pinewood derby time!

[sensor]

anyone have pics of cars theyve done hints/tips/ideas?
so far were going with a model a roadster and he wants it green with red(trying to point him toward scallops).......i know the obvious speed things like smaller axle to wheel contact area,polish,lube axles,and make sure the axles are square but any other ideas(that are legal) are welcomed
thanks guys!
its his first one so if we can keep him out of last place ill be happy :wink:

 

[necessaryevil]

Lots of lead!, j/k. Skinnier wheels always helped me. Do they still have the plastic mag wheels in those kits? I always cut out half of the width of the tires, less rolling resistance. Wish I had some old pics of mine, those were fun.

 

[ifitsfreeitsforme]

First and only one I ever built. It was about 5 years ago for the adult races at my nephew's Troop races. It did really well. Second or third place I think.

 

[recycledbikez]

If it is for Cub Scouts or Boy Scout you can't alter the wheels (sorry) I tried

 

[necessaryevil]

If it is for Cub Scouts or Boy Scout you can't alter the wheels (sorry) I tried

Dang, no wheel mods? I only remember a weight limit as a kid, the Scouts are getting strict! :lol:

 

[user 135]

First> Let him build it as much as possible. My son's looks a little crooked on some cuts. The paint is so,so and the decals are crooked but he did it. Some cars showed up and it didnt' look the kid had done anything. (that is why they have separate adult races now)

Second> Polish the axles to remove mold marks(spru?) 400 grit then down further. Put in the drill to help this process.

Third> Use graphite but don't pack into the wheels. Spin the wheels after final graphite lube.


Outside of Cubscouts, you can spend big money on matched,machined wheels, axles and tools for the go fast.

 

[sensor]

we came to an agreement: ill shape the car(on this one. he almost listens well enough to let him use tools but still not quite there yet),show him what im doing and why,and he gets to do everything else(paint, install axles,wheels,decals and such).....and yeah no wheel mods such as rounding the tread,using washers,or using any lubricant other than dry graphite
come on guys dig those cars out and lets see some more pics(we'll also take tips on weight placement since i have no idea what the tracks going to be like)!

 

[karfer67]

i pinstriped one for a friend last year. it did not win but won best paint

 

[theVULTURE]

hey sensor, i'm the locksmith in my building and i can get you that powdered graphite if you need some!
(i might be up your way this weekend riding moto if the tracks are open)

i was never a Scout, but me and my dad built enough gravity coasters for the hills of Pacifica to keep me in the E.R. until the nurses knew us by name! :lol: :lol: good times! my dad rules!!!

 

[Feralkid]

i have one that i did in fifth grade ill post pics up tomorrow

 

[user 135]

weight placement is like religion. Cant got wrong down low and in the center. Some say slight rear or slight front of center.

Router out the bottom then pore in hot lead. Then Drill to fine to weight. My son's car lost his first race, then won the remaining 5 or 6 races. The first race was close and I think the extra graphite I packed in slowed it down until it cleared out.

 

[CCR]

oh man do i miss the pinewood derbies !!! i think my cars are still at my grandmas house. i believe the first one i got to draw on the blank and dad cut it out for me due to a sick/scary bandsaw. but i remembeer painting it yellow with stripes, i think i ended up somewhere in the middle but man was i proud of that car. next year we made one a little fancier, an open cockpit roadster, we got some led figures for the exhaust and a rollbar and a driver bust to put in the cockpit, i didnt care how well it ran / and honestly dont remember, all i knew is it looked cool to me i do remember putting graphite on the axles though ... fun times ... GOOD LUCK !!! and HAPPY BUILDING !!!

 

[sensor]

thanks for the tips guys!
so far ive got the body rough cut and close to its final shape(might even look like an A when its done too :shock: )
anyhow...

well see if he goes for a duvall windshield or if he wants stock cut down.......he gets to paint his first car soon :mrgreen:

 

[ifitsfreeitsforme]

i saw a kid with a replica of the Home Depot NASCAR racer once. His dad cnc'd it and his uncle painted it at his body shop. that kid learned a lot lol

 

[recycledbikez]

Here is a picture of some we have built over the years.

 

[Rustinkerer]

Cool! I still have my one car, somehwere. It was a basic wedge shape, I think my dad cut it, and I sanded & painted it candy oriental purple! What maed it cool (but not fast) was the white roadster top. I, naturally, was assigned #13! I wasn't last, and I did win most original! Old school even before it was old! :mrgreen: ~Adam

 

[TailDrag]

Oh man! What memories.

Mine was styled after a '32 coupe, black with a flame job all hand painted by me when I was real young! Won best paint and something else that I don't recall. Raced great too until one of my wheels split and left the right front wheel with camber, so it just drug against the track wall the whole way down.. lol.

I used the lead low and up front more, and tapered the weights back to the center of the car distribution wise. Nose heavy made it gain a lot of speed on the downhill slope and the other to maintain somewhat distributed for the straight away momentum.

That's great, can't wait until I have kids! GOOD LUCK!

 

[hotfoot]

What's the starting gate look like?

When I was in the cub scouts I took first in the pinewood one year based off of a little trick I figured out that worked with our style of starting gate, if it's a pin that starts vertical in front of the car, and drops either straight down or rolls forward you can round out the front of the car to gain some time. I can explain in a photo if that didn't make any sense.

 

[sensor]

make sense but i have no idea....his first time in scouts(tiger cub) so were both kinda going in blind...
its cool though hes happy he gets to use a paint gun,drill press, and file.
so......win or loose its fine :mrgreen:

 

[StepChld]

Just now saw this thread, so sorry for the late entry :wink:
the first one here was so slow, it came in after the "extra" car that they always ran when you didn't have enough cars in all the lanes...did I mention that the "extra" car was a block of wood with wheels quickly nailed on. My son's and my car looked cool but...

Sooooo...the next year we did a little research. Unfortunately, my competetive spirit kicked into overdrive and he was not allowed to touch it. He could choose the paint and helped put the decals on but i cut out the body, sanded it, polished the nails, added the weight, etc. We got second place in the Pack, 23rd in the District (out of 200+ cars). Felt pretty guilty about that

So, the third year, my son was allowed to do most of it. I still cut the basic shape out and polished the nails but he sanded & painted.Didn't win past 4th in the Pack (one of the dad's got a cabinet maker to build his :x )

The fourth year, the my son did even more. I cut out the basic shape, drilled for the weights and still polished the nails and prepped the wheels, but he did everything else, even the paint.

The final year, he cut out the shape, I drilled for the weights, and sanded a little and came up with the bumper...everything else was his. We didn't win many of the heats but we won "Coolest Car" 8)

We enjoyed PD very much...each year my son took on more responsibility and I learned a lot myself...prepared both of us for Scouts and learning to let him do it himself :?