60th Anniversary Build

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BallBoy
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60th Anniversary Build

Post by BallBoy »

Several months ago I decided I wanted to build a vintage-style car to commemorate the upcoming 60th anniversary of the first pinewood derby. Actual vintage car kits can be hard to come by, not to mention expensive so I opted for a modern reproduction kit made by, what I understand to be, the manufacturer of the original kit. I was a Cub Scout in the mid-80's and the kits had progressed to the modern-style kit, so using the vintage components was new to me.

Here is the unpackaged kit as it came out of the box. If you look closely at the instructions the suggested cut line for the cockpit goes where wood is not provided. I found it somewhat comical that I should make cuts where wood doesn't exist. Interestingly, this topic where Whodathunkit posts pictures of the vintage instructions, has the same cut lines.
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There was a note in the kit explaining that the axle may not fit into the wheel bores. Out of the box none of the wheels would fit on none of the axles as shown here. I did end up both slightly enlarging the wheel bore and reducing the diameter of the axle - particularly at the point of the axle - to get the wheels to fit and spin freely.
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One thing I had to adjust to with a vintage build is the difference in the weight of the wheels and axles compared to modern BSA kits. During the build I found myself routinely weighing all of the components because the extra 0.18 oz. was too much for me to remember.
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Here is the car after the initial rough cut. I looked at photos of several vintage cars when considering the design.
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Here is the bottom of the car with the weight pockets drilled. I ended up drilling too close to one side and had to add some Bondo to fix the error.
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Here is the car in its final-sanded state before adding wheels.
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Here is the car with wheels on prior to heading to paint.
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Now for the final product. I wanted to go with a Cub Scout blue and gold motif, though the yellow ended up much more green that I wanted. I should have done a better job cleaning out the airbrush between the blue and yellow. The car weighs in at 4.93 oz.
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All-in-all it was a fun build. It gave me an appreciation for the vintage-style cars as well as the comparative quality of the modern kit components.
MOFAST
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Re: 60th Anniversary Build

Post by MOFAST »

Very nice car! Enjoyed your post!
Speedster
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Re: 60th Anniversary Build

Post by Speedster »

That is BEAUTIFUL!!! Nice job.
Do you think there might be a record somewhere where a scout turned the block around and used the other end for the front, cut all the wood away and used tungsten cubes for weight? Just Wondering...
Shawn Stebleton
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Re: 60th Anniversary Build

Post by Shawn Stebleton »

Well, when I was a Cub Scout in the '70's, we had those kits like in the first picture. I remember putting the end slot cutout at the rear end of the car. We weighted it in back with copper piping flared to "look" like jet engines/rockets/something cool. They were filled with lead solder. The front 3/4 was cut down to a rounded-off square and it flared to full-size block at the rear. My dad didn't know to sand and polish the axles, but had a bunch of other good ideas. I didn't finish last, but never won anything, either, likely due to the axles. He even used an adhesive that had a bit of shock-absorber properties to it, thinking it would help with bumps. Too bad it got thrown out when he got Alzheimer's and was cleaning out and pitching stuff. It was in my "Junque" box of mementos from my childhood. I still remember him helping me with my cars, though, and cherish the time we spent together. I hope I'm making memories for my kids in the same way. They already have way more wins that I ever got. :mrgreen:
Shawn
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sporty
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Re: 60th Anniversary Build

Post by sporty »

Nice pictures and nice little post.

I did a few of these a few years ago. I tell you it gave me a real appreciation. Because everything was harder back then, I had real issues trying to get one of these jems to go fast. But they are fun and cool.

I got pictures of mine around here somewhere.

Sporty
BallBoy
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Re: 60th Anniversary Build

Post by BallBoy »

I did polish the axles and wheel bores. More out of principle than an effort to go fast. My goal is to have it reach the finish line. Having built one, I can definitely see how it would be a real challenge to get one to go fast.
Mr. Steve 316
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Re: 60th Anniversary Build

Post by Mr. Steve 316 »

Great looking build! I want one. Where did you get the reproduction kit or who makes it?
Keep Moving Forward!

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whodathunkit
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Re: 60th Anniversary Build

Post by whodathunkit »

BallBoy,

What a nice job you did with this 60th Anniversary build.
These vintage racers are fun to build as well as see race down track.

The kids of pack 189 & I raced one useing 8 penny finishing nails for axles..
The real trick was trying to keep the smaller nail heads from digging in on the outer wheel hubs.
While trying to make it run as fast as it could with no lubricant or graphite..Talk about a challange.
Heres a photo of the of the kids hand prints on the computer screen and the time seen that the car ran on the pack track on the bottom of the screen.
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In alot of ways Sporty is right:
sporty wrote:I tell you it gave me a real appreciation. Because everything was harder back then, I had real issues trying to get one of these jems to go fast. But they are fun and cool.


Sporty, I might say the same about building one of your spoon cars useing monokote. ;)
What type of automobile can be spelled the same forwards & backwards?
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whodathunkit
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Re: 60th Anniversary Build

Post by whodathunkit »

Mr. Steve 316 wrote:Great looking build! I want one. Where did you get the reproduction kit or who makes it?
Betacrafts.. Mr. Steve 316
http://shop.betacrafts.com/" target="_blank

Mark
What type of automobile can be spelled the same forwards & backwards?
theredlineboss
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Re: 60th Anniversary Build

Post by theredlineboss »

Nicely done! I'm also working on one, but mine was an original kit that was started (but not finished) many years ago. It's interesting to try and figure out where to put the weight on these things.

-Rob
BallBoy
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Re: 60th Anniversary Build

Post by BallBoy »

whodathunkit wrote:Betacrafts.. Mr. Steve 316
Yes, Betacrafts is where the kit came from.
theredlineboss wrote:It's interesting to try and figure out where to put the weight on these things.
Figuring out where to put the weights did take a little bit of effort. The block is about an inch narrower than modern blocks.

With modern BSA kits, one can take the components straight out of the box, install the wheels and send the "car" down the track. Not so with the vintage kits. Gluing the axle crossmembers is required and I had to do some work on the axles just to get the wheels to go on.
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