If you have previously registered, but forgotten your password, click here.

T O P I C     R E V I E W
Dave Maddy	It's that time of year for me to help my 6 year old son make his pinewood derby car. Since I got the new car he now wants to make a Prowler. Has anyone done this before? The dimensions of the wood from the side view are 1 1/2 by 6 inches. The top view is 1 7/8 by 6 inches. Since I'm no artist it would be helpful to have a line art drawing on paper for the top and side to glue on so the scroll saw can cut the shape. Anyone have something I can use? How can I get Inca Gold paint?
tangled up in BLUE	Long before Prowlers I helped my son design his Pinewood Derby cars for 3 years in a row....ours were designed to look like a '34 Ford hot rod....still have the cars and my son is 25 now....started with the bare block and cut the rear end off square at a slight angle...this gave us a "raked/chopped" top to put on the car covering the "seat hole"...then had the rear of the block cut round like the deck lid of a hot rod...next, went to the appropriate spot(cowl area) and cut the block to a snubnosed triangle, again for a fenderless hot rod look....then cut a concave nose out of the front ala '34 Ford.....sanded alot,painted with model paints, a few decals ala "California Kid" and we were off to the races....even put moon disc hubcaps on the cars....last year was the same concept except it was a '34 pick-up....was easy to mount the weights in the "right" places....bed of the truck was ALL balsa wood with coins and clay used under the tonneau cover...TOTALLY ADJUSTABLE....Only problem we encountered was the cars were too fast to win the best looks trophy, but too slow to win the race...ended up with 2 second place trophies and one third out of the three years we raced....good luck !!! TAKE VIDEO....
Scotty	Dave Did you say "help" your son Good luck and hope you win. As Tangled said TAKE VIDEO. Tangled I ... I mean I helped my son cut an action figure in half for a driver ... we ... I mean he won first place but like you said too slow to win the race. I was cub master and built the race track and still didn't win. I seemed the more creative you got the slower they went.
Randy Cobb	Dave: Best of luck in the Pinewood Derby. I found the Dads REALLY are the ones that get into it. A couple of little tricks that some of the truly competitive dads showed me: 1. Get some graphite and pour small amounts between the space between the wheel and axle. Spin the wheel 10 to 12 times and then repeat over and over. The more times you repeat the less friction. This helps in speed tremendously.(I wonder if this will work on our Kats? LOLs) 2. A car that is not balanced on all 4 wheels is faster. I thought that all 4 wheels should be on the surface with the same amount of pressure to go fast. The experienced Dads showed me in tests of identical cars that the 3 wheel approach is faster. Just make sure it is one of the back wheels that is the lightest. My own observations: 1. Let your son do as much of it as he can. My son takes more pride in his with the adequete paint job, than the slick one his Mom and I did most of the work on. 2. Spray the car in clear coat. This will not only make it look better, but more importantly it will protect the car for years to come. My son cherishes his Pinewood cars more than any onther diecast, trophy or award he has. Like Tangled's son I'm sure he will keep them for many years. He even asked me to keep one in my office, which I keep prominently displayed. 3. Ingenious and or detailed designs usually win best design. Cool ones that I've seen - a 12 once coke bottle, a school bus and a detailed replica of Jeff Gordon's Nascar car complete with lettered tires. Have fun! ------------------
Gary C	When I did mine I went for Style but remember the fast guys were trying the make the tires in a V cut instead of the U shaped tire but I didn't think it would work because of the V shape digging into the track, polish the axles of course but I would try to use TRIFLOW spray for the axles, lubricates have come a long way since the 60's..... good luck and please report back Oh, yea, still got the cars,,,,,,,,,,
Dave Maddy	I decided to pick a simpler design. I found some templates on the Internet. This way I can guide him thru using the saw and sander so that he can make it rather than me. It's all about him and not me. Thanks for the posts.