Pinewood derby cars

[atgcpaul]

The derby was tonight. I didn't go nuts with shaping, just sanded some facets on the stock shape. My wife painted the car with her last weekend (from the same paint as her room). She wanted shooting stars so I cut some out of blue tape and masked the whole car. She wasn't strong enough to push down the spray can, so I sprayed her car with a purple glitter paint. Then I sprayed a few coats of clear rattle can lacquer. I also polished the axles in my cordless drill.

I got the weight dialed in to exactly 5.0oz using some weights I bought at Michael's as well as washers.

It was fun "working" with her. Honestly, she couldn't really do much except for paint, some sanding, and asking a lot of questions like, "Daddy, what are you doing now?" "How about now?" "Why shouldn't I breath that paint?" It was a good time, though.

I think she did pretty well 2nd place in her age group.



She lost by 1/2 a car length to the red hotrod.

[tfischer]

Our church does the pinewood derby every other year. I did it with my then-8 year old last year for the first time. They actually build the cars right at church so the boys are doing most of the work. So none of them used any 'tricks' other than adding weight right before the race. We raced with another group where it was obvious that many/most of the cars were built in a home shop by parents. Kind of ruins the event IMHO.

Anyway sounds like you and your daughter had a blast. 4 seems awfully young to be doing this, but if she enjoyed herself how can I complain lol. Congrats on the trophy and build. She's a cutie too

-Tim

[iceman61]

Congratulations! Great job.
That smile on her face is what it's all about.

[Lonnie in Orlando]

Congrats on the trophy! That's the face of a happy "driver." And a darn good looking car. I like your daughter's choice of colors and your star was a neat touch.

Our Cub Scout pack didn't race pinewood derby cars when I was a kid. Heck, I don't know if they were even invented back then. Anyway, us old guys now have a chance to return to those thrilling days of gravity powered racing ...

"Valve Cover Races" have become a staple at many car shows, especially imported collector car shows. And like pinewood derby racing, there are official rules for valve cover racing, too.

<CLICK> here are some images from Google

- Lonnie

[atgcpaul]

Anyway sounds like you and your daughter had a blast. 4 seems awfully young to be doing this, but if she enjoyed herself how can I complain lol. Congrats on the trophy and build. She's a cutie too

Thanks.

For her age group (3s, 4s, and 5s--she's 3 3/4), they kept them in their classroom while all the older kids stayed in the race room. They were in the first derby, so they marched them out, did their race, and marched them back to class. It seemed like most of the kids in her class--her included--were just shell shocked with all the whooping and hollering going on.

This was their first year running it and they are definitely planning to do it again next year. I like the idea of building and decorating on-site. That makes a lot more sense for her age group.

As you can see from the pic, she recovered.

[BadeMillsap]

Great job and the beginnings of great memories ... AND ... it provides the opportunity for a woodworking project ...