Our 2020 Lava Car

[karlaj]

Hi! First post!

This was my son's car this past year. We got alot of positive feedback on the design, and solid performances at the pack and district levels. It was a monster to build, and tuning was tough because the wood warped so much from the center trench. (but it made picking the raised axle easy!)

Hope you enjoy it as much as we have!

 

[Mojo Racing]

Karl, that car is way cool looking. I bet it was a beast and a half to tune.

One recommendation I would have moving forward with your next build... less clear stuff up front. You are breaking a light beam for the finish line, so I would use a solid colored piece.

On this car, maybe if the lava flow started more toward one of the corners of the nose, preferably the NDFW.

Very cool looking though. Great job!

 

[karlaj]

Thanks Mojo!

I thought about the epoxy being clear, but the finish gate wasn’t any problem bc I scuffed up the front, so it always triggered. That definitely got tested ahead of time, and I had a little painters tape on hand to put underneath just in case.

 

[HurriCrane Racing]

A red vinyl covering on the bottom might be an option.
Nice looking car.

 

[Wookie77]

Hi! First post!

This was my son's car this past year. We got alot of positive feedback on the design, and solid performances at the pack and district levels. It was a monster to build, and tuning was tough because the wood warped so much from the center trench. (but it made picking the raised axle easy!)

Hope you enjoy it as much as we have!View attachment 1924

Awesome looking car, my son and I have been going back and forth about trying to use epoxy as he wants all 3 trophies this year. Pack, den, and creative..
The heat cause the warping?

 

[karlaj]

Awesome looking car, my son and I have been going back and forth about trying to use epoxy as he wants all 3 trophies this year. Pack, den, and creative..
The heat cause the warping?

Thanks! and go for it! We got “judges choice” for this and took the pack title. Maybe your pack is faster, but we usually go plenty fast for our group.
Warping —Partly the fire to char, but the wood block was pre-stressed. As soon as I cut in it to shape the channe, it twisted. The epoxy didn’t do anything, I poured it in two layers.
I have no advice other than take your time and make 3-4 car bodies to start and carry n-1 forward each step in the build. Enjoy the adventure!

 

[Wookie77]

Thanks! and go for it! We got “judges choice” for this and took the pack title. Maybe your pack is faster, but we usually go plenty fast for our group.
Warping —Partly the fire to char, but the wood block was pre-stressed. As soon as I cut in it to shape the channe, it twisted. The epoxy didn’t do anything, I poured it in two layers.
I have no advice other than take your time and make 3-4 car bodies to start and carry n-1 forward each step in the build. Enjoy the adventure!

N-1 =nicest one? Never played with epoxy so yeah should be fun if he decided that's the way he wants to go...
Thanks

 

[karlaj]

N-1 =nicest one? Never played with epoxy so yeah should be fun if he decided that's the way he wants to go...
Thanks

go for it! It’s a little tricky at first, but you’ll pick it up quickly.

Sorry, that’s engineer-speak. N-1 is basically start with N cars (4?), and at each major step, leave one behind in case you screw up and have to redo things. In our case, we cut 4 bodies, charred 3, epoxied-filled 2, and finished 1.

 

[Wookie77]

go for it! It’s a little tricky at first, but you’ll pick it up quickly.

Sorry, that’s engineer-speak. N-1 is basically start with N cars (4?), and at each major step, leave one behind in case you screw up and have to redo things. In our case, we cut 4 bodies, charred 3, epoxied-filled 2, and finished 1.

Wow... That's allot of work for one car...