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Pinewood Derby

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jaybird

jaybird

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Our car club is holding a 'pinewood derby' in a few weeks. What should I do to the blockowood? I'm thinking leaving it in the block, painting it a half dozen different colors and writing 'binabox' on the sides. Or 'work in progress.'
 
The trick is in the weight, heavy as allowed and the wheel axels, spin em with a drill and polish well where wheels will contact. Use a bit of dry lub on axles before race, just a bit.

I am a Pinewood derby state champ from long ago.

What the body looks like or what ever has no effect at all.
 
Well, if you plan on dusting everyone else there, you should cut the block down to the approximate shape of a stepped-on Twinkie®. Then chisel out a trough in the underside of the block. Add the wheel axels and wheels. Now get some lead - fishing sinkers work perfectly. Melt them down in a tuna can, cut down soup can, something like that, and pour the molten lead into the trough until your car is just under the weight limit. (I don't remember what that is exactly.) Then and only then should you paint it a half dozen different colors and write 'binabox' on the sides. Or 'work in progress.' For a final touch, add a little graphite to the little nails used as axels, and you're good to go. People will laugh when you walk in with your multi-colored blob, but you'll be the one laughing at the finish line. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

( Competitive streak? What competitive streak?! )
 
Dahubby's racing it, I'm just the pit crew. Smooshed twinkie hey?

I had ideas of sawzing it to the shape of an MGB, and going the full Johnmooreitis route with it, but I like the box or blob better!
 
Go to your local tire store . They have stick-on wheel weights that can be broken apart in 1/4 ounce increments. That'd be a lot easier than melting down sinkers.
Definatly polish the axle nails, and I used to sand the wheel surfaces convex till just a thin strip in the center actually touched the track. I'm not sure if it really helped, but the theory is that it reduces friction.
Check out the local hobbie shop/boy scout supply store. they usually carry all kinds of pinewood derby car goodies.
Mag wheels, sidepipes, hot rod engines, body kits.
"pimp my pinewood" hehehehe
Try a "Michaels"craft store. Ours has that stuff.
 
if they are going by BSA specs then you need to be 5oz. More weight in the back than in the front. Aerodynamics don't really matter.

We had a little debate a couple of weeks ago at my son's pinewood derby about weight distribution and people were very passionate that I was full of crap about putting the weight on the back. I shut them all up when I made the loudest guys with weight in the front run the car backwards and their times improved quite a bit.

Polish the axles well - the ones that come in the kit all seem to have burrs on them that need to be sanded off. Graphite is good but run the car once or spin the wheels well before the race - it needs to 'bed in' a little.

I was right at 5oz with a nice simple wedge design with immaculate shiny paint and got beat by a 5oz lump with the edges roughly hewn off and gritty house paint. Doesn't matter how pretty it is to win. Biggest factor is that it tracks straight and the least amount of friction. If you can get it to track straight with only 3 wheels actually touch even better.

Oh...

I mean my SON had a 5oz car that HE put an immaculate paint job on.... Right...
 
Block of wood titled "Binabox" - ya gotta love it

can you paint spokes on the little wheels?
 
Having run the things and my son had always done well here is a tip.

Let the kids build the cars. Shape means nothing. For the younger ones mom and dad should smooth the wheels and axels, then assemble and lube them making sure the car rolls straight. Then quarantine the car until the event.

The car should be too heavy(lead etc.) and lightened with a portable drill at the event. Scales are inconsistent.

Do not let a young lad touch the car until after the event. Playing with it just a little will goof up the wheel alignment.
 
Young lad=dahubby Tom! The *men* in the club are doing this for fun, frolic and refreshment. We have a 'committee' setting up ground rules, the track is 32' long (the chairman of the club added 8 feet), 2 lane, varnished with a starting mechanism.

I plan on painting the 'block' red, green and silver, just the way we got Binabox. And yes, of course, painted wire wheels.

Dahubby did these with Brian years ago when he was a Scout, but umm, Brian's nearly 33 now. I'm sure we still have the racers downstairs in his boxostuff he's yet to take home. Maybe I'll go look, harvest some bits off of them.
 
hmmmm... only 3 wheels touching... sounds interesting a 3 wheeler design would have less rolling resistance than a 4 wheel design... are there rules that stipulate how many wheels have to be on the car?
 
Yep, and all must be on the track.
 
[ QUOTE ]
hmmmm... only 3 wheels touching... sounds interesting a 3 wheeler design would have less rolling resistance than a 4 wheel design... are there rules that stipulate how many wheels have to be on the car?

[/ QUOTE ]

well... not really. It stipulates that you have to have 4 wheels. The trick is to tip up one axle ever so slightly so that the wheel just barely doesn't touch. Looks normal and if anyone notices the tipping when it is sitting flat you can chalk it up to amatuer workmanship /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I wouldn't call it "cheating" exactly... more pushing the envelope of the rules.... no more cheating than what someone like Kas Kastner was doing with racing triumphs...

besides- we're talking about a bunch of adults... in a garage... drinking beer...

Their morality compass was stuck on "heathen" years ago /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
I've done a Lotus 7 and an MG TF...neither speed winners, both style winners.
 
Darn right...let the kids do it! I would let my son design and would help with the building part and let them finish...still would, too!

Oh yea, I should mention that my son is now a 23 YO mechanical engineer. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif

Bruce /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif
 
Man this takes me back.

When I was in the scouts we did this and I did hardly any work on the cars. Dear old dad was the handyman. I pointed to a picture in a book on the Indy 500 I got out of the school library and he created a pretty good looking replica of a '50s Indy roadster. It got painted yellow and we got to the track and I thought we'd knock em all dead. I was crushed when it got eliminated early on while my non-car-guy big brother brought home a good-sized trophy with his.

I'd love to try doing this again but have no idea who or where would do such a thing around here.
 
Zack needs to tell you about our "Derby" entry-a lifetime ago. They gave us a kit in Tiger Cubs......neither ofus knew what we were doing & I was both mom and dad back then-I hope he remembers!!!!!!!
 
Claffie, you belong to a local car club? It would be a really great club event! Our guys are pretty darned excited about it!

I was thinking about getting my own blockowood and blowing them all off the track, but we'll let the boys play. THIS time. Next year, look out!
 
Three wheels touching the track
Polish all axles and use grafite every third run
Get the weight EXACT!
Turn the wheels on a machine screw and a drill using sandpaper so that they only touch the track in one narrow path, not the whole width of the wheel. This gives you a slightly tapered profile
Use the small 5/8" paper stickers from avery as hubcaps. Place them so that the wheel is not allow to move side to side on the axle. Add grafite to the wheel before adding the "hubcaps" The grafite will get on the head of the nail and keet the sticker from sticking
Put all the weight in the back. I used 1/4" split shot in a drilled hole under the car and then use your pocket knife on race night to adjust the last splitshot to make the weight perfect
Pick out the best wheels to use. Quality varies more than you would believe ftom kit to kit. I bought four kits to get the best wheels and axles of the lot. Some of the nails actually has a raised burr on the side and under the head that would almost stop a wheel from turning. You do not want any wobble between the wheel and it's axle
 
You guys are too much. Great advice, thanks!
 
Seems a lot of us have experience with old cars.
 
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