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Post by 36fan on Jan 14, 2013 12:56:21 GMT -5
We've been checking out the Dukes of Hazzard from the library and watching them. My son decided he wanted to make the General Lee for his Pinewood Derby car, so we did: The General only lost one heat race, and it was close. Although this race was close, the General pulled off the victory. The green car ended up having the fastest 4-lap average, and went on to finish 4th in the championship race. The green car was running 4th, jumped the track, and hit the 3rd place finisher as the General took the checkered flag!
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Post by 36fan on Jan 14, 2013 13:01:53 GMT -5
I love the emotion on my son's face. The tradition continues. Here is the winner with his grandpa, who helped make some fast cars when he was Dad. My brother and I had a 1st place and 2nd place between us. I didn't realize the General Lee could drive so fast without Roscoe P. Coltrane on its bumper in hot pursuit! This was Pack 429's Inaugural Pinewood Derby. The trophies are going to have to be upgraded for next year. They were ordered online, and obviously are lacking. Regardless, my son will be able to say he is the Champion of the Inaugural Pack 429 Pinewood Derby for the rest of his life.
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Post by Decatur on Jan 14, 2013 14:48:34 GMT -5
Bravo!
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Post by 5kirks on Jan 14, 2013 23:19:31 GMT -5
Awesome!
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Post by michaeladkins on Jan 14, 2013 23:41:09 GMT -5
That is great. The things you will never forget! What a great dad!
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Post by goosepondmonster on Jan 15, 2013 9:12:54 GMT -5
Nice. That is a fine looking Derby car.
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Post by Ahawkeye on Jan 15, 2013 9:22:36 GMT -5
I was pinewood derby champ too! It was a bunch of fun! Way to go to you and your son!
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Post by Hoosier Hunter on Jan 15, 2013 10:42:10 GMT -5
I loved those days with my kids. Had some 1st Place Indiana Regional wins to boot! Congrats on your success.
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Post by 36fan on Jan 15, 2013 11:46:14 GMT -5
Thanks all. We are a new start-up troop, and we are still figuring things out. Someone is going to check and see if we can upgrade the center inserts of the trophies, and follow up with getting participation ribbons.
The boys are going to vote on best paint scheme and best design at their next meeting. I am going to make certificates for the top 4 qualifiers, top 3 finishers, best paint, best design, best jump, and best wreck (the Cubmaster gets this one :-) ).
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Post by kevin1 on Jan 15, 2013 15:15:16 GMT -5
The General would've gone a bit faster if you had waxed the axle nails before attaching the wheels to the car. I'm just sayin'...
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Post by saltydog on Jan 15, 2013 19:33:22 GMT -5
way to go 36 and company, Brings back memories of my son and I when he was in scouts. Thanks for sharing
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Post by 36fan on Jan 15, 2013 21:05:00 GMT -5
The General would've gone a bit faster if you had waxed the axle nails before attaching the wheels to the car. I'm just sayin'... The axles and wheels were hit with steel wool, and graphite was shot into the axle/wheel area right before the car was weighed and impounded. Also, only 3 wheels were making contact with the track, reducing friction by 25%. Would waxing the axles help or interfere with the graphite lube?
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Post by Woody Williams on Jan 15, 2013 21:36:05 GMT -5
Congratulations!! Brings back memories!!
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Post by featherduster on Jan 16, 2013 6:35:10 GMT -5
The size of the trophy means nothing it's all about competing and yes maybe winning. The photo of your son with his grandpa is priceless.
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Post by HighCotton on Jan 16, 2013 8:51:07 GMT -5
The General would've gone a bit faster if you had waxed the axle nails before attaching the wheels to the car. I'm just sayin'... The axles and wheels were hit with steel wool, and graphite was shot into the axle/wheel area right before the car was weighed and impounded. Also, only 3 wheels were making contact with the track, reducing friction by 25%. Would waxing the axles help or interfere with the graphite lube? We never waxed our wheels, so I'll let kevin1 speak to that. But, I did learn a good lesson from a Cummins engineer on my first derby (my son didn't even place as a Tiger cub then). He showed me that the most important key was to shave or smooth the "mold seam" on the axles and then do as you did...3 wheeled runners. The other thing I learned through experience and observation is that the "officials" at the time would allow you to shave some weight to meet the spec but you could not add any weight. Not all scales will weigh the same. So, we built all of our cars a smidge over the weight and then would shave weight as needed. If they still allow this, that is the route I would go. All of our cars were simply the wedge design and I made sure that the kids did the work. Believe me, that is probably the hardest part. Through the years, we had 3 regional champs and one state champ! But most of all (as now the trophies just collect dust) it is about the memories and the experience. So, I love seeing the pics you posted. One other note, kudos for other awards like "best design." My most memorable moment in all derby runs came in the late eighties in Ohio. One of our young members was a bit handicapped and he won the "best design" car as voted by his friends. All I can say, is that his reaction of surprise and excitement brought the house to tears.
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Post by 36fan on Jan 16, 2013 13:16:56 GMT -5
That's awesome cotton. I know the size of the trophy doesn't matter, but it does to the kids right now. I converted ounces to grams, the took it to within a gram of the allowed weight. Yes, it takes a lot of will power not to do the work for your kid. As you can tell from the Confederate flag and the outline of the numbers, my son did it. I helped tape it off, but he painted it.
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Post by jabba on Jan 16, 2013 19:59:50 GMT -5
That is WAY cool man.
Your best focus is wheels and axles.
I have good information that says, use lapping compound, and lap the axles to the wheels with a drill prior to installation. smooth wheel to axle contact is where the money is.
And the 3 wheels is a good trick too.
Jabba
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Post by kevin1 on Jan 18, 2013 14:19:22 GMT -5
The General would've gone a bit faster if you had waxed the axle nails before attaching the wheels to the car. I'm just sayin'... The axles and wheels were hit with steel wool, and graphite was shot into the axle/wheel area right before the car was weighed and impounded. Also, only 3 wheels were making contact with the track, reducing friction by 25%. Would waxing the axles help or interfere with the graphite lube? I was actually joking, and the wax wouldn't work with the graphite anyway since it would bind it up.
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Post by Sasquatch on Jan 20, 2013 16:51:50 GMT -5
We had ours last night. My son came in first in his first race, second in his second race and third in his third! Tenth overall.
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Post by 36fan on Jan 31, 2013 11:25:04 GMT -5
We had ours last night. My son came in first in his first race, second in his second race and third in his third! Tenth overall. Cool - how many kids competed?
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