Soap Box Derby...

...Hey! Any of you out there got any answers for me on how my kids and I can get into this?( so. cal. O.C.)? I saw it in the paper a while back, but was busy creating tiki. Any help would be way cool.(I need a hobby)

Go to http://www.aasbd.org for plans & rules. You have to use their plans, buy their cars, & fit into their class ranges though.

Ben, just a fair warning to let you know the competition you shall be running up against.
This gang is the undisputed champs of the So. Cal. soapbox world, and they will show no mercy until they reach the finish line.
Beware; they will put glue on your steering wheel and Limburger cheese in your helmet.
We fellow TCers are rooting for you.
Good Luck!

There's a soap box derby here in La Mesa (east county S.D.) every year. check it out. http://www.lmvma.com/derby2.html

[ Edited by: Shipwreckjoey on 2003-11-08 13:29 ]

Hey shipwreckjoey!
Did you see KUSI news this morning and see them filming live from La Mesa Middle School where they were having Soap Box racing? It was great seeing all the little tykes in their cars.

Yeah, that's what reminded me of the La Mesa race. I just caught the tail end, so for a while I thought I was watching reruns of the La Mesa event.

Mahalo's for the info Rev. That looks a little "intense." Thinkin, more on the lines of Unga's idea.

or....

What were those other "little cars" we made as kids out of balsa wood and raced down ramps called?

PINEWOOD DERBY!!!!

Thanx Pup! Those were the ones I was thinking of. Got to look into this. I'm on a mission now.

Damn Ben, you've shattered my vision of you careening down Signal Hill in L.B. (where else would you hold a soap box derby in your area?) in a bamboo car with flaming tiki torches screaming "COWABUNGA" all the way down to certain victory. But if it's Pinewood Derby you want, you came to the right place. I took first place in the PWD at the 1960 Cub Scout jam-bore-ee. A word of warning though...pine wood derby leads to SLOT CARS! Don't take me there.

On 2003-11-08 17:04, Traderpup wrote:
PINEWOOD DERBY!!!!

Man, I remember doing the Pinewood Derby as a kid. You had to get this kit which had all the basic components and then you could modify the parts as you wished as long as the little vehicle fell into the size dimensions and weight rules.

Me and my Dad used every tool in his workshop to make my racer. We made that square hunk of wood into a front engined dragster (engine came from a model kit) with a little guy sitting in the cockpit. We painted it like an American flag with the stars and stripes scheme. The back half of the body was blue with white stars and the front half of the body was red and white stripes. We carved out cavities on the underside and filled them with melted lead to get up to specs and to shift the weight forward for maximum rocknroll performance. That little pinewood car kicked ass.

My friend Terry took that damn basic pinewood derby wood kit and just glued it together. Nothing more than that. A squared off hunk o' wood with two axles and wheels. That's it. Didn't paint it or nothing. Just the raw wood kit all glued together. Guess who won? Yup!

That was a heartbreaker for me and my hi-tech racing team. There's a lesson in there somewhere, but to this day I have no idea what it is.