Grampa, I shrunk the Suburban!

[DonaldSmith]

My grandson wanted his Pinewood Derby entry to look like my 47 DeSoto Suburban:

 

 

(I risk the wrath of forum members for posting this here instead in the OT forum, but it is about a DeSoto.)  

 

In the old days, the kids were supposed to do up their racers by themselves, but everyone knew they were done by the parents, grandparents, or local Big Three styling studio.  

 

So this old man glued a roof block and fender blocks to the block furnished in the kit, and sawed, ground, filled and sanded until it resembled my big brown car.

 

I had an old Special Interest Autos "Drive-Report" to act as a starting point:

 

 

The finish is rougher than I intended, but the little car has been a big hit at the family get-together this Thanksgiving.  Here's hoping it flies down the track this coming January.  

 

[deathbound]

Came out nice, hope it's within the weight regulations. When my son was doing it, they also had an "outlaw" class for fun.

 

Looks like it's been moved to the OT forum. I don't see why you should be concerned if it's not in the OT forum, nobody else does.....I see parts wanted threads & "OT" in titles in forums other than the classifieds & OT forums all the time......that stay there for days/weeks.

Edited November 28, 2014 by deathbound

[DonaldSmith]

Within the weight limits:

 

 

Aw, I guess I just look at the P15-D24 side, and forget about the OT forum.  I've been missing some gems.

[oldodge41]

Very nice, congratulations, a family heirloom has been created. That picture with you, the car and your grandson is priceless. Matters not how the car performs, but I suspect anyone who can make that can also make it F_A_S_T   !!!!

[mrwrstory]

Definitely a keeper.  Be sure to save it.  If your grandson doesn't want it 10 years from now, he will in 20 or 30.

I did a similar project with each of my boys who are now in their fifties and the Pinewood Derby cars are long gone.  We all wish we'd saved 'em. 

[DonaldSmith]

My son (my grandson's dad) built his own Pinewood Derby racer, pretty much on his own.  (I helped a little.)  Basically, he pointed the front end, painted the body red, and made sure the wheels were free-spinning.  We added solder weights to bring it up to the limit.  

 

The car looked crude, but it went like stink, and won.  We wish we still had it around.  This generation's entry will be enshrined for posterity. 

[Todd B]

Awesome story, I hope I can make memories with my grandkids like that. 

 

The question everyone is looking to be answered, how did the car do??

[DonaldSmith]

The big race is not till January.  I'll issue a full report at that time. 

 

I had to have the car semi-finished by Thanksgiving, when everyone would be at our place.

 

I had sent out progress photos, and claimed that it was the new Chrysler SUB SUV mock-up, and then, that Fiat Chrysler was starting a racing program, where they would ship the body to worthy racers, but would need them to install the headlights, grille, bumpers, etc. and of course the wheels and axles. So Toby performed the final installation at the Thanksgiving get-together.  

 

For the last several years, we have hosted a Christmas get-together at Thanksgiving, with gift exchange (the grand kids draw names, and the oldsters traded gift cards and Grants).  Thanksgiving is a better time for traveling on the roads, and this allows each family to have its own Christmas at home.   (See what Santa brought!) 

Edited December 5, 2014 by DonaldSmith

[BobT-47P15]

Nice, Don.   Definitely different.