by Bob Peterson

Cub Scouts who follow auto racing may concede that there's a certain amount of excitement in the Indianapolis 500, the World Grand Prix and the Daytona 500.

But the Pinewood Derby! Now, there's a real thrill!

In most Cub Scout packs, January or February is Pinewood Derby time, and right now Cub Scouts and parents all over the country are whittling away on blocks of wood, shaping and painting miniature racing cars that one day soon will be swooping down a sloping wooden track in response to the Law of Gravity.

To run a Pinewood Derby, you need a supply of the Grand Prix Pinewood Derby kits, a track and a plan for the competition. The kits are available from your Scout distributor.

Begin by ordering one car kit per Cub Scout. They come in eight-packs, No. 1623, for $4.95, and in single boxes, No. 1622, for 85 cents.

Directions for building the cars are contained in the kits. The Cub Scout should select a design he likes, perhaps from a magazine or newspaper picture. his choice might be anything from a sleek, futuristic, nuclear-powered auto to a Stanley Steamer. But it can't be longer than seven inches, wider than 2 1/4 inches, or heavier than five ounces. And he can use only the wooden block, the polished metal axles, and plastic wheels that are supplied in the kit. No wheel bearings, washers or bushings are permitted. He can add a steering wheel, the figure of a driver, decals and other decorations, so long as the overall weight doesn't exceed five ounces.

TIPS FOR CONSTRUCTION

• If your design calls for cutting away much of the block, use a saw first, then a jackknife or other type of wood carving knife.
• Do not polish metal axles with any kind of abrasive material such as sandpaper, emery paper, etc. Doing so will rough up the polished surface and cause wheels to run slower.
• Paint body parts before assembling them to avoid getting paint on axles.
• Lubricate axles with powdered graphite. Don't use regular lubricating oil; it slows wheel spin, and dripping oil can foul the racetrack. Do not use silicone spray lubricant; it softens the plastic wheels and freezes them to the axles.
• Fishing sinkers or other weights may be inserted in the body to add weight.
• The Cub Scout should build his own Pinewood Derby racer with merely guidance and minimal assistance form parents. Sometimes, though, a dad becomes so absorbed that it becomes his project Such a father may produce a winning car but not a winning relationship with his Cub Scout.
• Because it is hard to establish a limit for parents' help, and even harder to know whether it's been overstepped, some packs have separate Pinewood competition for parents.
• Assume that your pack already has its own Pinewood Derby track or can borrow one form a nearby Cub pack. (If you don't, be patient, we're coming to track construction.)

The next step is to plan for the competition. Your best guide is the "Pinewood Derby" section of Cub Scout Activities, No. 3837. There you will find useful tips on how to set up tables and assign people for weighing and inspecting the cars, registering cars and their Cub Scout owners, running the races and giving out trophies, medals, ribbons and certificates of participation. It is recommended that each boy be allowed to race at least twice.

The pack committee should establish and share the rules for competition before the Derby with copies for each boy. Here are some suggestions:

After registration, weigh-in and inspection, cars are brought to starter's table by dens.

Boys place their own cars at starting gate. Starter releases gate. den chiefs at end of track retrieve cars.

Two nonpartisan judges are at the finish line. Both must agree on winner or race will be rerun.

If car jumps track in the first heat of a den race, it will have a chance to run in the second heat if it can be repaired quickly. (Have a repair box handy with pliers, drill, model cement, extra wheels, etc. to fix damaged cars.) In the first heat of a den race, if a car jumps the track, it will be judged as finishing last.

It is recommended that every Cub Scout receive some award or memento of the Derby. In some packs mimeographed certificates of participation are used. In others, blue ribbons lettered "Pinewood Derby" in gold are used. These ribbons (No. 7708) are available from your Scout distributor.

Awards for Various Winners are as follows: Pinewood Derby Trophy with a three-inch-long car on walnut base with engraving plate, No. 1687, $5.65; deluxe trophy, with an engraving plate on which the name of each year's winner can be inscribed, No. 5749, $11.00; medals for first-, second-, and third-place winners, with blue and gold grosgrain ribbons, in gold, No. 5112; silver, 5113; bronze, 5114, each 85 cents.

The pack can also make its own awards, using the Grand Prix Pinewood Derby Awards Mold, No. 1624, costing 49 cents. With plaster of paris or other casting materials, the mold forms a shield and two race cars. Or for 60 cents you can buy a plastic 3 1/2-inch-high gold-covered trophy with a glue-on name plate, No. 5077.

All of the Pinewood Derby kits available today are the Grand Prix model. It differs form the original cars chiefly in the width of the wheels, which are the wide-tired slicks similar in style to those used on real racing cars. The original Derby cars had narrow notched wheels.

The Grand Prix cars fit on the same tracks as the old models, so there is no need to make changes on an old racetrack . Plans for an old two-lane track will be found in Cub Scout Activities.

However, if your pack needs a new track, it is suggested that you follow the plans included with the car kits. This new design makes a faster track than the old, because the start is eight inches higher (four feet from ground to track as compared with three feet four inches).

Review the plans carefully before starting construction. The track can be built with ordinary workshop tools. The use of loose pin hinges makes it easy to take apart.

The curved sweep of the ramp bends naturally, but if the short legs do not touch the floor when the track is assemble, weight them down with a bag of sand across the cleat of the short legs.

Block -sand all track surfaces, particularly where sections are joined. For extra strength, use white glue on all joints before fastening with screws. Finally, a good grade of hard enamel paint is recommended for finishing the track.

Because the Grand Prix car design is lower-slung than the older Pinewood models, it is especially important that the lane strips are 1/4-inch high. the bottom of the Grand Prix car is designed to be just 1/8-inch above the lane strip. If the lane strip is too high or the car too low, the racer will drag.

Reprinted from Jan/Feb 1976 Scouting Magazine and revised October, 1976.