This weekend was a great weekend for me. This year I have been assisting three grandsons and one semi-neighbor, all in different BSA councils. Two events took place this weekend and the results were great. Two first-place finishes, and one new track record.
One grandson lives in Green Valley Arizona (20 miles south of Tucson, in the Catalina Council). Last year, this grandson took first place in his Pack, District and Council. That had me worried because it might be a tough act to follow. However, last year, I didn't know that League Racing existed, nor had I ever heard of it DD4H. I did know about tungsten weights, and purchased them from Hobby Lobby. We cut the original body from the original BSA block. So I guess I should have known that this year would be better, using DD4H products and processes.
Catalina Council rules said that all four wheels had to touch the track, and only graphite was allowed, however wheel canting was allowed.
We started the project in November. DD4H drilled a block with canted holes at the rear and straight holes at the front. I took that block from Colorado (20°) to Arizona at Thanksgiving (80°) and had the boy and his father shape and paint the block, along with two other blocks (just in case substitutes). Later, I prepared the axles and wheels. I prepared the axles exactly per the DD4H DVD, except no Teflon or Jig-a-Loo, until they shined like a mirror. I used the same DD4H DVD process on the wheel bores, except eliminated the final polish. As for the wheels, I was able to leave the non-dominant wheel touching the track, but just barely. When we pressed the non-dominant front side, even though that wheel was touching the track, that side would still spin a bit. So when the car rolled, even though the wheel rolled also, there was no real weight pressure on that side. Incidentally, we aligned that wheel absolutely parallel. The dominant front wheel, using a bent axle, made the car veer to the left about 13 inches over 7.5 feet. Obviously, the two rear canted wheels were absolutely parallel to the body, using The Block. Yesterday, an excited grandson phoned me, telling me that out of 40 cars, no one came within 12 inches of him. AND the car was absolutely legal according to counsel rules. Incidentally, they also had a special run for the parents and/or siblings. The week before the race, my son (father of the Cub Scout) phoned me in Hawaii, asking me how I prepared the wheels and nails. I told him he probably didn't have time to get the proper materials from DD4H, and that he should go to an auto supply store and buy some high end 3M scratch remover and synthetic polish, and gave him instructions on how to prepare the wheels like DD4H recommends. Then I told him to remove the nail burrs. To buy some 1500 grit sandpaper from Ace Hardware (that's the finest grit I can find locally), wet sand the nails, then polish them for 60 seconds each, first with the 3M scratch remover, and finally polish another 60 seconds them with Brasso (from Kohls). Then set the veer at 12-13 inches over 8 feet. Those two cars ended up with the second and third fastest times, and only two or three inches behind their sons fastest time.
One grandson lives in Green Valley Arizona (20 miles south of Tucson, in the Catalina Council). Last year, this grandson took first place in his Pack, District and Council. That had me worried because it might be a tough act to follow. However, last year, I didn't know that League Racing existed, nor had I ever heard of it DD4H. I did know about tungsten weights, and purchased them from Hobby Lobby. We cut the original body from the original BSA block. So I guess I should have known that this year would be better, using DD4H products and processes.
Catalina Council rules said that all four wheels had to touch the track, and only graphite was allowed, however wheel canting was allowed.
We started the project in November. DD4H drilled a block with canted holes at the rear and straight holes at the front. I took that block from Colorado (20°) to Arizona at Thanksgiving (80°) and had the boy and his father shape and paint the block, along with two other blocks (just in case substitutes). Later, I prepared the axles and wheels. I prepared the axles exactly per the DD4H DVD, except no Teflon or Jig-a-Loo, until they shined like a mirror. I used the same DD4H DVD process on the wheel bores, except eliminated the final polish. As for the wheels, I was able to leave the non-dominant wheel touching the track, but just barely. When we pressed the non-dominant front side, even though that wheel was touching the track, that side would still spin a bit. So when the car rolled, even though the wheel rolled also, there was no real weight pressure on that side. Incidentally, we aligned that wheel absolutely parallel. The dominant front wheel, using a bent axle, made the car veer to the left about 13 inches over 7.5 feet. Obviously, the two rear canted wheels were absolutely parallel to the body, using The Block. Yesterday, an excited grandson phoned me, telling me that out of 40 cars, no one came within 12 inches of him. AND the car was absolutely legal according to counsel rules. Incidentally, they also had a special run for the parents and/or siblings. The week before the race, my son (father of the Cub Scout) phoned me in Hawaii, asking me how I prepared the wheels and nails. I told him he probably didn't have time to get the proper materials from DD4H, and that he should go to an auto supply store and buy some high end 3M scratch remover and synthetic polish, and gave him instructions on how to prepare the wheels like DD4H recommends. Then I told him to remove the nail burrs. To buy some 1500 grit sandpaper from Ace Hardware (that's the finest grit I can find locally), wet sand the nails, then polish them for 60 seconds each, first with the 3M scratch remover, and finally polish another 60 seconds them with Brasso (from Kohls). Then set the veer at 12-13 inches over 8 feet. Those two cars ended up with the second and third fastest times, and only two or three inches behind their sons fastest time.
