Pinewood Derby Cars

[Darin Jordan]

Hey Gang... Since I just finished up working with my son to prep his 2009 Pinewood Derby car for his Cub Scout race tonight, I thought I'd post some pics of the most recent car, and cars from the past.

I'd love to see what others have done.

Also, if any of you have run the course with Pinewood cars, and have any of the specialty prep tools that are available and want to get rid of them, let me know what you have... I've several more years of this and would like to get more sophisticated on how I prep the wheels and axles without resorting to just buying them pre-prepped as you can do...

Let's see what you've got!

The Red "Ferarri" is the car we just finished last night for Cub Scouts. It's somewhat no-nonesense on the styling, but the axles and the wheels have been prepped beyond anything I've done previously. It rolls fast and straight... Should be fun to see how it does tonight. We have to do another car for later this year for his "Lord's Army" boys church group... rules are a LOT looser here!

The "Back to the Future" car is the car we did in 2008 for "Lord's Army"... We did very well in the design category, but it wasn't as fast as I'd hoped... not enough prep time in that department.

The "Killer Whale" car is the the car we did in 2007 for "Lord's Army"... This one was FAST, and finished in the top 3 for design...

The "Oberto" car was the very first one we did for the 2006 "Lord's Army" race... We were second overall for speed and won for the design... I think people just liked the color scheme...

[Rex R]

and to think that once the kids were expected to do all the work themselves(including shaping the body) .

[Darin Jordan]

and to think that once the kids were expected to do all the work themselves(including shaping the body) .

Tommy has been doing more and more on these each year... he's only 9 and is getting better and better... He did a TON of the work on the Delorean and the Ferarri. I was just there to help him do that work right! He did all the sanding and painting on the Ferrari, then I helped him do the windows and draw the seam lines... He also worked with me on getting the wheels installed and aligned and did all the breakin...

And... the best result of all.... HE WON THE WHOLE SHOOTING MATCH last night! He is the Pack 495 Pinewood Derby Champion! 1st in his group... voted "Fastest Looking Car"... and then, WON THE FASTEST CAR overall! VERY cool!

I was helping out by videoing the finishes the leaders could sort out the placing, and captured this on camera using the video camera in our little Canon pocket camera. I was holding it sideways, to get more of the track, which is why these are on their side, but these are the final 4-heats. His car is the red one with the yellow sticker on the nose... I another set of heats there was one of those fancy forked-nosed all tricked out cars... his beat that one too! Pretty cool!

Final Heat - round 1
Final Heat - round 2
Final Heat - round 3
Final Heat - round 4

[Dr. Jet]

In round four, what was with that guy in the #2 lane that tried to "take-out" the guy in the #1 lane? Looks like either a cheater or a kamakazi.

[Darin Jordan]

There was a pretty severe flaw in the track at the last joint that caused that to happen alot... I think that car was "Sponge Bob"...

[calcagno45]

Congrats to your son!! I'm sure he was happy!

Man, that takes me back a couple years(only 21 now). My dad is the scoutmaster of our local tropp so of course he help produce some slick cars, and a beautiful track. Our track was 6 lanes wide tho, with the electronic sensor for car placement(1st,2nd...). It was fun. And just like you, my dad took my wheels and pins to the machine shop for trueing and refining. It paid off too! I only lost 1 time.

We made a slick little sports car, a Bat mobile, and a replica of a Little Tykes r/c car I loved as a kid. All handcrafted with great detail. I didnt leave the race without the pretty car trophy.

I will see if I can dig those up and take some pics. They are in a shoe box somewheres in the attic.

[J Solinger]

I think I still have my pine car some where. I haven't seen it in a while. That was a fun project.

[Capt. Crash]

I'd love to see what others have done.

Also, if any of you have run the course with Pinewood cars, and have any of the specialty prep tools that are available and want to get rid of them, let me know what you have...

I have a couple cars hanging around and all the tools from tire trimmer to balancer. I'll try to find the box and post pics and see if there is anything you want.

Those vids bring back some good memories...thanks!

Crash

[Capt. Crash]

Here is what I have...they are yours if you want them.

[Capt. Crash]

Oh...and this...and oh I forgot the magnetic wheel balancer...been using it on props but I have a better one for that now....it's yours too if ya want it.

[Darin Jordan]

Oh...and this...and oh I forgot the magnetic wheel balancer...been using it on props but I have a better one for that now....it's yours too if ya want it.

Dude... man... you are about 3-days late... I hadn't heard from anyone, so I went ahead and ordered all that stuff new... plus a couple of other goodies...

I'm sorry I missed this... Thanks for offering...

[Capt. Crash]

That's ok...I'm sorry I didn't see this till too late...I could of saved ya some bucks...and given those tools a nice new home too. Good luck on your future cars. It's a very good thing to be involved in!