Derby Talk

Eagle, are you racing at Mid America with a truck this year? Thank you for the information about building trucks. My main interest is the same as in building 7" cars, "How do you make a block of wood go down a hill Fast?" Whoda is guiding me along and I will be forever grateful. He is setting his tr...

Eagle, that's exactly what happened. Basswood is a beautiful wood and great for many things but what happened would never have happened with Pinewood. I started over with Pinewood.

In your pictures, did I not see your truck sitting on a section of a Best track?

I apologize. I did not make myself clear. I didn't mean to refer to the rules. The rules are fine. I was suggesting someone talk about all the mistakes a person can make while building a truck (I think I made them all). Too much wood either in front of or behind the truck wheels so it does not clear...

Thank you. You've not only answered my questions but gave me a good idea. That makes a lot of sense to move those wheels out. I can't speak for anyone else but it would be nice if someone who knew what he/she was doing would start a Post titled "How to build a Class "B" Big Rig." There are problems ...

Do you have a side view picture of the Chassis before anything was attached to it? It appears the bottom is not a simple flat piece of wood. I'm wondering if you did something specific where the dominant wheels are inserted to get bottom clearance. While building my 1st truck I have learned the "Bes...

CHARTS ! You mean there's actually charts on screws on the Internet? What will they think of next?
That wedge snap off block sounds interesting. Are these blocks tungsten?

I'm curious and also ignorant. I'm not familiar with Revell weights. Where did you buy Revell weights? From Whoda's description of the screw (How does this guy know all this stuff ?) I'm guessing it's a little Flat head screw that holds a tungsten plate. Is that correct? If so, I probably have a bun...

I LOVE IT !!!
Never, ever did I think of having a chunk removed from the bar. I think you might have started something. It's the Best of both worlds. It will make people smile and it's designed for speed.

The speed with which you build things is astounding.

My Pinewood Derby Teams always check very closely the "centripetal acceleration" and "angular velocity" of our cars. This is very important when trying to build a winning car. You too can get a Constant Velocity car for $13.55, courtesy of Whoda. I wonder what "centripetal acceleration" and "angular...

How about this idea? Build a 1/4" high car, set it up with the best wheels you're allowed to have, rail ride, cut a groove in the top. Build it so it will consistently run the same time to the .oo of a second. Take it to your 35' Best track and start inserting weight in the slot. Keep increasing the...

CONGRATULATIONS, Mark Robison. Your Beautiful truck is in the latest issue of Maximum Velocity's Newsletter. Many folks will enjoy your beautiful creation.

Check the Search function. I recall some very clever things posted there. The challenge is to make it to the Finish line but be last in doing so.

Construction of Fat Sebastion's run out tool is shown on Page 64 of Troy Thorne's magazine, Build a Winning Pinewood Derby car, 2013 Edition, $9.99. It can be purchased from Fox Chapel Publishing Co. It's a Great magazine. Yes, all the answers are on Derbytalk but this magazine will speed up your kn...

John, at this point I would buy Tundra 3/8" rod. Cut the amount you need to get to 5 ounces. Move the rod, starting from the back and move it up the hill starting from where there is enough wood to be able to drill a 25/64" hole in the side of the car. The only way you will be able to add more weigh...