"Brief" Introduction

General discussions for car and semi-truck racers.
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Gregg H
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Joined: Sun Dec 01, 2013 10:12 pm
Location: Washtenaw County, Michigan

"Brief" Introduction

Post by Gregg H »

Long-time lurker here, just got an official profile and I suppose it is appropriate to introduce myself as a first post.

I live in the Mitten (Michigan), was a cub scout myself (truly awful at the Pinewood Derby) and have three sons. The older two are in boy scouts and my youngest is a Bear cub. I am a rowing coach by trade, and as such was made the default raingutter regatta organizer of our pack, and my knowledge of hydrodynamics and watercraft has allowed my boys and I to build fast boats and do well in that event. We also enjoy the Pinewood Derby and the older two usually won their dens, and each the pack final once, and always place high. We have gone to districts numerous times but always get our butts kicked there by some very good builders. We seem to have a competitive region.

This year my youngest has determined he wants to build a car that can break the track record and win it all and try and make it to council. So we have committed to his last few years going the extra and doing the little things we have not worked at too much. I know we can improve our alignment and canting precision, as well as our wheel and bore prep, as we have only done enough. We have always used lead and will invest in tungsten. We are also building our own test track, and will build several cars this year, as opposed to just a few. While I have always tuned into Derby Talk around January as we begin work on the next cars for a refresher course, this year I have read though the entire construction section to the beginning of time and gained a more thorough appreciation of the finer details of building and testing.

I want to thank all of the guys who have chimed in over the years to share their knowledge and results of testing. It is fun to read the exchanges. I doubt I will post much, but perhaps will every so often. I do have a few questions I will post initially in the construction section in a few days. Thanks for taking the time to read, and am looking forward to being an official member.
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Stan Pope
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Re: "Brief" Introduction

Post by Stan Pope »

Welcome, Gregg H!
Stan
"If it's not for the boys, it's for the birds!"
Speedster
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Re: "Brief" Introduction

Post by Speedster »

Howdy, Gregg H, Welcome to DT. I see we're neighbors. It sounds like you're building some mighty fast cars. Might we see some pictures of your Team's cars? Do you have Troy Thorne's latest book, Building the Fastest PINEWOOD DERBY CAR? Lots of neat stuff.
Best of Luck to you and your team.
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Noskills
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Re: "Brief" Introduction

Post by Noskills »

Gregg,
I think you will enjoy DT more by asking any question that comes up in your build and sharing photos. We love photos of the build!
Welcome from the world of lurking.
Noskills (Seth)
"Nunchuk skills... bowhunting skills... pinewood derby skills... Girls only want boyfriends who have great skills!"
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FatSebastian
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Re: "Brief" Introduction

Post by FatSebastian »

Noskills wrote:I think you will enjoy DT more by asking any question that comes up in your build and sharing photos. We love photos of the build!
Agree. Having made what is probably too many DT posts already, I now restrain myself from commenting on individual builds (unless I have a specific question), but that does not mean that I don't enjoy them. Everybody has something to potentially contribute.
Gregg H wrote:I doubt I will post much, but perhaps will every so often.
Last time I checked, the large majority of registered DT members had two or less posts.
Gregg H
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Joined: Sun Dec 01, 2013 10:12 pm
Location: Washtenaw County, Michigan

Re: "Brief" Introduction

Post by Gregg H »

Thanks for the welcome gentlemen. I like your ideas NoSkills and Fat Sebastian, when we begin building this winter I will definitely post questions and pics. My first question will be regarding some peculiar rules. Speedster, I will try and snap some shots of our winning cars, but honestly they aren't in good shape any more. After the race they are up for play, designated to the toy bin, racing stripes retired.
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