Hi Mark,
My "son's" cars won his last three years without a defeat. There are two
keys to pinewood cars. 1) Make sure the Center Of Gravity(COG) is one inch
in front of the rear wheels. We accomplished this by drilling holes in the
rear of the car and putting lead inside before closing the holes with bondo
and painting. Make sure the car weighs as close to 5 oz. without going over.
The basic shape of the car has been a straight wedge although you could have
a neat shape as long as the COG is in the right place. 2) Take each axle and
file down any irregularities in the shaft where the wheel will be spinning.
This is easily done by placing the axle in an electric drill and holding a
file to the shaft as the drill spins it. Then polish the shaft. Use plenty
of graphite on each shaft. And don't drop the trophy on the way home.
Bill Brockschmidt
7 Spits
64 Jaguar E-type OTS
65 Jaguar S
PS We also won the Raingutter Regata each year with my own special design
that will not tip over.
Good luck
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