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Looking for a simple craft project and trying to sneak in some Packard ideas/lore.

Anyone got anything to contribute here?

Target audience is First Grade through perhaps Fourth.....

Pat, how about some photos of racing Packards the children could use to carve their derby cars?

(o[]o)

We want the kids to do most of the work, which means little to no power tools and the excitement of instant gratification. Dads, Grampas and or others can do very limited power stuff, but we want the sprouts to sprout. We will be working with pine or possibly poplar, but no balsa and no knives.....

Limited....

Hope we are not contributing too much to our national downfall.........

Without cutting or carving, doesn't seem like the Pinewood Derby rules allow too much that could be customized or that could be identified as Packard. Dressing up with dry transfer patterns or decals with Packard features maybe an option. I don't know if a kid would choose one of those over a Chevy or a racing number but perhaps they would if it were "olden" or flashy enough.

Hello Pat:

The original 1953 pinewood derby design lends itself perfectly to building a car like the Col. Jesse Vincent Speedster or a 1950's vintage Indy Car.

http://www.pinewoodpro.com/pinewood-derby-history.htm

You need to look at the original kit (shown below) that the Cub Scout started with. The body was a simple, wood rectangular block with cutouts for the driver's seat and axles. None of the modern shapes used by the BSA have a "Packard" feel.

If you build one, then bring it to the 2013 National Meet. I am thinking of having a pinewood derby track set up at the PPG for testing.

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Not so. You can make it look like anything you want, as long as it fits within measurement specifications.

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Yes I know and I amended my post to clarify the statement. When trying to keep it brief, my usual failure is omitting the pertinent facts.

Not so much the derby rules but Pat's criteria of no knives and limited power tools with occasional Dad or Grandpa help kind of limits what can be done with the stock block of wood to make it Packard.

great derby movie i watch this weekend.

http://www.downandderby.com/

its on Encore Family right now.

Having been through the Pinewood Derby several times, I can assure you with almost 100% certainty that the car the young man is holding was not built by him alone.

I'm surprised (based on my experience) that the dad let him hold it......

My son and his son have won Pinewood Derby city championships when they were in the Cub Scouts. They won them with cars they built themselves. The derby racers their father "helped" them with were good, but not the fastest. I built a derby racer when my grandsons were in the cubs and got special permission to race it as a "Grandpa" entry so there would be no confusion as to who built the racer. Basically, it was a square block of wood with wheels. I wanted to see how it would run against the more sophisticated entries.It was surprisingly fast, but not the fastest. These derbies are a lot of fun for young and old.

(o[]o)