BSA Pinewood Derby Car Builds....Slightly OT but it is RACING

Killer Headers Toby

 

>>>>>,I never got to do that when i was in Cub Scouts in the early '50's ,,so it was a treat to help Charly with his ,,,loved it ,,great fun,,,

 

>>>>>,Gonna give away another speed secret,,,we filed groves in the middle of the nails that held the wheels on ,,to hold more graphite ,,Sorry Charly ,,Gotta Help those coming up ,,

 

They're on to you...grooved and tapered Axles are not allowed....but you can polish the hell out of em!

 

>>>>>,Hhmmmm,,,,oh well ,how 'bout instead of polishing em ,,ruff em up with sand paper / emory cloth to make fine little groves on em ,,will hold more graphite that way too ,,an old Grumpy Jenkins trick ,,i did that to my rod n main bearings in my old C/Gasser 396 BB in the late '60's to hold more oil ,,Hhmmmmm ,, " Shade Tree Engineering "???/

 

Thanks for keeping this goin everyone. Logan saw that over 2000 people have looked at this and he says "Im Famous".....had as big a smile as after he cut out his 1st practice side on the Scroll Saw!

More tomorrow!

 

>>>>>,Hey Kool Man ,,keep us informed how it goes ,,,hope he wins ,,,and He can be famous ,,!!

 

2-Much update......

Clamp It Jed! ......I mean Logan!

 

Thanks. They're made of pieces cut form wire coat hangers and pieces of aluminum tubing.

 

Derby Car Time! Hollow the cockpit, round out the ass end.....hit it with a bit of sandable primer!

 

>>>>>,Hey,,Don't Ferget the reverse wing on the back ,!!

 

We need a custom!!

 

another

 

i love pinewood derby cars

ill have to take pics of mine later

 

I don't know if anyone else mentioned this, but I will just in case they didn't. You can true the wheels by inserting a 2" long machine screw that will just fit through the wheel with a nut gently tightened on the backside (hub) then inserting the the machine screw into a drill so the wheel can be spun against sandpaper held on a flat surface. It will make the wheel perfectly round.

Another trick is filing down the little ridges you'll find on the underside of the nail heads (axles). Doesn't take much. I used a points file.

Man, I need to have another baby boy so I can do this stuff again!

 

Toby,

Where are you in GA???

 

>>>>>,Another trick ,,,file down the edges of the tires ,,slightly ,,so they only run on the little centers ,,less drag means more speed ,,,hope THAT'S legal today ,,

 

I tried my best to get my soon to be stepson to do the pinewood derby for the scouts. He decided he didn't want to do the scouts anymore and so we didn't get to build the car. So now in the back of my mind I want to build a car just for fun. Right after he decided to quit I made him look at some of the pinewood derbys on youtube. He couldn't believe what they were doing, but still he didn't care. Oh well.....no hot rod gene I guess.

 

>>>>>,Rusty76; Neon Charly is my youngest son ,,my oldest Curt ,,didn't wanna do the pinewood derby thing either ,,and quit cub scouts ,,we/I didn't know 'till much later he was deslesic,,(SP ) ,,all the letters appeared backwards to him ,he just couldn't read right,,,so ,,,years later after we fingered it out ,,he look special courses to help him ,,he ended up in the Navy after Hi School,,a Diesel Engine Specialist and now werks for the City Of Jacksonville ,Fla ..
not saying that's your step sons problem ,,,but check it out ,,

 

>>>>>,Oh ,,i know there's a weight rule ,,,but ,,,drill a hole in the nose ,,put a fishing lead weight in it , cover it with wood fill ,,weigh the car ,,take weight offa the rear to make it legal ,,the more weight on the front ,,the faster it'll go ,,

 

>>>>>,GOOD LUCK LOGAN ,,,Go Fer It ,,,!!!! we're ALL Chearin' For You ,,BUT ,,remember ,,,If You DON'T WIN ,,there's Next Year ,,it took my son Charly two years before he got the "Blue Ribbon" ,,
It Takes Just As Good A Sportsman To Loose as it Does To Win ,,we ALL lost first ,,before we Won,,

 

CONNMAN,
Where you put the weight depends on the track you're running on- most are 50/50 now (50% drop and 50% flat run). If you put the weight in the front on one of those tracks, the car will go great until you hit the flat run... then slow down because the car is trying to push the weight.

"The books" say to put the weight just a bit in front of the rear wheels, putting the balance point about 1/2 to 3/4 inch in front of the rear wheels... we'll see in a few weeks.

 

>>>>>,O K ,,i thought the tracks were all 'posed to be the same ,,

 

cool thread ...mine from 3 years back

Hamb represent!

 

This was my sons last one he built. It was loosely based on the Red Head.

 

Not as much progress as we'd hoped, Seems that it's easier to concentrate after dark than early, but I can't blame him for wanting to be outside.







Its sitting on some Non Reg wheels and Axles, but its for motivational Pics only.

 

Ahhh this thread brings back good memories! I remeber making multiple pinewood cars with my dad. It's cool to hear others talking about lead and graphite, because that's what we used. I ended up getting 2nd place in my council (Indian head).

 

>>>>>,Ed; lookin' great !!! the kids doing really good ,,,

 

here ya go....

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/album.php?albumid=11180

 

You've made some nice progress. Heres some shots of one that I have in the works.