is to create the longest wheelbase.

[GeorgeInNePa]

I think that one of the other keys (since you are drilling your own holes) is to create the longest wheelbase.

We have to keep the standard wheelbase for our Pack, but yes that is supposed to help.

[Adam]

Stick quarters to the bottom for the correct weight. I think 4 was dead perfect. Put the powder lead on the wheels to help them move freely and send it down the track. Mine looked like a 93-97 Camaro when it was done and it won thanks to the free spinning wheels

[kevinm0131]

George,
As a former champ myself I give you two thumbs up! Way back in the dark ages the three wheel trick was unheard of, however, I did run with one high. I accidentaly dropped mine about 5 minutes before race time and busted one of the spindle blocks. Dad to the rescue, he broke off a piece of the tooth pick he always had in his mouth and wedged the nail/axle into place. I sat it on a nearby table and told him that the wheel was not touching and he said it would be OK...sure enough I won!
I still have it, with toothpick wedge in place....thanx to Mom keeping it.
Thanx for bringing back some fond memories. I only had girls myself, but, now I have a little grand son born the week of Thanksgiving. Is it too early to start building his Pinewood Derby car?
Kevin

[sweetair]

This one's pretty simple.

It has a rounded nose, the body is just over 1/4" thick, most of the weight is concentrated just in front of the rear axle. It also uses a high riding front wheel. ;) One of the front wheel holes is drilled 1/16" higher than the other 3. Less friction from 3 axles and wheel hubs, so it will roll faster and it runs fine on 3 wheels.

My son is a Tiger scout this year as well. His car is almost done too. Be careful with 3 wheels touching. Our specific rules state that ALL wheels must touch the track or you will have to adjust it during the inspection. Try putting some weight up front. It will help to pull the car down the track vs. push it.

Good luck.

[GeorgeInNePa]

My son is a Tiger scout this year as well. His car is almost done too. Be careful with 3 wheels touching. Our specific rules state that ALL wheels must touch the track or you will have to adjust it during the inspection. Try putting some weight up front. It will help to pull the car down the track vs. push it.

Good luck.

Well, the rules we were told, yes told, we got nothing written, require us to us the standard wheelbase (forwards or backwards offset doesn't matter. Also we can't use a block of wood longer or wider than the standard PD block. The car must weigh no more than 5oz. We can't "lighten" the wheels, but truing is allowed. How much truing is legal or illegal? They'll know it when they see it. [rolleyes] The slots can be used or flip the block and drill your own holes.

Nothing about 3 or 4 wheels touching and if I get any shit about it, I'm going to flip out. If they want to have rules, they better tell me them all, in the beginning. A quick write it down and xerox it won't be too tough, would it? ;)

PS
Mine is a Bobcat. He skipped Tiger, around here that's for 6yo boys so he's in the Bobcat Den. He'll be 8 in May.

[miamio96]

2 time winner here.....

I don't think we were allowed to alter the wheel base. We could true the wheels and I know all 4 wheels had to be touching the track. Powdered graphite was my friend and another "trick" was to center the weight between the wheels (side to side and front to back)

[chipman283]

My dad would always drill a few holes almost all the way through in front of the wheels and melt fishing weights to put in them.

[Struggle]

We have done pine wood cars for Awana's club and it is crazy competitive. We have moved more to the design side of the competition and have had cars win both years.

I have had no luck on getting the wheels to roll good no matter what I do. I do not have a drill press so alignment has been terrible trying to set them up just right.

It gets expensive quick and some times the car with the least done to it wins. We keep pulling the short straw in the speed department.

[TCorzett]

I accidental dropped mine about 5 minutes before race time and busted one of the spindle blocks.

Same thing happened to me before the final race... I was devastated! The car (or parts from it) had been used for several years and were working together perfectly. Had to replace the wheel with a 'stock' replacement and it just killed it. :lame:

-Todd...

[Chewy]

What has your son done to it other than sand it George?

I went to one of these last year and IMO it was BS. 95% of the cars were made by the fathers. They had what looked like professional paint jobs on them and the fathers were more into it than the kids.

Of course I don't do clubs or things like that because I HATE cliques so I am a bit bitter.

Good luck though!

Chris

[GeorgeInNePa]

What has your son done to it other than sand it George?

I went to one of these last year and IMO it was BS. 95% of the cars were made by the fathers. They had what looked like professional paint jobs on them and the fathers were more into it than the kids.

Of course I don't do clubs or things like that because I HATE cliques so I am a bit bitter.

Good luck though!

Chris

So far, that's it. ;)

We're going to prep the axles tonight. Then we'll graphite them and mount them. Weigh in is at 6:30 tomorrow night.

Of course many of the cars are made by the fathers, the kids are 6-7-8 years old. the older kids 9-12 do a lot more.

[sweetair]

We just put the wheels on tonight. Axels seem true. Black graphite done. I need to take some weight off. I know it is too heavy. I want to race mine from years ago as well. I took first that year as well. Still have the ribbon to boot. :cheers: My kid painted the whole thing I worked the saw and the solder gun to melt some weight it. He held the solder. It should be fun. Good luck and enjoy. BTW--my son is 7. Sept. b-day.

[GeorgeInNePa]

Almost Total Domination!!!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v320/GeorgeInNePa/winner.jpg

Out of 14 cars in his Den, his was the fastest! He won every heat and then went to the Den Final. Out of 6 cars in the Final, he won all 6 races!

Then we had the Pack Championship, 5 cars, 1 from each Den. He won 4 times and came in 2nd twice. Then for the run-off, out of 3 cars and 5 races, he Won 3 times and came in 2nd twice.

2010 Pack 160 Champion!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He even won Best Appearing for his Den! (even with my screwed up crinkle paint job, lol)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v320/GeorgeInNePa/winner2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v320/GeorgeInNePa/winner3.jpg

The car weighed in at 4.95ozs at the unofficial weigh in last night so I added a tungsten cube and it was 5.00ozs today.

It has the drivers side front wheel 1/16" higher than the other 3, 25% less friction than a 4 wheel contact car. The pass side front is 1/16" closer to the center-line of the car than the rear wheels and steers slightly to the left. This keeps the raised wheel off the center runner, it also keeps the rear wheels off the divider.


Someone find me a prom queen!

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[Mike P]

Awesome! :)



...

[-Ray-]

Congrats to Thing 2, errrr, George.

[GeorgeInNePa]

Congrats to Thing 1, errrr, George.

He's Thing 2.

;)

[GRRRR8]

Congrats to G&g racing! :first:

[GeorgeInNePa]

Thanks!

he's already designing next years car...

[GRRRR8]

Thanks!

he's already designing next years car...

WITH the GRRRR8 logo of course! :headbang:

[GeoffA]

Nice!

[sweetair]

Congrats. My buddy took 1st place in his Den as well. His Den, Tiger Den took over all 1st place as well and will hold onto the Pack trophy for the year. His was not quite quick enough to place in the over-all top six of the pack. Over all he was 7 out of 42 cars. His car repeatedly ran 2.9xxx second runs. There were some uniquely designed cars on display.

The computer program doing the timing and ranking was very impressive. It really went to the 10 thousandths of a second. Every car alternated in which lane it ran so if there was a lane advantage it would even out in the end.

I am still trying to figure out how Thing 2's car passed inspection with only 3 wheels touching. This is something that was checked proir to check in as well as width, and ground clearance.

Congrats again and good job.
Almost Total Domination!!!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v320/GeorgeInNePa/winner.jpg

Out of 14 cars in his Den, his was the fastest! He won every heat and then went to the Den Final. Out of 6 cars in the Final, he won all 6 races!

Then we had the Pack Championship, 5 cars, 1 from each Den. He won 4 times and came in 2nd twice. Then for the run-off, out of 3 cars and 5 races, he Won 3 times and came in 2nd twice.

2010 Pack 160 Champion!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He even won Best Appearing for his Den! (even with my screwed up crinkle paint job, lol)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v320/GeorgeInNePa/winner2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v320/GeorgeInNePa/winner3.jpg

The car weighed in at 4.95ozs at the unofficial weigh in last night so I added a tungsten cube and it was 5.00ozs today.

It has the drivers side front wheel 1/16" higher than the other 3, 25% less friction than a 4 wheel contact car. The pass side front is 1/16" closer to the center-line of the car than the rear wheels and steers slightly to the left. This keeps the raised wheel off the center runner, it also keeps the rear wheels off the divider.


Someone find me a prom queen!

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/a-pIwA-E-UY&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/a-pIwA-E-UY&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

[GeorgeInNePa]

Congrats. My buddy took 1st place in his Den as well. His Den, Tiger Den took over all 1st place as well and will hold onto the Pack trophy for the year. His was not quite quick enough to place in the over-all top six of the pack. Over all he was 7 out of 42 cars. His car repeatedly ran 2.9xxx second runs. There were some uniquely designed cars on display.

The computer program doing the timing and ranking was very impressive. It really went to the 10 thousandths of a second. Every car alternated in which lane it ran so if there was a lane advantage it would even out in the end.

I am still trying to figure out how Thing 2's car passed inspection with only 3 wheels touching. This is something that was checked proir to check in as well as width, and ground clearance.

Congrats again and good job.

From what I can figure out, that's one of the local pack rules. Just like lengthened wheel base. Also, from the official rules, you have to stay with the official block and go smaller. I was told, that in the past, they allowed someone to use 2 blocks to make a semi truck. (two blocks stacked)

A lot of packs must allow it, it was one of the top tricks mentioned on 3 different websites.

BTW, my son is a Wolf, I think I said Bobcat before. I get that confused, he just earned the Bobcat badge.

Congrats on the Den win!

[99-LS1-SS]

Congrats George and Mini George!

[GeorgeInNePa]

PS,
After what his car did during the Den races, they re-weighed the cars going into the Pack race. Ours was still dead on at 5.00, but I think it was done just to check our car. The margins of victory were that one sided. ;)


One thing I am extremely proud of, when he won the pack elimination race-off, he turned to me and gave me a high five. Then turned to the second place guy, who was trading first and second during the run offs with him. George stuck out his hand and said "Great Race, better luck next time".

What a kid!

[GRRRR8]

One thing I am extremely proud of, when he won the pack elimination race-off, he turned to me and gave me a high five. Then turned to the second place guy, who was trading first and second during the run offs with him. George stuck out his hand and said "Great Race, better luck next time".

What a kid!

Much better then your response of........:butt: :bird: LMAO!

[GeorgeInNePa]

Much better then your response of........:butt: :bird: LMAO!


Yea, I didn't think it prudent to yell, "What now, Bitches?"...

lol

[616 of 933]

PS,
After what his car did during the Den races, they re-weighed the cars going into the Pack race. Ours was still dead on at 5.00, but I think it was done just to check our car. The margins of victory were that one sided. ;)


One thing I am extremely proud of, when he won the pack elimination race-off, he turned to me and gave me a high five. Then turned to the second place guy, who was trading first and second during the run offs with him. George stuck out his hand and said "Great Race, better luck next time".

What a kid!


he must have seen you at the race track.

[GeorgeInNePa]

he must have seen you at the race track.

No, he never went with me. I'm a big shit talker, so he wouldn't have learned this from me. ;)

He must get this from his mom...

[GeorgeInNePa]

Is it wrong that we've already begun planning next years car?

I'm also researching track plans and we are talking about building a test track in the basement.

:wacko: