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Pinewood Racer
- Thread starter zahntech
- Start date
Now you need to bore holes full of lead down the middle, and alter the "regulation" ride height ;-)
Very cool. I still have the cars I made. It looks like you used some power tools :wink: which is okay in my book. As scorp mentioned, you need to get it to the proper weight by adding some fishing weights to the bottom. 
And definitely use some graphite or other lubricant on those axles and wheels!
Ski_Banker
Suspended
Oh man, let me help you and your son out with an invaluable, perhaps life changing tip if you want to win. Here's the story.
I was a Cub for 3 years, and my favorite annual activity was the pinewood derby. My cars were 1) a rocket launcher w/ a model rocket mounted on top (that one 1st place in our districts :smile: ), 2) a hershey bar, with a simple wrapper purchased and wrapped around the car and 3) something kinda like yours that just looked cool. My cars aren't the story.
One kid, same age as me, showed up year 1 with a somewhat unique looking car (F1 style, so it had shape from the top view) but nothing that extraordinary looking. He pledging his allegiance, to the flag, and then promptly proceeded to beat all the other Cub scouts "on the track" like a group of helpless Alaskan harp seals. My rocket launcher was built for comfort, not speed, so I didn't take much notice...until the district races.
This particular Saturday morning started out just like any of the other 50+ annual pinewood derby district competitions before it. It was a cool, crisp November morning and the excitement of 300 uniformed Cub Scouts electrified the Mall air. One of those Cub Scouts was me, and another was the Speed Racer kid from my Pack. Over the course of a 6 hour, multi-round competition, father and Cub alike watched in horror as the Speed Racer leveled his competition like a Gatling gun on a Civil War battlefield lineup.
Like the effect the 91 NSX had on Ferrari, the other Cubs were nothing but stunned.
Year 2. Speed Racer struts into our Pack's Pinewood Derby sporting an entirely new...color. It looked like the exact same car. That SoB!! Since I had my aerodynamic Hershey Bar car this year, I had high hopes of spanking some Cubs in the speed category. No longer. I should have just gone home then, but I stayed and watched as he cremed us all. Again. I didn't make it to the district competition that year, but Speed Racer pulled another Enzo vs. Edsel looking win I heard.
Year 3. Me: Different year, different color, different car. Speed Racer: Different year, different color, same car. Isn't there a RULE against this?? Same overall result - a bunch of wounded Cubs, forever scarred and a little bitter that 1 kid has destroyed 3 years of their childhoods. I don't think the guy even cared about winning, he just wanted to make some cash by pawning his big trophies. His Dad, the mastermind behind this Pinewood Derby reign of terror, never even said a word to anyone - he just watched in mischievious silence. Nobody knew why this car was so much faster than anything else.
I went to Webelos/Boy Scouts after that, and Speed Racer didn't (his name was Hunter Sparrow of all things...no joke) so we lost touch. One day, years later in High School, this much older version of Hunter Sparrow walks into my classroom as a new student. He didn't look like the big swinging dick he was in Cub Scouts anymore, just a normal guy, a bit of a stoner though. After a few minutes of catching up, I cut to the chase: "How did you win all those Pinewood Derbys back when we were 9?" He laughed like someone whose darkest secret has been exposed and whispered in my ear, "only 3 wheels ever touched the track." :wink:
True story. Perhaps a bit exaggerated, but there's the life-changing tip for your son. Enjoy. :smile:
I was a Cub for 3 years, and my favorite annual activity was the pinewood derby. My cars were 1) a rocket launcher w/ a model rocket mounted on top (that one 1st place in our districts :smile: ), 2) a hershey bar, with a simple wrapper purchased and wrapped around the car and 3) something kinda like yours that just looked cool. My cars aren't the story.
One kid, same age as me, showed up year 1 with a somewhat unique looking car (F1 style, so it had shape from the top view) but nothing that extraordinary looking. He pledging his allegiance, to the flag, and then promptly proceeded to beat all the other Cub scouts "on the track" like a group of helpless Alaskan harp seals. My rocket launcher was built for comfort, not speed, so I didn't take much notice...until the district races.
This particular Saturday morning started out just like any of the other 50+ annual pinewood derby district competitions before it. It was a cool, crisp November morning and the excitement of 300 uniformed Cub Scouts electrified the Mall air. One of those Cub Scouts was me, and another was the Speed Racer kid from my Pack. Over the course of a 6 hour, multi-round competition, father and Cub alike watched in horror as the Speed Racer leveled his competition like a Gatling gun on a Civil War battlefield lineup.
Like the effect the 91 NSX had on Ferrari, the other Cubs were nothing but stunned.
Year 2. Speed Racer struts into our Pack's Pinewood Derby sporting an entirely new...color. It looked like the exact same car. That SoB!! Since I had my aerodynamic Hershey Bar car this year, I had high hopes of spanking some Cubs in the speed category. No longer. I should have just gone home then, but I stayed and watched as he cremed us all. Again. I didn't make it to the district competition that year, but Speed Racer pulled another Enzo vs. Edsel looking win I heard.
Year 3. Me: Different year, different color, different car. Speed Racer: Different year, different color, same car. Isn't there a RULE against this?? Same overall result - a bunch of wounded Cubs, forever scarred and a little bitter that 1 kid has destroyed 3 years of their childhoods. I don't think the guy even cared about winning, he just wanted to make some cash by pawning his big trophies. His Dad, the mastermind behind this Pinewood Derby reign of terror, never even said a word to anyone - he just watched in mischievious silence. Nobody knew why this car was so much faster than anything else.
I went to Webelos/Boy Scouts after that, and Speed Racer didn't (his name was Hunter Sparrow of all things...no joke) so we lost touch. One day, years later in High School, this much older version of Hunter Sparrow walks into my classroom as a new student. He didn't look like the big swinging dick he was in Cub Scouts anymore, just a normal guy, a bit of a stoner though. After a few minutes of catching up, I cut to the chase: "How did you win all those Pinewood Derbys back when we were 9?" He laughed like someone whose darkest secret has been exposed and whispered in my ear, "only 3 wheels ever touched the track." :wink:
True story. Perhaps a bit exaggerated, but there's the life-changing tip for your son. Enjoy. :smile:
